Former Assistant Philadelphia DA facing criminal charges

PHILADELPHIA - October 4, 2013 (WPVI) -- A veteran Philadelphia assistant district attorney has surrendered after being caught on the wrong side of the law.

Nicole Chandler is the woman the attorney general says is at the center of a revenge plot.

"When you commit evil, you place yourself in the crossfire of evil," said Nicole Chandler.

State investigators say Nichols, a 22 year veteran and assistant chief of the homicide unit, used her position to remove Chandler's stolen truck from a crime computer database.

Officials say Chandler's ex-boyfriend, who was romantically involved with Nichols, stole it back in August of 2011 and she was trying to protect him.

Court documents say as a result, police stopped looking for the truck.

However investigators say once Nichols and her boyfriend broke up she decided to get revenge and in August convinced Chandler to file another stolen vehicle report.

Investigators say Nichols knew where her ex-boyfriend had been storing the stolen truck in New Jersey and that's where police found it.

When they realized it hadn't been recently stolen, Chandler told them what really happened.

"My vehicle was taken out of stolen status and I was never notified by the Philadelphia Police Department and they are responsible too," said Chandler.

Nichols most recently served as an assistant chief in the homicide unit. She was suspended and has since resigned.

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams released a statement saying:
"Lynn Nichols had a long and successful career in this office. While it is with both professional and personal sadness that I am making this announcement today, we must maintain the highest standards of conduct in my office, and the legal process must take its course."

Chandler says she used that stolen truck to carry materials that her nonprofit created to and from Royal Gardens in Overbrook. She says she's glad to have it back even though it's in need of repair.

Nichols turned herself in Friday morning and was released on $10,000 bail.

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