14-year-old murderer of Jack Snyder, 17, to face severe consequences

A 14-year-old from Michigan who has admitted to the murder of a 17-year-old boy, after the boy offered him and his friend a ride home, is set to receive a prison sentence ranging between 35 and 60 years for the crime.

Justice Chimner pleaded guilty over the February 2023 murder of Jack Snyder.

Snyder asked Chimner and 13-year-old Dewond Estes III if they needed a lift because of the bitter cold. 

Despite accepting the offer of a ride from Snyder, the two teenagers abruptly decided to carjack his vehicle, shooting him twice and leaving him severely injured.

Estes told Snyder to pull over before taking the keys out of the ignition. 

Chimner, who later admitted to police that he stole his mother’s 9mm pistol earlier in the day, then aimed the gun at Snyder. 

When Snyder reached into a pouch on his jacket, Chimner misinterpreted the action as an attempt to grab a gun, which prompted him to shoot Snyder twice.

Snyder was found lifeless next to his car in the area of Battle Creek Avenue and Capital Avenue in Battle Creek, Michigan.

EMTs and medical personal tried to revive the teen in subzero temperatures, but Snyder was declared dead at the scene. 

Police recovered a gun at the scene of the crime but could not say which boy had fired the weapon. 

Both Chimner and Estes were arrested within days of the killing.

After pleading guilty on Thursday, Chimner will now be sentenced in March. 

Estes pleaded guilty in October to the carjacking with his sentencing set for early January. 

Battle Creek Police Sergeant Jeff Case said it was Snyder’s desire to help led to his death. 

‘The victim was trying to be a good Samaritan by giving them a ride with the cold temperatures. I do know that he resisted the carjacking. So again, he was trying to help out but wasn’t just going to give over the car,’ Case said.

The suspects had no known connection to Snyder. Case said that they ‘have dealt with them before’ but wouldn’t confirm any criminal history. 

At Snyder’s funeral, he was described as a ‘well-rounded student athlete’ who played varsity soccer, according to his obituary.

Snyder was in the school’s National Honor Society and enrolled in an EMT program via a local community college. 

‘Jack had a zest for life and made the world a better place with his care and love for everyone. He loved spending time with his family and friends.’ 

‘On behalf of my family and I, we want to thank every single person that has reached out and came to see us,’ his sister Meadow wrote in a Facebook post. 

‘I’ve heard from people that I haven’t seen or heard from in years and it shows how much support we have during this never ending nightmare. My Brother was 17. He was supposed to graduate this year and these monsters took his future away from him. He was the smartest out of all of us. He was gonna leave this sh**** place. He had the biggest heart, he cared so much for others.’ 

They took our brother away from us. It doesn’t seem real, it’s all fake news. I miss him so much,’ she wrote.