Robert Lee Tennant, 65, is accused of murder in the first degree for the April 10, 2023 shooting death of his brother, Edward Tennant, during a land dispute that took place on Smokehouse Road in Tucker County. Tennant is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail with no bond.

Tennant is represented by James Hawkins Jr. from Harrison County and Brent Easton from Tucker County. The case is being prosecuted by Tucker County Prosecuting Attorney Savannah Hull Wilkins.

During jury selection on Tuesday, Judge James W. Courrier, Jr. informed possible jury members that due to the charge being first-degree murder, if they were to find Tennant guilty of the charge they would have to determine if he should be granted mercy or no mercy.

The murder trial was scheduled to run through today in Tucker County Circuit Court.

Robert Lee Tennant, left, is shown with one of his defense attorneys, James Hawkins Jr., right, during jury selection for his first-degree murder trial this week.

Due to West Virginia not having capital punishment, punishments for serious charges like first-degree murder come in the form of mercy, which means a chance at parole, or no mercy, which means no chance of parole.

According to the criminal complaint, on April 10, 2023 authorities with the Tucker County Sheriff’s Department and West Virginia State Police responded to a call advising that Tennant had shot his brother.

Once on scene, officers found Robert Tennant across a stream at the location and ordered him to come talk with them, the complaint states. He complied and was taken into custody immediately before being transported to the Sheriff’s Department Office for questioning.

According to the complaint, Tennant told police he saw his brother at a telephone pole and drove his John Deere tractor to where his brother was at in order to confront him, asking him what he was doing. He said the two argued over the property and he then pulled out a Smith and Wesson .22 handgun and shot three times at his brother.

Tennant allegedly told officers he shot his brother because he was an “a–h—“ and that he had been planning to do this for days. When officers asked him if he checked on his brother after shooting him, he allegedly told them that he did not. The complaint states that when police also asked him if he was sorry for what he did, Tennant told them, “No, I got the monkey off my shoulder.”

After the shooting, according to the complaint, Tennant went to his house and contacted 911 and told them what happened. When asked if he felt threatened or scared, he allegedly told officers he was not.