| 4/20/2020 12:15 PM By Bob Weaver
An 87-year-old Amma Road, Roane County, man has been charged with the first degree murder of his neighbor, having engaged in a dispute over blocking a jointly held driveway.
Bobby J. Criner, 87, of 270 Amma Road, shot and killed Bruce Hogensmith, 55.
When State Police and the Roane Sheriffs Department arrived at the scene about 8 pm Sunday, they discovered Hogensmith on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds, relatives saying that the accused and his son were located in a field adjacent to the residence.
Officers took Criner and his son into custody without incident, the elder Criner admitting he shot Hogensmith.
Criner told police he had been in a dispute with the deceased over vehicles blocking a shared driveway.
The complaint says, "Upon walking to the victim's residence to speak to him about the vehicles, the victim physically attacked him."
Criner, according to the complaint, says he returned to his residence and retrieved a pistol (Ruger 9mm) and returned to Hogensmith's residence to speak to him.
Criner told officers he thought the pistol would intimidate the victim.
The complaint then says that Criner said victim began to physically attack him. Criner told officers he shot the victim once as he was facing him, then Hogensmith turned his back, and he shot him four more times in the back.
Criner's son gave a statement to the police regarding the incident.
Criner is in Central Regional Jail with no bond set. | 
