FATAL ARREST NOT CHANDLER'S FIRST

NORFOLK - Raymond C. Chandler was no stranger to police when he was pulled
over by an officer on July 15 -- the last encounter of his life.

Chandler, 41, was described by friends and family as a brotherly figure who
also was a struggling drug addict. Since the late 1980s, Chandler had been
charged with more than a dozen crimes in two states and was considered a
fugitive by Baltimore authorities.

But the Raymond Chandler his family and friends knew also was a man who,
with a new security job, was fighting his addiction and trying to turn his
life around, said his brother, Aaron D. Chandler.

The FBI and police are investigating Chandler's death in police custody,
while his family and others interested in the case await an autopsy report
that could reveal how he died. That report may be done next week, officials
said.

Community and national civil rights leaders have thrown a spotlight onto
the circumstances surrounding Chandler's death because of allegations of
brutality and racial profiling. Still, little has been revealed about his life.

Chandler, a Richmond-area native, set off for Maryland as a young man but
returned to Virginia in 1991. The life he made for himself in Hampton Roads
was not trouble-free. Family members said his addiction to heroin took hold
when he moved to Norfolk. There were unpaid bills, court fines and jail time.

Three years ago, Chandler decided to try to kick his addiction and to find
jobs that would bring in more money, said Aaron Chandler, also a recovering
drug addict.

Aaron Chandler said the brothers' drug use had strained relations with
other family members. But when they joined Norfolk's methadone program,
their siblings offered support, he said.

"It was contradictory to my family and my life and upbringing, and it was a
turmoil in my family," Aaron said of the heroin use. "We understood that we
were the ones who were wrong. We also understood that the best thing we
could do was to get clean."

Still, Raymond Chandler faced financial judgments and traffic charges for
driving on a suspended license just months before his death.

And on July 15, as he drove to his security guard job in a Chevrolet sedan,
he was pulled over at the corner of Virginia Beach Boulevard and Monticello
Avenue for an unregistered license plate and tags, police said. It was
unclear if he owned the car.

Police said officers asked for Chandler's license and the car's
registration several times. When he could not produce them, officers told
him he would be arrested. As they handcuffed him, there was a struggle.
Chandler was pepper-sprayed and placed face down on the pavement. He died
shortly afterward.

"We had just gone fishing the night before it happened," said Aaron
Chandler, 46. The brothers and a friend had picked up a bucket of chicken
the night of July 14, made their way to the dead end of Majestic Avenue and
fished on the Elizabeth River.

Chandler had recently moved to an apartment near his brother, who suffers
from several serious health conditions. His goal was to help Aaron pay
overdue bills and to take him to doctor's appointments, Aaron said.

"That was my right-hand man," Aaron Chandler said shortly after his
brother's death. "He was all that I had."

In 1959, Raymond Claude Chandler became the fifth child born into the
growing family of Aaron Chandler Sr. and Etter Thompson Chandler. The
carpenter and his wife made their home on a small farm in Glen Allen, where
they grew flowers and vegetables.

Playtime was spent dashing through nearby woods. Raymond loved to play
cowboys and Indians, often making his own bows and arrows, Aaron said.

The two brothers were the closest of all the siblings. Raymond looked up to
Aaron, nicknamed "Bubba," and tried to follow him everywhere, Aaron said.

Almost all of the Chandler children graduated high school. At 16, Aaron
joined the Job Corps and got his diploma. Not far behind him was Raymond,
who joined the corps and got his GED.

In 1975, Aaron moved to Baltimore, where his father's relatives lived.
Raymond followed two years later. They took construction jobs, mostly
working with asphalt and concrete, Aaron said. It was a chance to live
somewhere more exciting.

"Life was fast, fun and furious," Aaron said. "It was the city, it was the
big life."

And it was a life that eventually was overtaken by heroin use.

In 1988, Raymond was charged in Baltimore with possessing and manufacturing
heroin, court records show. A judge suspended a four-year prison sentence,
placing Raymond on probation for five years as long as he steered clear of
drugs, the records state.

But a year later, Raymond faced more drug charges, including a conspiracy
charge that was dropped, the records state. Because he violated probation,
a warrant was issued for Raymond's arrest, but he was never picked up by
Baltimore authorities, they said.

However, Aaron said court records are wrong. He said a relative was
responsible for the drug crimes and used Raymond's name when he was
arrested and appeared before a judge there.

Aaron moved to Hampton Roads in 1990 to be near their sister, Alice
Chandler Patrick.

As usual, Raymond was not far behind.

In 1991, Raymond moved in with Aaron at 36th Street and Newport Avenue in
Norfolk. Aaron had two pizza delivery jobs, and Raymond found construction
work. They struggled to pay the bills.

Aaron was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and diabetes in 1993, he
said. Continued drug use compounded their personal problems, and they
eventually went their separate ways.

Around that time, Raymond's driver's license was suspended. In 1995, he
served 60 days in jail for various violations and paid $418 in fines and
court costs, according to court records.

Family members have said some of those charges may have been a relative's
as well, tainting Raymond's criminal record.

Chandler was accused in 1995 of stealing about $75 worth of merchandise
from the Wal-Mart on Military Highway and also charged with resisting
arrest, according to court records. The charges were dismissed.

Court records indicate he was jailed in 1996 on convictions for possession
of marijuana, petty larceny and driving on a suspended license.

And 1997 may have been the year Raymond and Aaron Chandler hit bottom.

In March of that year, Raymond was convicted in Chesapeake of possessing
heroin and was sentenced to five years, with four suspended, according to
court records. But family members said it was a relative who was jailed,
again using Raymond's name.

In July, Aaron was taken to a hospital for a heroin overdose.

Three days after Aaron's overdose, their mother, Etter, died in Richmond.
That was the year the brothers decided to turn their lives around.

Aaron said that as far as he knows, Raymond struggled with drug treatment
but managed to stay clean.

Rehabilitation was difficult for both men.

"You meet so many people in that lifestyle, you feel like your whole life
revolves around it," Aaron said. "So it's quite hard to give up all of that
and back away."

Last year, Raymond turned down a position with a security company to take a
job at Coastal Masonry Inc. in Chesapeake. A job that paid more money would
allow him to help Aaron, who said he could no longer work.

But Raymond left the construction job in September for unknown reasons and
was back in a Norfolk court earlier this year with financial troubles.

Life finally started to look better for Raymond in the spring. He moved
into a friend's apartment on Seay Avenue to be closer to Aaron and landed
the security job.

A week before Raymond died, all seven Chandler children gathered at Alice's
house in Chesapeake. It was the first time all seven siblings had been
together since their mother's death.

At that time, Alice said, it was impossible to believe that their brother,
who was on the road to recovery, would be gone so quickly.

"I haven't told my daughter yet that he's passed away," Aaron said. "It
just dawned on me that he isn't coming around no more."

The Baltimore Sun, news researcher Diana Diehl and staff writer Lou
Misselhorn contributed to this report.