The third and final person charged in connection with a murder-for-hire that took place in Simpson County in 2020 was sentenced Monday to spend five years on probation.

Andy Martin Schmucker, 37, of Beaver Dam, received the sentence in U.S. District Court on a charge of being an accessory after the fact to a murder for hire.

Schmucker pleaded guilty to the charge last year, acknowledging that he drove Xavior Posey on Dec. 30, 2020, from Bowling Green to Franklin, where Posey carried out the murder of Brian Russell, 43, of Franklin at Russell’s home.

Posey had been engaged to carry out the deadly shooting by Freddy Gonzalez, who had been in a relationship with Russell’s ex-wife for some months in 2020 before she and Russell decided to get back together.

Gonzalez acknowledged providing the firearm Posey used in the crime, attempting to arrange for the theft of a vehicle that Posey would use while carrying out the homicide and paying Posey to kill Russell, according to court records.

Gonzalez was sentenced last month to 40 years in prison, while Posey was ordered to serve a 35-year sentence, with both men having pleaded guilty to murder through use of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Court documents indicated that Posey informed Schmucker en route to Franklin that he had been hired to commit a murder, and Schmucker dropped off Posey at a site near Russell’s home and then drove Posey back to Bowling Green after the shooting.

A federal grand jury indicted Schmucker in 2021 and he spent close to 18 months in jail prior to his case being resolved.

Federal sentencing guidelines recommended a prison sentence in the range of 46-57 months for Schmucker, but his attorney, Travis Lock, argued for a more lenient sentence that accounted for Schmucker completing inpatient treatment for drug addiction, maintaining his sobriety, reconnecting with his teenage son and establishing a business in Ohio County.

“He no longer uses drugs, and he’s no longer engaged in criminal activity,” Lock said.

Schmucker briefly addressed the court, apologizing to Russell’s surviving family in attendance in the courtroom.

“Addiction is a very horrible thing and I’m really sorry,” Schmucker said. “Through all this, with God’s help and His grace and mercy I’ve turned my life around.”

Schmucker’s brother, John Schmucker, and the mother of his son, Brittany Staley, also gave short statements of support at Monday’s hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Madison Sewell sought a sentence at the low end of the federal sentencing guideline range, arguing that Schmucker’s actions caused a great loss to Russell’s family.

“The tragedy of this case is that there are two children who have lost a relationship with their father, someone lost their brother, a mother lost her son and the mother of the children lost a partner,” Sewell said.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers said that Schmucker’s addiction recovery efforts and support from his family are considerations that had to be balanced with the need to craft a sentence that was not more punitive than necessary for what the judge said was an “unthinkable, violent crime.”

“This case is a classic example of the horrible impact that addiction can have on a person’s life,” Stivers said, noting that Schmucker’s prior criminal history showed no involvement in violent offenses.

Schmucker could still face imprisonment if he is found to have violated his probation over the next five years.