Search warrant details homicide
The lawyer for a man accused of committing a grisly murder in the Ettersburg area is requesting the accused be psychologically evaluated to determine if he’s mentally competent.
Defense attorney Russell Clanton made a motion Monday after
noon that Ryan Anthony Tanner, 32, be psychologically evaluated ahead of the preliminary hearing to determine if there’s enough evidence to hold him for the murder of Jason Todd Garrett, 33, on or about Feb. 12. Judge Kaleb Cockrum granted the motion.
The preliminary hearing scheduled to take place this week was canceled and a hearing for the results of the doctor’s evaluation was scheduled for 10:15 a.m. March 23.
Tanner appeared at the Humboldt County courthouse wearing an orange jumpsuit, a fresh haircut and a smile for a couple of familiar faces in the courtroom.
The search warrant for Tanner’s property paints an image of a grisly crime.
The individual who reported the killing to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 16 described how he and Tanner found a broken-down bread van on the way to Tanner’s father’s house. They found Jason Garrett beside the van and, after setting the van on fire, Tanner proceeded to point an AK- 47 style rifle at Garrett before cutting him across the throat with a large fixed blade knife, the warrant states.
They wrapped Garrett’s neck with duct tape to stop the bleeding and left him at Tanner’s father’s house before heading out to find the van’s owner, the warrant states.
Once they found her, the warrant states Tanner threatened her with the rifle for about four to five hours, saying he was going to kill her, but she managed to escape unharmed while he was distracted, according to the warrant.
At that point, Tanner and the individual who reported the crime went back to Tanner’s father’s property and had Garrett get into a bathtub where he shot him in the head, according to the warrant.
The pair then wrapped Garrett up in a tarp and drove to a water tank that Tanner emptied out, the warrant states. They buried Garrett, placed the water tank on top of him and then filled it with water.
aw enforcement later found human remains underneath the water tank, according to the warrant.
Tanner has another case open from last year related to kidnapping. In that case, Tanner allegedly kidnapped another individual from March 19 to April 10 and assaulted him with a hammer, sword, rifle and shotgun, according to court documents.