60-year-old Cleveland man charged with murder

CLEVELAND, Ga. – A Cleveland man is in the White Count Detention Center today charged with the murder of 31-year-old Joshua Wayne Tench at a residence at 375 Oglethorpe Lane in Cleveland last week.

Corporal Charles Brantley of the White County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the scene in response to a 9-1-1 call regarding a shooting. When he arrived, he encountered 60-year-old Ronnie Elwynn Pate and a female, Julia Lavonne Fischel, 51, outside a trailer. Fischel said the victim was inside the trailer and needed help.

According to the incident report, Brantley entered the trailer and found the deceased laying on the floor. White County EMS and the fire department arrived at that time and before the body was moved, Brantley took photos of the scene.

In describing what happened, Pate told deputies Tench was arguing with Fischel, the deceased’s mother, so he went inside and laid down. He said Tench then began breaking the windows of the trailer. Pate said he always has a shotgun beside his bed and that Tench charged in and tried to take the shotgun away from him when he was shot. Pate told Brantley he feared for his life.

Pate was taken to the detention center and questioned before being charged with murder.

The shooting is being investigated by the White County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

 

 

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