There are new developments in the case of a St. Lucie County man accused of setting the Fort Pierce mosque on fire.
Joseph Schreiber's public defender confirmed his client may change his plea from not guilty to “no contest.”
It’s something Schreiber, a Port St. Lucie resident, may have alluded to in a hand-written note he sent to his attorney earlier this month.
In the letter, Schreiber looks ahead to a court date set for Wednesday.
He writes, “I request that the following individuals be subpoenaed to appear at my sentencing.” He then lists the names of two investigators who he says were involved in his “post-Miranda interview.”
However, Schrieber is not scheduled for sentencing just yet, but his attorney says he is scheduled to change his plea.
While the letter likely won't impact the case, NewsChannel 5’s Legal Analyst Michelle Suskauer says what is unusual is that Schreiber made a point to file the letter with the clerk's office.
“We don’t normally see clients making attorney-client privilege information part of the court file,” said Suskauer.
That means the conversation in the letter won’t be kept private.
“I’m sure his attorney is going to be advising him and guiding him appropriately as to what's going to happen or the steps that are going to be taken,” said Suskauer.
We have also learned that the state has filed a notice to seek enhanced penalties in this case because Schreiber is a habitual offender. This means that Schreiber could face up to 30 years behind bars.
