Criminal complaint: Tucker County man planned 'since Saturday to kill his brother'

Robert Lee Tennant

by: Alexandra Weaver

Posted: Apr 11, 2023 / 09:54 AM EDT

Updated: Apr 11, 2023 / 09:54 AM EDT

ST. GEORGE, W.Va. (WBOY) — A criminal complaint alleges that the Tucker County man accused of killing his brother told deputies that he had been planning to kill his brother “since Saturday” because “he was [an] ‘a**h***’.”

Robert Lee Tennant was arrested on Monday, April 10 after a call for a shooting that had just taken place on Smokehouse Road in Tucker County. Tucker County 911 officials told deputies that Robert shot his brother, Edward Tennant over a land dispute, the complaint says.

Responding deputies say they told Robert to come across a stream on the property, then detained him, arrested him and took him to the Tucker County Sheriff’s Office for questioning.

The complaint alleges that Robert told deputies that he saw Edward at a telephone pole and went over to ask him what he was doing when an argument over property broke out and Robert “pulled out a Smith and Wesson 22. cal handgun and shot about three times at his brother.”

According to the complaint, “The reason the defendant shot his brother was because he was [an] ‘A**h***’.” Deputies say they asked Robert if he checked on his brother after shooting him and he said “No.” They say they asked Robert if he was sorry, and he said “No I got the monkey off my shoulder.”

Deputies say they also asked Robert during questioning if he felt threatened or scared, and he said “no” and that “‘He has been planning this since Saturday to kill his brother’.”

Robert was charged with first degree murder. He is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on no bond.

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