KOLISER CASE Question of venue is mulled

Martin Koliser wants out of solitary confinement.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Lawyers for Martin L. Koliser have not yet decided whether to ask that their client's trial be moved outside Mahoning County.
"It's always something you consider in a case like this, but no decision has been made," said Atty. William J. Mooney of the Ohio Public Defender's Office.
Koliser, 30, of Boardman, is being held in the Summit County Jail while he awaits trial for aggravated murder and other felony charges in Mahoning County.
Authorities say Koliser shot and killed Youngstown Patrolman Michael Hartzell, 26, during the early morning hours of April 29. He's also accused of shooting 23-year-old Donell J. Rowe outside a West Side bar about two hours earlier.
Koliser was in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday, where his trial was scheduled for July 28. Lawyers also discussed exchange of information among both sides in preparation for trial.
Mooney said the amount of pretrial publicity surrounding the case is why he and his co-counsel, Jerry McHenry, have considered asking for a change of venue, but they haven't yet discussed it with Koliser.
Solitary confinement
During the hearing, Mooney mentioned an issue at the jail that needed to be addressed, but did not elaborate.
Afterward, Prosecutor Paul Gains said Koliser has apparently been isolated from other inmates at the jail since he was taken there two weeks ago.
"Mr. Koliser told his lawyers that he hasn't done anything to be in isolation," Gains said.
McHenry and Mooney asked that Koliser be placed among the general inmate population if he hasn't broken any rules.
Gains said he has no problem with Koliser's being allowed to be with other inmates, as long as he is in no danger or does not pose a danger to other inmates.
A spokesman at the Summit County Jail would not say whether Koliser was still in isolation, or why he was placed there in the first place.
Koliser is being held in Summit County because it's a shorter drive for the public defenders to visit him, and because Hartzell's fianc & eacute;e is a deputy in the corrections division of the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department.
Obstruction charges
Frank A. Howley Jr., 22, of Donald Avenue, also was in court Wednesday. Accused of hampering police in their efforts to catch Koliser, he is one of four people charged with obstructing justice.
Judge James C. Evans set Howley's bond at $100,000 cash or surety. If Howley is able to post bond and get out of jail to await trial, the judge ordered that he be confined to his home on electronically monitored house arrest.
The other three suspects -- Forrest A. Rupp Jr., Jonathan A. Kuzan and Lamar Butler -- were to appear before Judge Evans today.
bjackson@vindy.com