Convicted in murder case | News, Sports, Vacancies

PARSONS — A Tucker County man was found guilty of first-degree murder and was denied clemency by a jury at his trial in Tucker County Circuit Court this week.

The jury convicted 65-year-old Robert Lee Tennant after deliberating for 31 minutes Thursday afternoon.

Tennant shot and killed his brother Edward Tennant on April 10, 2023, during a land dispute that occurred on Smokehouse Road in Tucker County.

Tennant will be sentenced Nov. 14 at 9 a.m. at the Tucker County Courthouse.

Tennant is currently being held at Tygart Valley Regional Jail without bond.

Circuit Judge James W. Currier Jr. presided over the case.

The case was prosecuted by Tucker County Prosecutor Savannah Hull Wilkins. Wilkins called to the stand 911 Center Director Daniel Hebb, Deputy Brent Gidley of the Tucker County Sheriff’s Department, Sgt. Victor Pyles of the West Virginia State Police, Dr. Ian Shapiro of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and Philip Cochran of the West Virginia Police Laboratory will testify as state witnesses.

Tennant was represented by James Hawkins Jr. of Harrison County and Brent Easton of Tucker County, who wanted their client to be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter rather than first-degree murder, arguing the killing was not premeditated. Tennant was called as a defense witness.

In his testimony, according to the Tucker County Prosecutor’s Office, Tennant indicated that he did not plan or intend to kill Edward, but instead planned to simply confront him. Tennant also said that while confronting his brother, he saw Edward looking at a machete that was stored in Tennant’s John Deere tractor. That’s when Tennant said he pulled out a gun and shot his brother.

According to a 2023 criminal complaint, deputies from the Tucker County Sheriff’s Department and West Virginia State Police responded to the scene of the shooting. Officers found Robert Tennant on the other side of the creek and ordered him to speak with them, to which he complied and was taken into custody.

According to the complaint, Temple told police he saw his brother on a telephone pole and drove his John Deere tractor to where his brother was to confront him and ask him what he was doing. He said the two got into an argument over property and then he pulled out a .22-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol and shot his brother three times.

Tennant told police he shot his brother because he was “damn it” and that he had been planning to do this for several days. When officers asked him if he checked on his brother after he shot him, he said no. The complaint states that when police also asked him if he regretted what he did, he told them: “No, I took the monkey off my shoulder.”

After Tennant shot his brother, he went to his home, called 911 and told them what happened, according to the complaint. When asked if he felt threatened or afraid, he allegedly told officers that he did not.