Former National Guardsman to Serve Prison Time for South Windsor Auto Center Beatings

A former Connecticut Army National Guard sergeant arrested in connection with the beatings of a South Windsor auto center owner and employee in 2013 has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Nathaniel Chambers, of Meriden, was sentenced Tuesday in Hartford Superior Court on convictions of accessory to assault and conspiracy to commit assault. He has also been convicted of robbery and will serve that sentence concurrently, according to the office of the court clerk.

Chambers and three others were arrested in connection with a January 2013 attack at Forced Induction Motorsports on Edwin Street in South Windsor.

The beatings sent store owner Robert Lareau, of Enfield, to the intensive care unit and left employee Ryan Kelleher, of Windsor, severely injured. Kelleher told NBC Connecticut he was hit in the head twice with a rifle.

According to police, Chambers claimed he had paid Lareau up front to fix his car and wasn’t happy with the results. He was taken into custody a week after the attack while seeking treatment for the flu at the West Haven Veterans Hospital.

A spokesperson for the Connecticut National Guard said Chambers was honorably discharged in September 2012.

Chambers' alleged accomplices – Jose Ramos, Luis Ruiz and Francisco Ruiz, all Meriden residents – were also arrested.

Information on an attorney for Chambers was not immediately available.

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