AUGUSTA — A man found not criminally responsible by reason of insanity after he killed his father in Gardiner in 2014 and dumped his dismembered body will be allowed up to four hours a day of unsupervised time in the community.

It will be the first time that Leroy Smith III has been out and unsupervised since he was charged in the murder of his father, Leroy Smith II, in their Gardiner apartment. He was later found not criminally responsible after the court ruled he was legally insane at the time, and he was placed in the custody of the commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services and placed at Riverview Psychiatric Center for treatment.

Smith, 32, has since moved to a group home in the Augusta area and has been able to be out in the community for periods of time while supervised by a mental health worker.

Superior Court Justice Bruce Mallonee on Friday approved Smith’s petition to have up to four hours a day of unsupervised time in the community, though he noted that time should be implemented gradually. He said it could start with as few as 15 minutes of time on his own, and then if that goes well, could increase incrementally up to the maximum of four hours.

Smith at the time of his father’s homicide had a number of delusional beliefs, including that his father was trying to poison him, that he was a political prisoner and that the heavy metal band Slayer was somehow involved.

Mental health evaluators said Smith has been doing very well and has been stable and cooperative; his medications have been effective in controlling his mental illness. But under questioning by Laura Yustak, an assistant state attorney general, Ann LeBlanc, a forensic psychologist and contract examiner for the State Forensic Service, said Smith’s delusions have not completely subsided.

“No, I don’t believe they have,” LeBlanc said on the stand. She said those delusions were factors in Smith killing his father. “The difference is now they’re much further in the background of Mr. Smith’s thinking. Even though there may be delusions in the background of his thinking, we see those don’t impact his everyday behavior. His everyday thinking is not based on delusional material.”

LeBlanc said Smith’s insight into the role his mental illness played in the killing of his father is impaired and he likely still believes he was defending himself from his father at the time.

However, LeBlanc agreed that Smith could be allowed some unsupervised time in the community, starting with 15-minute increments.

Riverview Outpatient Services Psychiatrist Daniel Filene said Smith’s diagnosis is delusional disorder with persecutory and grandiose subtypes, as well as a history of cannabis use disorder and alcohol use disorder, though both of those are in remission. He is on anti-psychotic medications that are administered by officials at the group home where he resides.

His case manager said Smith is interested in going to the gym, taking yoga classes and fishing.

LeBlanc said it would be good for him to have some recreational time, and would also be good if he found work, though she and others noted that would be a challenge given the limited number of hours his current privileges allow. The agreement made in court Friday would enable Smith to work up to 10 hours a week.

Yustak, concerned this will be the first time Smith has been unsupervised since killing his father, sought to limit his unsupervised time in the community to two hours, but agreed to four hours with wording added to the agreement specifying that time would start at only 15 minutes and only increase if that time went well.

He can also travel up to 80 miles away from the state psychiatric center, under the supervision of a mental health worker.

In 2018 Smith was granted time in the community but only while supervised.

Smith was the first person in Maine to be forced — under a 2015 law — to take psychiatric medication in an effort to restore his mental capacity to a level at which he could participate fully in his own defense while standing trial.

Police said Smith stabbed his father to death, dismembered the body and distributed body parts in trash bags off Lincoln Street in Richmond.

Friends described the elder Smith as friendly and a passionate musician skilled in carpentry and mechanical work and said he was trying to help his son.

In the same courtroom on Friday, another convicted killer found not criminally responsible, Paul Orchard, 41, was granted additional unsupervised time in the community, up to eight hours which, like Smith’s time, would start much lower than that and then build up to the approved maximum.

Orchard was found not criminally responsible for the October 2014 sexual assault and killing of his mother-in-law, Paula Nuttall, 57, in front of his then 6-year-old daughter, in the family’s home in Peru. Orchard, who also currently lives in a group home in Augusta, has previously been allowed supervised time in the community, and most recently was allowed up to one hour of unsupervised time.

Filene said Orchard is doing exceptionally well and loves his current medications, which he said have been effective. He said Orchard can safely spend more unsupervised time in the community and that would help his progress in treatment.

One thing Orchard wants to do with more time in the community is find a quiet place to read and study, as he is seeking to further his education by taking adult education and college courses.

He is already allowed to work, but so far hasn’t found a job.

“I’m in school right now,” Orchard told Mallonee. “I’ll hopefully get work. Or if school should pop up before then, I’ll go back to school. For me, I like to stay busy.”

He answered, “Yes, absolutely,” when asked by the judge if he could manage his time in the community.

 

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