Cop hunts folks with pending warrants

Since Aug. 1, he has found 200 people with pending business in court.
& lt;a href=mailto:sinkovich@vindy.com & gt;By PEGGY SINKOVICH & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- There are more than 3,000 people who may have forgotten they have business to attend to in municipal court, but police officer Eric Merkel is here to remind them.
Merkel, who was assigned Aug. 1 to the new warrant division, has been searching for the 3,200 people who have warrants pending in municipal court.
"I've been using information from the city water department and the phone book to try and locate some of these people," Merkel said. "So far, I have found 16 are deceased, so at least we can clear them from the court docket."
The officer has also found 200 people.
"Most have come in and taken care of it," Merkel said. "There are a few in the Mahoning County jail and one person at Trumbull Correctional Institution.
"I put holds on them so when they are finished serving time where they are now, they will be brought to the county jail and won't be released until they take care of their case here."
For the most part, the majority of people Merkel has contacted said they had moved and forgotten about the warrant.
"Many are pretty happy that I found them because they would rather come in and take care of it then get stopped for a traffic ticket and then the officer arrests them because of an outstanding warrant," Merkel said.
Good effort
The warrants generally cover failure to pay fines for traffic violations and other minor offenses.
He said anyone who thinks they may have an outstanding warrant can contact him at (330) 841-2788.
Judge Thomas Gysegem, of municipal court, said he appreciates Merkel's efforts.
"It's a combination of bringing in money and cleaning up some old warrants," Judge Gysegem said. "Eric has really proven to be quite valuable. It's working out well."
Chief's silence
Merkel said he was assigned to the warrant division by Chief John Mandopoulos, who refused to discuss the program with The Vindicator.
"It's a shame the chief won't talk because I think Eric has done some outstanding work," said Fred Harris, safety-service director. "This shows that despite some problems we have had in the department, we have some really outstanding officers."
Mandopoulos has told city officials he won't talk to The Vindicator until the paper apologizes for "wrongdoing."
The chief has declined to speak to Vindicator reporters since July when the paper published articles he says were negative.
A few stories dealt with a complaint about a strip-search. The department's internal affairs department found the strip-search violated state law, but the chief exonerated the officers involved.
After The Vindicator published that story, the mayor and safety service director ordered the chief to review the matter.
A new internal investigation has begun and the Mayor Hank Angelo has acknowledged "mistakes were made" in the department's search procedures.
Another case
Other stories dealt with a video tape taken at Soul 77 nightclub showing the chief and another officer in the nightclub's parking lot May 24, sticking their faces up close to the camera and making remarks.
The chief has said he and the officer were joking around, but the club owner LaShawn Ziegler, said he felt the officers were harassing the cameraman, one of his friends.
After that story was published, the mayor and safety-service director began a review of the chief's actions.
& lt;a href=mailto:sinkovich@vindy.com & gt;sinkovich@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;