Rick Chance
Encyclopedia
Rick Chance was a Tempe, Arizona
-based businessman, known throughout the Western United States
for founding and advertising Empire Auto Glass, an auto windshield
replacement company that dominated the industry by offering free meals at local restaurants. He was known as a generous benefactor, making sizable donations to various charities and ministries. Those who knew him called him a good friend, devout Christian
, and loving father.
On August 9, 2002, Chance's body was discovered in a Tempe hotel room where he was fatally shot the night before. Several days later, police in Tacoma, Washington
apprehended strippers Brandi Lynn Hungerford and Robert Donald Lemke II in connection with Chance's murder. The couple killed Chance while robbing him of a cache of jewelry worth over one million dollars.
While the media portrayed Rick Chance as a handsome success whose life was cut short, many felt his death was predestined or provoked by his lifestyle. His third wife also hired an undercover officer by the name of Mike Valentine to kill her husband because she was tired of his so-called "abusive nature". She was then arrested.
Rick Chance's company had also seen its share of lawsuits. One of their employees ran a red light injuring a soldier PFC Smircic at the Papago Military Installation. The soldier's right hip was crushed, suffered a concussion and trauma to the chest - ruining the soldier's military career. Empire Glass hid the fact that it was their employee who had injured the soldier and refused to allow service of court documents. The Empire Glass employee had tricked the officer at the scene into believing he didn't speak English. The Empire Glass employee later showed up to repair another soldier's windshield at the military installation. His true identity and employer were then discovered and Empire Glass settled out of court three years after the incident. The settlement was made just months before the sale of Empire Glass and Rick Chance's murder.
His death brought attention from media across the nation. Brandi Hungerford, the exotic dancer Rick Chance had been dating, pled guilty to Rick Chance's murder in exchange for second-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy
charges. The former stripper was also sentenced to a concurrent 12 year term for robbery and conspiracy charges. On the murder change she was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
In 2005, a jury found Robert Donald Lemke II guilty of theft and conspiracy to commit theft. However, jurors were hung
on the murder charge.
On September 5, the former male stripper changed his plea to guilty of first-degree murder and admitted that he shot Chance in the chest during a robbery.
The 29-year-old was sentenced to life in prison on October 5, 2005. The sentence will run concurrent with his 27-year sentence for theft and conspiracy to commit theft. Lemke has requested that he be transferred to the Washington State prison system.
As part of a plea agreement, he’ll be eligible for parole
after serving 25 years.
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
-based businessman, known throughout the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
for founding and advertising Empire Auto Glass, an auto windshield
Windshield
The windshield or windscreen of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike or tram is the front window. Modern windshields are generally made of laminated safety glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of two curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and are glued...
replacement company that dominated the industry by offering free meals at local restaurants. He was known as a generous benefactor, making sizable donations to various charities and ministries. Those who knew him called him a good friend, devout Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, and loving father.
On August 9, 2002, Chance's body was discovered in a Tempe hotel room where he was fatally shot the night before. Several days later, police in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
apprehended strippers Brandi Lynn Hungerford and Robert Donald Lemke II in connection with Chance's murder. The couple killed Chance while robbing him of a cache of jewelry worth over one million dollars.
While the media portrayed Rick Chance as a handsome success whose life was cut short, many felt his death was predestined or provoked by his lifestyle. His third wife also hired an undercover officer by the name of Mike Valentine to kill her husband because she was tired of his so-called "abusive nature". She was then arrested.
Rick Chance's company had also seen its share of lawsuits. One of their employees ran a red light injuring a soldier PFC Smircic at the Papago Military Installation. The soldier's right hip was crushed, suffered a concussion and trauma to the chest - ruining the soldier's military career. Empire Glass hid the fact that it was their employee who had injured the soldier and refused to allow service of court documents. The Empire Glass employee had tricked the officer at the scene into believing he didn't speak English. The Empire Glass employee later showed up to repair another soldier's windshield at the military installation. His true identity and employer were then discovered and Empire Glass settled out of court three years after the incident. The settlement was made just months before the sale of Empire Glass and Rick Chance's murder.
His death brought attention from media across the nation. Brandi Hungerford, the exotic dancer Rick Chance had been dating, pled guilty to Rick Chance's murder in exchange for second-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
charges. The former stripper was also sentenced to a concurrent 12 year term for robbery and conspiracy charges. On the murder change she was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
In 2005, a jury found Robert Donald Lemke II guilty of theft and conspiracy to commit theft. However, jurors were hung
Hung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
on the murder charge.
On September 5, the former male stripper changed his plea to guilty of first-degree murder and admitted that he shot Chance in the chest during a robbery.
The 29-year-old was sentenced to life in prison on October 5, 2005. The sentence will run concurrent with his 27-year sentence for theft and conspiracy to commit theft. Lemke has requested that he be transferred to the Washington State prison system.
As part of a plea agreement, he’ll be eligible for parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
after serving 25 years.