Edward Biesiada, the man accused of fatally shooting North Royalton Building Commissioner David Smerek in July, is seeking to change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.

Biesiada, 70, filed a motion to change his plea, according to WKYC, which first reported the development. On Wednesday, Nov. 4, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Kelly Ann Gallagher ordered him to undergo a sanity evaluation at the court's Forensic Evaluation Center, formerly known as the Court Psychiatric Clinic.

The court continued Biesiada's pretrial hearing to Dec. 8. He remains held without bond, Cleveland 19 reported.

The evaluation is part of the court process following Biesiada's request to change his plea. It does not, by itself, establish that he is legally insane or determine the outcome of the criminal case.

Biesiada's attorneys with Friedman Nemecek Long & Grant L.L.C. said they were retained on Sept. 2, nearly a month after his arraignment, according to the motion cited by WKYC. Attorney Madelyn Grant wrote that "good cause exists for the instant change of plea" after "numerous visits and conversations" with Biesiada.

Biesiada faces one count of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and one count of intimidation. A Cuyahoga County grand jury returned the indictment Aug. 7, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.

The July 24 shooting

Police say Biesiada drove to the North Royalton Service Center on Royalton Road on the afternoon of July 24 and parked his vehicle. He allegedly entered the building with a firearm and shot Smerek three times.

The first call reporting shots fired came in at approximately 1:22 p.m., according to WKYC. Police said Biesiada left the firearm on a counter, walked outside and was apprehended by officers at the scene. Smerek was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office also described the shooting in its Aug. 7 announcement of the indictment.

North Royalton police Sgt. John Stolarski told WKYC that Biesiada had been frustrated with the building department over citations. Mayor's Court records show Smerek had cited Biesiada for the condition of his property's exterior shortly before the shooting. However, reports differ on the date of that citation.

Public records also show Biesiada and Smerek had a connection through a separate dispute involving a neighbor's fence.

According to Cleveland 19's review of court records, Biesiada challenged a zoning board's approval of a neighbor's request to build a fence closer to her home than city code typically allowed.

Smerek submitted an affidavit in the case confirming the fence was substantially complete. A trial court dismissed Biesiada's appeal in 2023, and an appeals court ruled against him in March 2024.

The records document an earlier legal dispute involving the two men, separate from the criminal case over Smerek's death.

Community response

Smerek's death prompted an outpouring of support for his family from North Royalton residents and city employees.

During the city's National Night Out event in August, the North Royalton Police Department added a dunk tank fundraiser to raise money for Smerek's family, splitting proceeds with a fundraiser for a former police department clerk, according to News 5 Cleveland.

Police Sgt. John Stolarski told News 5 the fundraiser was a way for the community to support the families affected by the loss.

Biesiada was initially charged with murder at his July 27 appearance in Parma Municipal Court, where a judge set bond at $15 million. When the case moved to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Aug. 3, a judge ordered him held without bond, according to WKYC.

The case is scheduled to return to court Dec. 8.