LATAH COUNTY, Idaho—The men who took the Latah County Sheriff’s Office on a manhunt last week after a homicide investigation had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana before Tim Reeves was shot and killed, according to court documents.
Keagan Tennant and Matthew McKetta both face charges stemming from the death of Tim Reeves.
The documents said one of the suspects had been playing Russian roulette with Reeves before the incident. A witness told investigators Tennant had a rifle and Reeves had a pistol and they were pointing them at each other.
The witness said he heard Reeves tell Tennant "You feeling froggy n****r, jump n****r jump" when the rifle Tennant was holding went off, according to the documents. The witness - identified as Z.W. - said the bullet went through Reeves’ face, near his cheek and he fell backwards, according to court documents.
Z.W. said he saw a lot of blood coming from Reeves' face. He told officials he turned to walk towards a fire they had built when he heard another gun shot, the documents said.
“Keagan stop, you just killed my brother!” Z.W. said he yelled at Tennant. The witness said Tennant initially said something to the effect of "everyone needs to die, no witnesses" before stopping and putting the rifle down. The witness said Tennant then started "wailing around" and rocking back and forth, according to court documents.
The witness said he took a pistol from Tennant because he was afraid of what he would do. The witness, along with another uninvolved person there, then said they left to get away from Tennant and did not know where Matthew McKetta was. He said they walked through the area before becoming concerned they were getting lost, and headed back to the access road that led to the main road.
Z.W. said as they were walking down the main road when McKetta and Tennant picked them up in an UTV (a type of all terrain vehicle) and brought them back to the campsite. The witness said he stayed in his seat because he did not want to see Reeves' body, but told police he saw the body in the back of the UTV and told Reeves goodbye, according to court documents.
"I asked if he saw Matt and Keagan remove Tim's body from the UTV and he said 'Yeah, I saw his head hit the ground,'" a deputy wrote in his report.
Witness Z.W. later led officials to the place he believed Reeves’ body had been left.
Tennant and Matthew McKetta fled the scene in Latah County but were later captured and taken into custody without incident near Kroupa Road in Ferry County.
The suspects appeared in court in Latah County Wednesday morning.
Tennant faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, attempted first degree murder, principal to failure to notify coroner or law enforcement of death, conspiracy to commit failure to notify coroner or law enforcement of death, principal to destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence, and conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence.
McKetta faces charges of principal to failure to notify coroner or law enforcement of death, conspiracy to commit failure to notify coroner or law enforcement of death, principal to destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, and charges of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence.
McKetta also is facing a robbery charge stemming from an incident in which he allegedly stole a vehicle and $15 from a pizza delivery man in Moscow while on the run.
Reeves was a rising senior at Pullman High School. His family held a memorial for him last week in Pullman.
This story has been updated.