Alexander man sentenced to prison in attempted murder case
Patrice Bumstead
Farmer Editor
David Chambers Jr., of Alexander pleaded guilty to the following criminal charges brought against him in October 2023, a Class A Felony charge for attempted murder; and two Class C Felony charges for reckless endangerment-extreme indifference on Nov. 13, 2024.
Chambers, along with his attorney, Mark Sherer, appeared at a Sentencing Hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at the Northwest Judicial District Court in McKenzie County, N.D.
During the hearing, Chambers made a statement to the court, in which he apologized “I’m sorry for the situation that came about, honestly the victims know me well and they know I’m not no monster...I made mistakes due to my alcoholism....I’ve been mentally impaired since 2020, I never got the help I needed....I’m not making no excuse for whatever I’m here for today...I made a terrible mistake due to alcohol...I’m truly sorry for my actions.”
During argument, Attorney Sherer stated “Mr. Chambers has taken responsibility, he’s admitted his actions, expressed remorse, he’s acknowledged to this court....it was evident during his arrest that he was heavily under the influence of alcohol...it is clear that he has untreated alcohol problem, as well as some mental health including depression and anxiety. For those reasons we ask the court to show leniency, give him a chance to rehabilitate himself, get the substance abuse and mental health treatment that he needs to come through on the other side and be a healthy, helpful productive member of society.”
After hearing victim impact statements, a statement from Chambers and argument from both the State and Attorney Sherer, the presiding judge stated “Mr. Chambers, I didn’t hear anybody damn you as a monster. I think everybody understands that you have a problem with alcohol, that explains your behavior - it does not excuse your behavior, and this isn’t your first go around with knowledge that you have a problem.”
The judge went over sentencing factors, followed by issuing Chambers with a 20-year imprisonment sentence at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, with two years suspended and credit for time served of 599 days for the Class A Felony of attempted murder. Following his prison sentence, Chambers will have three years of supervised probation.
Concluding the hearing, the judge spoke to Chambers, stating in part “Mr. Chambers, you shot a firearm at two human beings, we can not have that behavior out here - under any circumstances. It is not okay to do that, to put them in fear like that, thank God you have poor aim so they didn’t get hurt. But this behavior - is not acceptable and must be punished.”
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