Man gets probation in gun threat
A Gibsonia man was sentenced to probation Thursday after being charged with threatening his wife with a gun in November 2016.
Robert T. Schmitt, 49, was sentenced to 5 years of county probation by President Judge Thomas Doerr. He was also ordered to pay court costs and $1,000 in fines, as well as complete all required counseling and have no contact with the victim.
Schmitt previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor terroristic threats and simple assault on May 10.
Adams Township police filed the charges after Schmitt's wife, Lori Schmitt, reported that when she arrived home from work to their house on Old Orchard Drive on Nov. 21, 2016, and while taking her dog outside, Robert Schmitt closed the garage door and was turning off the electricity to the house when she went back inside, claiming that he “wanted to be in the dark.” A few minutes later, she saw that one of their dogs had urinated on the carpet. While she was cleaning up, Robert Schmitt came out of the bedroom closet and said to her, “I'm sorry I have to do this to you,” according to the criminal complaint. When Lori Schmitt looked up, she saw that he was pointing a silver and black handgun “directly at her face,” according to the police report.
She asked him several times to stop pointing the gun, though he did not comply. She was then able to grab her purse and leave the house.
Lori Schmitt also said she felt the plea agreement “doesn't touch what I've been through.”
Robert Schmitt apologized during the proceeding.
A full story will appear in the Butler Eagle.
