Man who fired accidental gunshot at Springfield school sentenced to up to 7 years in state prison

SPRINGFIELD — A 21-year-old man will serve up to seven years behind bars after pleading guilty to firing off a shot during an altercation at the High School of Science and Technology.

Chantz Dudley admitted to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, committing a crime on school grounds and other charges in Hampden Superior Court on Tuesday.

The guilty plea averted a trial on the day it was set to begin.

Dudley admitted to barging into the school through a back door on March 10, 2024, to settle a score on behalf of his younger sister, a student there.

The case was complicated by family dynamics. The siblings' father, Dana Dudley, also was charged in connection with the ambush at the school and was the main witness against his son.

Dana Dudley refused to testify for the prosecution and also was charged with criminal contempt last year. The development temporarily took the wind out of the state's case, until a jailhouse informant emerged against the younger Dudley.

Defense lawyer Daniel D. Kelly said his client could have been defended at trial. "Weighing on him were really the collateral consequences of this case on his sister," Kelly said.

Dana Dudley, 45, declined to speak against his son, Chantz Dudley, during an October appearance in Hampden Superior Court. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook

His sister, December Dudley, summoned her family on that day because she had been offended by a male classmate and thought he deserved punishment, according to attorneys involved in the case.

She was on the prosecution's witness list.

"Mr. Dudley did not want his sister to face the same fate as his father," Kelly said.

Both men remain behind bars — the elder after he refused to testify, and the younger Dudley after his bail was revoked when he was arrested in a drug prosecution out of Vermont.

That case remains pending.

Dudley's plea was reached after a negotiation among the attorneys, which was followed by the judge's sentencing recommendation of 6 to 7 years in prison.

Assistant Hampden District Attorney Thomas Prendergast argued for a sentence of between 13 to 15 years.

"No child should ever have to experience or live through the terror of hearing a classmate yell 'gun!' … and take cover," the prosecutor said during Tuesday's hearing.

No one was hit by gunfire during the incident, Prendergast said. Chantz Dudley did not deliberately fire, but the weapon went off while he was pistol-whipping the student who had upset his sister.

The gun fell on the floor and went off and a bullet shattered a window inside the school. Chantz Dudley, 19 at the time, did not possess the firearm legally. Dana Dudley also arrived at the school carrying a knife, but did not enter, according to court records.

The school was forced into lockdown for hours amid the fracas.

"All of it was completely unnecessary. What could have happened, fortunately didn't happen … It could have been much worse," Judge David Hodge said, before sentencing the defendant.

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