John Schultz IV pleads guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder does not result in death

FULTON COUNTY, Ind. -- During jury deliberations on Thursday, John Schultz IV accepted a plea agreement and plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder does not result in death. All other charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Eight hours of jury deliberation and two full trials passed before Schultz had excepted the plea agreement, leaving the prosecution team stunned.

“The first time in twenty-one plus years, for me, that anything like this has ever happened,” said Mike Marrs, Fulton County Prosecutor.

According to Marrs, the jury was in a deadlock during deliberations. This was a mirroring image of how jury deliberations proceeded during the first trial, which ended in a mistrial.

The jury was dismissed around 7:10 p.m. on Thursday after Schultz’s changed his plea to guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder does not result in death.

Schultz’s defense team says that he appeared to be relieved with accepting the plea agreement that was presented to him.

“He is clearly happy. He expressed his happiness and his relief before, he expressed it on the way out, and even before he got the plea before the judge, he was telling us his plans for his life. That gives us hope. He’s twenty years old, so he’s got an opportunity to break the cycle. He’s got an opportunity to change, and we hope and pray that is what he does,” said Paul Namie, Schultz’s Defense Attorney.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 7 at 3:30 p.m. where Schultz could face 10 to 30 years for committing a level 2 felony. However, as part of the plea agreement, Schultz could go into immediate probation instead of facing time in prison.

Schultz was originally charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder does not result in death, intimidation, possession of a narcotic drug and possession of methamphetamine.

Click here to view details for the first three days of this trial.