Mother frustrated with plea deal in Belmont man’s disappearance

BELMONT, N.C. — The mother of Andy Tench, a Belmont man missing since his birthday in 2024, is expressing frustration over a plea deal offered to the man connected to his disappearance.

D’Shaun Robinson, who was arrested in connection with Tench’s disappearance, confessed to hiding Tench’s body in a dumpster. However, he was only charged with concealment of a death and identity theft. A plea deal has been offered to Robinson for 17 months in jail and probation, which has upset Tench’s mother, Tracie Blanton.

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“This is a slap in the face to Andy, a slap in the face to us,” said Tracie Blanton, expressing her disappointment with the plea deal. Blanton stated, “They offered 17 months active for him to plead guilty to failure to report a death, all other charges as far as Andy goes will be dropped.”

Robinson has already been in jail for about ten months, and Blanton feels that the plea deal undervalues her son’s life. She and Andy’s supporters plan to attend Robinson’s hearing on the plea deal.

Blanton hopes the judge will reject the plea deal, stating, “The judge can ultimately say no, no plea deal, you’re taking it to trial, he’s the only one with that power and we’re hoping that he will listen to us.”

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