Alabama woman gets 2 life sentences for role in 87-year-old man's slaying

An Alabama woman received two life sentences with the possibility of parole Friday shortly after she pleaded guilty to her role in the fatal shooting of an 87-year-old man during a robbery more than seven years ago in Coosa County, state Attorney General Steve Marshall announced.

Latoni Althea Daniel, 32, of Kellyton, was the getaway driver when her then-boyfriend, LaDaniel Tuck, shot and killed Thomas Virgil Chandler, 87, in Coosa County on Dec. 5, 2017.

Daniel pleaded guilty Friday in Coosa County Circuit Court to one count of intentional murder and one count of first-degree robbery, after which Coosa County Circuit Court Judge David Law sentenced her to two consecutive life sentences, Marshall announced.

Chandler was eating at a local restaurant before going to a Piggly Wiggly when he was followed by Daniel and Tuck.

The defendants followed Chandler out of the store and then stopped his vehicle as the 87-year-old man drove a couple miles down the road, Marshall said.

Chandler was then shot multiple times and had his money and personal property taken from him.

“Mr. Chandler was an innocent man, targeted and brutally murdered for nothing more than his money. Today, justice has been served,” Marshall said in a statement.

“While no sentence can undo this senseless act of violence, these consecutive life terms ensure that Latoni Daniel is held fully accountable for her role in this heinous crime,” the attorney general continued.

“I commend the prosecutors and law enforcement officers whose dedication brought this case to a just conclusion, and I pray that Mr. Chandler’s loved ones find some measure of peace knowing that justice has prevailed.”

In 2019, Daniel became pregnant while being held in the Coosa County jail while awaiting trial.

The Coosa County Sheriff’s Office claimed Daniel had sex with a male inmate with the intention to claim that she was raped in an attempt to get sympathy and leniency.

Tuck’s trial remains pending.

Marshall lauded his office’s Criminal Trials Division, which prosecuted the case with the DA office’s for the Fortieth Judicial Circuit. He singled out Assistant Attorneys General Damon Lewis, Kenneth Gibbs and Chenelle Smith. Marshall also thanked District Attorney Joe Ficquette and the staff of the District Attorney’s Office for the Fortieth Judicial Circuit, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and the Coosa County Sheriff’s Office.

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