Young man gets 30 years for killing father in East Tenn.
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A young man has pleaded guilty to killing his father as jury selection was set to begin for his trial in East Tennessee.
The Greeneville Sun reports 18-year-old Zachary Thomas Blanchard was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
Blanchard was 16 when police said he shot 36-year-old Robert J. Blanchard at their home in Greene County.
Police said he took his father’s van, money, several guns and ammunition. He and three other teens were arrested after a 10-hour search in 2014 in South Carolina, where they were apparently headed for Myrtle Beach.
Blanchard was charged as an adult with first-degree murder. Police said the other teens joined him after the shooting. Their cases were handled in juvenile court.
