What started as a routine morning at the Versailles Gardens apartments in North Canton is now at the center of an insanity case in Stark County court.
On May 11, 2026, 38-year-old Brian K. Francisco II pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the case tied to an October 9, 2025, shooting that left a woman seriously wounded inside the complex. Prosecutors say Francisco fired multiple rounds through apartment walls, triggering a multi-agency response and a tense rescue of the victim. Authorities say no law enforcement officers were injured during the incident.
According to WKYC, Francisco's defense team filed the not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea on May 11 and has asked the court to approve a third independent psychological evaluation. Earlier hearings in January found Francisco competent to stand trial after a court-ordered evaluation, according to WHBC.
How the morning unfolded
North Canton Police say the crisis began around 8:50 a.m. on October 9, 2025, when a resident called 911 from the Versailles Gardens complex. Officers entered the building and soon found a woman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
In a detailed timeline released by the department, medics moved into a designated warm zone just before bullets began ripping through a wall. As shots continued, officers and a medic pulled the wounded woman through a bedroom window while still under fire, according to a North Canton Police press release. The release states that an AR-style rifle, a handgun, and multiple rounds of ammunition were later recovered from the suspect's apartment.
Charges and court moves
A Stark County grand jury indicted Francisco in October 2025 on dozens of charges, and locally published reporting lists 27 counts along with multiple firearm specifications. Those include numerous felonious-assault charges and discharging a firearm into a habitation. The Repository reported that Francisco is being held on a 1.1 million dollar bond.
A January hearing in Stark County found Francisco competent to proceed to trial, according to WHBC, and subsequent court entries show defense counsel later filed a formal notice of the insanity plea.
What an insanity plea means in Ohio
In Ohio, a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity does not simply end with a defendant walking out of court. Instead, it kicks off a separate legal track.
After an NGRI finding, the trial court must order a written sanity report and hold a follow-up hearing to decide whether the defendant should be committed for treatment and under what conditions. Ohio Revised Code §2945.40 and related statutes outline how sanity evaluations, court oversight, and possible civil commitment are handled once a person is found not guilty by reason of insanity.
What is next in the case
With the insanity plea now on the record, both sides are waiting on another psychological evaluation before the court sets any trial schedule. Courts commonly order independent sanity reports in these situations and then hold hearings once the written findings come in.
WKYC reports that the defense has specifically asked for an additional independent evaluation. If the court eventually concludes that Francisco was legally insane at the time of the shooting, Ohio law allows judges to commit him to a treatment facility instead of imposing a traditional prison sentence.
Community response
City officials and first responders have publicly highlighted the coordination that went into rescuing the wounded resident and securing the scene under fire. In its press release, the North Canton Police Department quoted Major Matthew Buzzard as saying the joint response “reflects the very best of our law enforcement community.”
Investigators have not identified a motive in the shooting.
