VERMONTVILLE — A Vermontville man is the third person arrested by State Police in connection with the fatal shooting of Plattsburgh resident Jahfari J. Joseph in late December.

On Tuesday, State Police charged Chad H. Nichols, 40, with first-degree hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence, both felonies, in Clinton County — where Joseph was allegedly killed. Nichols was also charged with both of these charges, as well as concealment of a human corpse, another felony, in Franklin County — where Joseph’s body was found.

Nichols pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance. He was arrested on an indictment warrant from the Clinton County District Attorney.

Earlier this month, police charged the divorced couple Timothy Timmons, 61, of Plattsburgh and Kelly A. Timmons, 59, of Peru with second-degree murder, a felony, relating to Joseph’s death. Nichols is being charged as an accessory to the murder, as all the charges relate to the hiding of a body.

Both of the Timmons’ charges have been increased to first-degree murder, according to court records. First-degree murder includes premeditation on top of intention. Clinton County DA Andrew Wylie alleged that a disagreement between Joseph and a Timmons family member led to the murder.

Joseph was originally from Saint Lucia, an island in the Caribbean. He formerly lived in Brooklyn, was a father of four and a reggae musician under the stage name Ifari. His brother, Teddy John, told the New York Amsterdam News that Joseph would often carry groceries for the elderly ladies in their building and talk and joke with them. NYAM reported that Joseph’s family became worried when they hadn’t heard from him in a number of days over the holidays. State Police began investigating Joseph as a missing person on Jan. 6. He had last been heard from on Dec. 29.

After more than a month of searching, including with K9s and drones, his body was discovered county Route 26 in the town of Franklin on Feb. 13.

An autopsy of Joseph’s body conducted by Dr. Michael Sikirica earlier this month in Glens Falls determined his cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest, and his death was ruled a homicide. Wylie has alleged that Joseph was shot multiple times.

So far, investigators have found that Timothy and Kelly were previously married, and say Joseph was killed in Kelly’s home in Peru with a gun she allegedly gave to Timothy.

Timothy was arrested on Jan. 7, and is currently being held in Clinton County Jail. He has pleaded not guilty. Timothy was arraigned on Wednesday and his bail was set at $100,000 cash bail, $500,000 partially secured bond or $200,000 secured bond. Police said they arrested Timothy based on witness reports, cell phone videos and audio recordings. Wylie said tips from confidential informants with the narcotics division led to the discovery of Joseph’s body. Timothy has also been charged with second-degree conspiracy.

Kelly was indicted by a Clinton County grand jury, arrested Friday and pleaded not guilty on Monday. Her bail has been set at $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond. She’s also been charged with second-degree conspiracy. Her next court appearance has been set for April 2.

There were numerous agencies involved in this investigation, and police say they followed as many as 225 leads and issued numerous search warrants in the process.

State Police are still soliciting information regarding the incident at 518-563-3761.