A simmering feud between neighbors in a quiet corner of Hermitage, Tennessee, tragically erupted in gunfire, leaving a 62-year-old man dead. George Daniel Talley, a retired employee of Nashville Gas/Piedmont Natural Gas, was fatally shot on a Wednesday in early October 2017, during a heated altercation on his son's property located on Couchville Pike.
The area, a small pocket of Davidson County nearly encircled by Long Hunter State Park and Percy Priest Lake, became the scene of a deadly confrontation that afternoon.
The dispute involved Talley, his son Matthew Talley, who was 31 at the time, and their neighbor, 53-year-old Joseph Scott Drummond. According to investigators, the argument escalated to the point where both Matthew Talley and Joseph Drummond drew firearms. During the exchange of gunfire, George Talley was struck in the torso and died at the scene. His son, Matthew, sustained a gunshot wound to the buttocks and was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, both Matthew Talley and Joseph Drummond claimed to have acted in self-defense. Drummond was taken to the South Precinct for an interview with detectives, where he was later arrested for resisting officers. However, no charges were immediately filed against either man in connection with the fatal shooting.
The investigation into George Talley's death was handed over to the District Attorney's office for review to determine whether any charges would be warranted. Despite the initial reports and the ongoing investigation, there is no publicly available information to indicate that any charges were ever filed against Joseph Scott Drummond or Matthew Talley in relation to the shooting. The case, born from a long-running neighborhood disagreement, concluded with a man's life being lost, leaving a family to mourn and a community to grapple with the sudden violence.
