Man accused of child snatching tries to hire hitman for Burrillville Middle School student

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BURRILLVILLE – A man arrested for child snatching in December after an incident involving a Burrillville Middle School student is facing new charges after reportedly attempting to hire a hitman from jail.

Chandler Cardente, 27, of Cranston, was first arrested for crimes in Burrillville on Saturday, Dec. 11 after a 12-year-old girl from town went missing, and was found on the side of the road in Warwick.

Cardente, a registered Level 3 sex offender, had reportedly posed online as a 17-year-old for months, and then picked the young girl up after school, according to police.

He has been held without bail since his arrest at the Adult Correctional Institutions.

According to a new affidavit, investigators caught wind that Cardente was seeking out a hitman to murder his victim from jail.

On Friday, Feb. 11, the inmate reportedly made an outgoing call from the prison intake center to an undercover Rhode Island State Police detective. Cardente allegedly provided the detective with the girl’s name and address, and arranged to pay $200 in cash, along with $1,500 worth of tattoo equipment.

WPRI 12 published dialog from the call in which Cardente said: “I got a twelve-year-old witness, and she needs to end up dead … you’re okay with that?”

“She’s a witness, she needs to go. I don’t care how she does it,” he said, according to the affidavit. “I’m going to go to sleep at night so, I’m fine with it. I just need it done before I get indicted.”

Cardente was convicted of first degree child molestation in 2014. In December, he reportedly kicked the victim out of his car, and leaving her on the side of the road after learning that police were looking for him. Burrillville officers were able to locate the 12-year-old with the help of electronic tracking, and she was found on Jefferson Boulevard at 1 a.m. Cardente was picked up by Cranston police and charged with child snatching and enticing a child.

Now, police have added a new charge of soliciting another to commit murder. Cardente has a bond setting of $20,000 surety, and has a pre-arraignment conference for the new charge scheduled for May 4.

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