Morrissette Withdraws ‘By Reason of Insanity,’ Pleads Not Guilty
Pretrial Hearing Scheduled for February
Brandon Morrissette, 18, the West Geauga High School student accused of bringing a gun to school April 3 with plans to kill several students withdrew his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and entered a plea of not guilty Nov. 8.
Brandon Morrissette, 18, the West Geauga High School student accused of bringing a gun to school April 3 with plans to kill several students withdrew his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and entered a plea of not guilty Nov. 8.
Morrissette, of Lyndhurst, appeared remotely before Geauga County Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Paschke Wednesday morning for a hearing regarding the results of his second psychological evaluation, said Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz.
“The defense asked for a second opinion on the first psychological report. That’s why we had the hearing because that report had come in,” Flaiz said. “The bond was not modified. (Morrissette) is still in the Geauga County (Safety Center).”
According to a doctor’s statement read in court, Morrissette suffers from depression, but “knew the wrongfulness of his behavior.”
Morrissette was indicted May 2 by a Geauga County grand jury for bringing a 9mm handgun with three loaded magazines to West Geauga High School April 3. He was arrested that morning after fellow student Casey Orloski, 17, discovered a bullet in the men’s bathroom.
Court records show when interviewed by Chester Township Police Chief Craig Young and Capt. Jeff Sherwood, Morrissette admitted he planned to open fire on students in the school library, and that he chose the location because of the large number of students who would be there at that time.
A 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun with three loaded magazines was found during a search of Morrissette’s book bag. He also had a lock blade-style knife secured to the exterior of his pants.
Morrissette faces a first-degree felony charge of attempted aggravated murder, a fifth-degree felony charge of possession of a deadly weapon in a school safety zone and a first-degree felony of inducing panic. The aggravated murder charge carries a maximum possible prison term of 16 1/2 years, not including specifications for committing the crime in a school safety zone and possessing a firearm which, combined, could tack on an additional three years.
He also faces a maximum sentence of one year on each of the other two charges.
Flaiz said the court has now put the case on a regular schedule, with a pretrial hearing set for the beginning of February.
“It will kind of go on to what we would call a standard case track,” Flaiz said. “The defense will be able to file any pretrial motions they may want, so we will wait and see what happens there.”
