From the Office of Jody Pickens, District Attorney General, 26th Judicial District –
On December 20, 2020, the Chester County, Tennessee, Sheriff was called to Nolen Road near Enville, Tennessee.
Upon arrival, deputies found a man, later identified as Benny Wayne Maness, who had been shot and run over by a vehicle.
The investigation and testimony at the March 22-23 trial revealed that Todd Allen Robbins, who was an acquaintance of the victim, had shot Maness in the head with a handgun, pulled him from the cab of his 1985 Toyota pickup, shot him again to make sure he was dead, and then ran over him as he drove away from the scene of the murder.
The investigation and proof at trial further revealed that in the month prior to the murder, Robbins was being pursued by the United States Marshal Service, which was attempting to take him into custody for an unrelated warrant.
While not part of the proof at trial, evidence developed by investigators indicated that Robbins had also shot another individual in the face the night before he murdered Benny Maness. Robbins’ motive in murdering Maness was to take his truck in order to flee to Alabama.
On March 23, 2023, after a two-day trial and a thirteen-minute deliberation, a Chester County, Tennessee, Jury convicted Robbins of First Degree Murder, Murder in the Perpetration of Theft, and Theft Over $2,500.
The same jury that convicted Robbins later voted unanimously that he should be sentenced to Life without the Possibility of Parole. After being convicted of murder, Robbins pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm after Having Been Convicted of a Felony. Robbins has five prior felony convictions: three convictions for Aggravated Assault; two convictions for Aggravated Burglary; and two convictions for Theft Over $1,000.
In addition to his felony convictions, the Defendant had several misdemeanor convictions including convictions for Perjury, Possession of Schedule III Controlled Substance, Possession of Marijuana, Driving on a Suspended License, Theft, and Resisting Arrest.
“The citizens of Henderson and Chester County will not have to contend with the criminality of this Defendant because with the jury’s verdict he has been removed from our community. This Defendant killed Benny Wayne Maness in a cold blooded, heinous fashion all in attempt to evade justice. As the verdict reflects, justice was finally served. Robbins will never breath air as a free man again,” said District Attorney General Jody S. Pickens. “Because of the cooperation and efforts of the Chester County Sheriff’s Department, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department, the Hardin County Sheriff’s Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Savannah Police Department, and the United States Marshal Service, West Tennessee is safer place to live.”
Seth Preslar, who was then with the Chester County Sheriff’s Department, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Parson of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had primary responsibility for the investigation of the case. The people of the State of Tennessee were represented at trial by District Attorney General Jody Pickens and Assistant District Attorney General Al Earls.
