This week on Roots & Shadows: The Real Appalachia, we take a closer look at one of the most shocking true crime cases to unfold in Southwest Virginia—an FBI shooting in Abingdon that started with two young soldiers and ended in a manhunt that stretched across state lines.
In March of 1942, Abingdon, Virginia was a busy Appalachian town, much like it is today. People moved along Main Street, businesses opened for the day, and nothing suggested that anything out of the ordinary was about to happen. But inside a small café on Wall Street, that changed in a matter of seconds.
Two U.S. Army deserters, James Edward Testerman and Charles Joseph Lovett, had made their way into town after leaving Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. After assaulting military personnel and stealing weapons, the two fled north, eventually reaching Abingdon. Their presence in town may have been tied to a personal connection, but by the time they arrived, federal authorities were already tracking their movements.
FBI Special Agents Hubert J. Treacy and Charles L. Tignor followed the two men into the café, attempting to question them. What happened next was sudden and violent. Gunfire broke out almost instantly. Agent Treacy was killed, and Agent Tignor was seriously wounded. The shooting sent shockwaves through the town and marked one of the most serious attacks on federal agents in the region at the time.
The suspects fled into the streets of Abingdon, firing as they went and creating chaos in the center of town. A large-scale manhunt quickly formed, involving local law enforcement, state officers, and federal agents. Reports spread quickly, and the search expanded across the surrounding area.
The manhunt came to an end on the outskirts of Abingdon at a house on Taylor’s Hill, where the two men had taken refuge. After a standoff involving gunfire and tear gas, both suspects surrendered and were taken into custody.
The case moved quickly through the federal court system. During the trial, witness testimony and evidence established the events of that morning inside the café. Both men were found guilty of first-degree murder. However, the jury recommended against the death penalty, and the judge sentenced them to life in federal prison.
Their sentences would eventually take them to one of the most secure and feared prisons in the United States—Alcatraz. Known as “The Rock,” it housed some of the most dangerous federal inmates of its time, and both men would serve part of their sentences there.
Today, the streets of Abingdon look much the same as they did in 1942. Visitors can walk through town without ever knowing what happened there. But stories like this are part of the deeper history of Appalachia—where the everyday and the unexpected can meet in ways that leave a lasting mark.
This episode of Roots & Shadows explores the full story, from Fort Oglethorpe to Abingdon, and the events that turned an ordinary morning into one of the most remembered true crime cases in the region.