Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Teen Draws Three Years In Father’s Shooting

   A Lawrence County teenager charged in March with murdering his father will serve a minimum of three years imprisoned.

   Units with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department received the call to the 165 Piney Road home around 6:30 p.m. on March 21. They found that resident Thomas Schankweiler, Jr., age 37, had died as the result of a single gunshot wound to the head.

   At the time, Investigator Melinda Brewer reported that Schankweiler’s son, Thomas James “Tommy” Schankweiler, III, had been involved in altercations throughout the day with his father, and that he had gone to a neighbor’s home that afternoon. When his mother telephoned to check on him, she said the teen “feared for the safety of his mother and his siblings and went back home.”

   Brewer stated that the mother had met the teen outside the home, warning him to leave “because his father had already threatened to kill him when he returned,” but that the youth instead entered the home. Shortly thereafter, Brewer said the teen exited the house and stated, “Nobody would be hurt by him anymore.” Officials reported in March that the teen had confessed to shooting his father. He was subsequently placed under arrest on one count of first degree murder.

   When the teen appeared for an initial appearance in Lawrence County General Sessions Court, Judge Patricia McGuire ordered that he undergo a mental evaluation at a facility in Chattanooga.

   During proceedings in Lawrence County Circuit Court Tuesday, Schankweiler’s case was transferred from juvenile to adult court. Schankweiler then entered a guilty plea to a charge of voluntary manslaughter. The charge carries a penalty of imprisonment of between three and six years.

   Under the agreement reached between Defense Attorney Daniel Freemon and the District Attorney’s Office, Schankweiler is to be placed under judicial diversion for a period of three years. He will be required to meet all guidelines established through the Tennessee Department of Corrections. If all conditions are satisfied, his record could then be expunged.

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