NEW BOSTON, Texas-A Bowie County district judge sentenced a local man to 45 years in prison Thursday after finding him guilty of burglary with intent to commit assault.
Reggie Mason Smith, 42, must serve at least half of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole because 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart ruled that a deadly weapon was involved when Smith kicked in the back door of a home on Myrtle Springs Road on the afternoon of Jan. 1, 2015. Smith, who had been abusing methamphetamine, believed the homeowners, longtime friends of his parents, had somehow wronged him.
Smith's mother contacted the victims and warned them not to come home. Deputies with the Bowie County Sheriff's Office found Smith in the backyard. He pulled a small pocketknife from his jacket pocket and told deputies to shoot him. Deputy Randall Baggett was able to convince him to drop the knife and he was taken into custody.
Since his arrest, Smith's competency and sanity became an issue in the case. He was evaluated multiple times by several different mental health experts and spent several months in a mental health hospital, where he received medications that he is under a court order to continue.
Smith's unruly and uncooperative behavior, which included cursing and referring to Lockhart in profane terms and as a communist and a coward, led to his removal from the courtroom several times Wednesday. After hearing from two psychologists, Lockhart found Smith both competent and sane at the time he committed the offense, found him guilty and assessed a 45-year term.
Dallas psychologist Dr. Randall Price testified that Smith's claims that the FBI has a grudge against him and has manipulated the criminal justice system, his mother, Lockhart and others likely stem from a combination of drug-induced psychotic symptoms and a personality disorder. Price testified that Smith's personality disorder alone does not make him incompetent or insane. Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to criminal behavior under Texas law. Defendants who commit crimes while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol cannot use a temporarily altered mental state as a shield from prosecution.
Price testified that Smith told him he thought he was invited to the home of his parent's friends and that after arriving he thought he heard a voice inside calling for help. Price said Smith knew he had done something wrong after setting off the alarm and finding nobody in the residence.
Smith testified on his own behalf Thursday. In a rambling narrative, Smith accused the two psychologists who testified of lying and complained about the court order mandating he take psychotropic medications. He lamented that the court is against him and later claimed the FBI has been "messing with me for 43 years, my whole life."
Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp described Smith's uncooperative behavior and FBI delusions as "trying to make himself prosecution-proof," in court Wednesday. Both Crisp and Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards elicited testimony about Smith's propensity for criminal conduct and history of intravenous use of methamphetamine. Sheriff's deputies, investigators and jail staff testified that Smith's behavior is calm when he is not in court.
After finding Smith guilty, Lockhart heard testimony concerning Smith's prior criminal history. Smith has several prior convictions for forgery in Bowie and Miller counties. He has been convicted of misdemeanors, including assault, interfering with an emergency call, driving while intoxicated and possession of brass knuckles. Smith has a prior conviction for evading arrest and was convicted of murder by a Bowie County jury in 2006 and ordered to serve seven years.
"Reggie Smith has clearly demonstrated a capacity for homicidal violence in the past," Crisp said. "The evidence at trial was that he had similar intentions to harm the victims in this case. The Bowie County District Attorney's Office is grateful to Judge Lockhart for the 45-year sentence, which will hopefully bring this three-yearlong nightmare to an end for the victims."