The co-owner of a South Pittsburg, Tennessee, coffee shop who shot and killed his business partner has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Robert John Bateh, 53, of South Pittsburg, was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Bradley Sherman in connection with the death of Kevin Brentt Hudson, 46, in a shooting April 4, 2022, at their jointly owned Dragging Canoe Coffee Traders business on Elm Avenue, according to court records. South Pittsburg Police Chief Wayne Jordan said in the initial affidavit filed in 2022 that Bateh had called 911 to report that he shot Hudson after an altercation.
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A jury convicted Bateh in June of voluntary manslaughter, reduced in the verdict from the original charge of first-degree murder, according to court records. He was also convicted of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
Bateh was sentenced to six years in prison on the voluntary manslaughter conviction as a standard offender with eligibility for release after serving 30%, or two years, of that sentence, court records show. He was sentenced to a mandatory six years in prison on the conviction for employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony to be served at 100%. Bateh was given credit for pretrial jail time served from April 4-21, 2022, and from June 13, the day of the trial, until Aug. 19, the day of sentencing.