Jailhouse informant emerges in Springfield Sci-Tech high school gunfire case
SPRINGFIELD — A last-minute jailhouse informant has emerged as a witness for the prosecution against Chantz Dudley, the 21-year-old accused of pistol whipping a student at the High School of Science and Technology, causing the gun to go off inside the building.
No one was struck by the bullet, but it pierced a window and caused a lockdown of the State Street school when the incident occurred on March 10, 2024.
Chantz Dudley, 21, of Chicopee, appears in court Oct. 10 after he allegedly pistol-whipped a schoolmate of a family member and fired a round inside the school as a result. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
The development came a day before Dudley's trial was set to begin in Hampden Superior Court — one of a string of delays in the case.
During a hearing before Judge William Ritter on Monday morning, Assistant Hampden District Attorney Tom Prendergast asked for a two-week reprieve, since the unnamed informant is awaiting being moved from one jail to another for his own safety.
"This was late-breaking news," Prendergast told the judge when requesting the continuance. "It's a different landscape than it was on Friday morning."
Since then, the informant signed a cooperation agreement with prosecutors and provided a recorded statement, lawyers in the case said.
The last-minute witness said Dudley made some admissions to him when they were incarcerated together.
"With media reports on the government's case against my client suffering setbacks, miraculously a jailhouse informant steps forward a few hours before trial," defense lawyer Daniel D. Kelly said after the hearing.
Dana Dudley, 45, declined to testify against his son, Chantz, in courtroom 3 on Oct. 10 in Hampden Superior Court in Springfield. (Douglas Hook / The Republican, File)Douglas Hook
He was referring to a refusal to testify by Dudley's father, Dana Dudley, to testify against his son. The elder Dudley also went to the school carrying a knife, according to court records. He is also charged in the case and was held in contempt by the judge on Oct. 10.
Dana Dudley refused to raise his hand to take the oath to testify. He was allegedly the only eyewitness to the incident.
Chantz Dudley was released on $2,500 bail after that hearing. He was previously held.
Police say the elder Dudley recruited his son to storm the school after his sister, December Dudley, complained about having a dispute with the schoolmate who was the alleged victim of the pistol-whipping.
Prendergast told the judge his office has attempted to serve the sister a subpoena to testify and cannot find her.
The next hearing scheduled in the case is on Nov. 18.
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