By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- A former Massena Wellness Center director who was convicted of a downstate homicide was sentenced to 25 years in state prison on Feb. 13.

Justin Barkley, 39, pleaded last month in Tompkins County Court to first-degree manslaughter and menacing a police officer.

He will spend 25 years in state prison for the manslaughter charge and eight years for the menacing count, along with five years of post-release supervision. The sentences will run concurrently, according to the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office.

Barkley admitted killing 52-year-old William Schumacher on Dec. 8, 2016 in the Ithaca Walmart parking lot by shooting him with a .30-06 rifle and running him over with his car. He also admitted firing a shot toward police after they chased Barkley to his Dryden home following Schumacher’s death.

Barkley was under the impression at the time of the homicide that Schumacher was a government agent who was after him, prosecutors have stated.

“We all had to recognize the mental health part of his case and that it was a significant factor in the case. It think the outcome was the right one in that he admitted to intentionally causing the death of William Schumacher while acknowledging the extreme emotional disturbance,” Tompkins County District Attorney Matt Van Houten said. “All things considered … really a just outcome and it promotes the public safety in that he will be significantly older and hopefully he will have learned a lot and gotten a lot of assistance and psych help while he was incarcerated.”

Barkley’s mental health issues caused the trial to be delayed for several months.

In March 2017, he was arraigned on the murder and menacing charges for the second time after having been found not able to participate in his defense. During his initial arraignment in December 2016, Barkley claimed in court to have intentionally killed then-president-elect, now President Donald Trump and tried to plead guilty. The judge refused to accept the plea and ordered a psychiatric evaluation. That led to him being confined to Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center for a couple of months, where doctors later determined he was fit to stand trial.

Van Houten said Schumacher’s son, Blake, gave a victim impact statement prior to the sentence being handed down.

“That was probably the most powerful. There were also statements read from Mr. Schumacher’s sister,” the DA said. “The Schumacher family is a very Christian and very devout family and they forgave him and exhorted him to find Jesus and move away from whatever was influencing him in life and move toward Christianity. That was the common theme.”

Van Houten said Barkley is asking the state to place him in segregated housing in a North Country prison while he served his two-and-a-half decades.

“I know there was some discussion about Mr. Barkley being in segregated housing. He feels he should be segregated based on his work in the parole system, as well as his mental health challenges. They’re looking at housing him at Clinton (Correctional Facility in Dannemora) … but the department of corrections decides that,” he said, adding that the court and prosecutors have no say in Barkley is placed.

He will get credit for the time he was in the Tompkins County Jail, and may receive “good time,” depending on what happens during his incarceration, Van Houten said.

The New York State Office of Mental Health said Barkley, a Madrid-Waddington High School graduate, had resigned his position at the Massena Wellness Center prior to Schumacher’s killing.

“Justin Barkley was not employed by the state of New York at the time of this incident. This former employee was a licensed master social worker from September 2008 until May 2016 at St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center, where his final position was program director of the Massena Wellness Center,” according to Ben Rosen, who at the time was the OMH Public Information Office director. “In May 2016, he voluntarily left St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center for a position with the Office of Children and Family Services.”

Barkley began working at The Office of Children and Family Services’ Finger Lakes Residential Center on May 4, 2016 and resigned effective Aug. 8, 2016, according to New York State Office of Children & Family Services officials.