PANAMA CITY — A man accused of contracting the abduction and assassinations of two local judges intends to use insanity as his defense against the charges, according to court documents.
Joseph Russell Schmitt, 48, on Monday set a hearing date for later on in the week to discuss the appointment of an expert to examine him in anticipation of an insanity defense. Schmitt is accused of conspiring to murder two local judges and leaving a trail of violent crimes in his wake across the South, court records indicated.
Under state law, forensic psychological records are confidential, but after Schmitt’s attorney filed a notice of intent to rely on an insanity defense, prosecutors responded with a request for a doctor to examine whether Schmitt was insane “at the time of the crime,” prosecutors wrote.
Court records indicated Schmitt only intends to plead insanity to the two counts of solicitation to murder and two counts of solicitation to kidnap.
Schmitt was wanted in Bay County on a series of charges, including allegedly attempting to arrange the murder of Circuit Judges Allen Register and Chris Patterson, from August 2013. While being wanted in Bay County, Schmitt allegedly beat and attempted to smother his 90-year-old mother in Texas and threatened authorities with explosives after his arrest in Louisiana. He then was transferred to St. Johns County to face cyberstalking charges before returning to Bay County to have a combined bond of $200,000 placed on his release.
Schmitt allegedly had threatened to kill several people, including Register, of Bay County, and Patterson, of Washington County, according to Bay County Sheriff’s Office arrest records.
During the course of discussions with an undercover BCSO officer, Schmitt was to provide a storage area to carry out the abduction, torture and murder of the judges, according to BCSO reports. An exact figure was not revealed, but the officer said a substantial amount of money was to change hands.
BCSO also wanted Schmitt for allegedly making a false child abuse report to the Department of Children and Families.
Schmitt will be back in court Friday to discuss the state’s motion for an expert examination. Including the solicitation to commit murder and kidnapping charges, Schmitt faces charges of aggravated stalking and making a false report of child abuse.
Charges in Texas and Louisiana remain open against Schmitt for those incidents, officials reported.