"Preppy Killer" Sentenced to 19 Years on Drug Charges

Preppie killer Robert Chambers was sentenced today to 19 years in prison for drug-dealing - more time than he got for strangling Jennifer Levin in 1986.

The 42-year-old prep school grad agreed to the long stretch as part of a plea bargain that allowed him to avoid a life sentence.

The hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court was a brief, cut-and-dried affair.

His hands cuffed, a jean-clad Chambers showed little emotion except to smirk at girlfriend Shawn Kovell, who was sitting in the audience with his father.

Kovell's presence caused a stir in the courthouse and a threat by prosecutors to put her behind bars.

She was busted with Chambers on coke-dealing charges in October but spared prison and ordered by prosecutors to enter drug rehab.

When prosecutors spotted her in the courtroom, smiling at her boyfriend, they were furious. They called the rehab and hauled Kovell before the judge who sentenced her to probation in December.

"She's apparently wandering around the city without an escort," said Assistant District Attorney Dan Rather Jr.

"It should be made clear that she complies with the conditions of the plea agreement or she goes to jail."

Justice Charles Solomon said he would contact the drug program, Paladia in the Bronx, for a status report.

Kovell had no comment, but Chambers' dad seemed thrilled his son's gal pal would remain free.

"They lost," he said of prosecutors, chuckling.

Chambers got 15 years in prison after he admitted he killed Levin during "rough sex" in Central Park, one of New York's most infamous crimes.

Read full article here. [Brooks Holland]