Smith

A Mercer Township man accused of shooting his sleeping roommate last year will be sentenced in July on one count of third-degree murder.

Thomas Nathan Smith, 50, will likely face 20 to 40 years in prison, which is the recommended sentence as part of a plea arrangement that he made with the Butler County District Attorney.

According to court records, Smith shot 56-year-old Clifford Stevenson at point-blank range with a .22-caliber rifle on July 28.

Stevenson died of a gunshot wound to his head. Authorities said he was shot while asleep on a recliner in the bedroom of the Route 8 farmhouse he and Smith shared for two years.

Smith, who drove away from the house, was arrested three days later in Venango County. Then, he allegedly told police that the shooting was the end-product of an argument he’d had with Stevenson over marijuana.

Smith pleaded guilty May 19 to third-degree homicide before Butler County Judge William Shaffer, who also will sentence Smith.

Initially, Smith faced an open count of homicide, which — had the case gone to trial — could have resulted in a maximum verdict of first-degree murder and a life sentence.

Prosecutors were not seeking the death penalty.

District Attorney Richard Goldinger said there were “mitigating circumstances” that led prosecutors to believe third-degree was the appropriate plea arrangement.

Among the factors prosecutors weighed was Smith’s mental capabilities and his relationship with the victim, Goldinger said.

“You have to look at the totality of the circumstances,” Goldinger said, stressing that 20 to 40 years is the maximum penalty that can be issued for a third-degree murder in Pennsylvania.

Stevenson’s family members earlier had told the Eagle that he suffered from cancer and lung disease, and relied on Smith to help care for him, which included giving him rides to medical appointments.

The victim’s family also told the Eagle that they’d witnessed Smith exhibit what they characterized as “psychotic” behavior in the past.

However, Smith’s defense attorney, Kevin Flaherty, said before the plea, a psychiatrist evaluated Smith, and it was determined that a mental health defense was “not available.”

“He recognizes the gravity of what happened,” Flaherty said of Smith, noting that Smith has no apparent history of violence and the two men had been friends. “This is just an unfortunate incident.”