KOLISER CASE 2 plead guilty in aiding suspect

The men have promised to testify against Martin Koliser Jr.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- As Jonathan Kuzan watched TV news accounts of a Youngstown policeman shot to death in his cruiser in April, the man suspected of pulling the trigger was showering upstairs in Kuzan's bathroom.
Kuzan said he didn't know at that time that Martin L. Koliser Jr. was the suspect.
"He would never have come in my house if I had known it," Kuzan told a judge Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Kuzan, 23, of Youngstown, and Forrest A. Rupp Jr., 23, of Boardman, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count each of obstructing justice. Judge James C. Evans sentenced Kuzan to two years in prison and sentenced Rupp to three years.
In exchange for the pleas, assistant prosecutor Jay Macejko said he will offer no opposition when Rupp and Kuzan apply for early release from prison on shock probation.
Must testify
For their part, Rupp and Kuzan must testify against Koliser when his case goes to trial. They also must testify, if necessary, against 22-year-old Lemar Butler of Youngstown, who also is charged with obstructing justice.
Rupp and Kuzan were among four men indicted in May on charges of inhibiting police during their search for Koliser in the hours after city Patrolman Michael T. Hartzell was shot and killed April 29.
Koliser, who also is suspected of shooting Donell T. Rowe outside a Mahoning Avenue bar two hours before the Hartzell shooting, was eventually caught in Florida and faces charges including aggravated murder. Rowe survived the shooting.
A fourth man, Frank Howley Jr., already has pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and is awaiting sentencing by Judge Evans. Macejko has recommended that he be placed on probation.
Macejko said Koliser met up with Rupp after the two shootings, and Rupp drove him to "various places" in the county. He declined to be specific because the case against Koliser is still pending.
One of the places Rupp did take Koliser was Kuzan's house on Oakwood Avenue, where Koliser took a shower and changed his clothes. Macejko said Kuzan took the muddy clothes Koliser was wearing when he arrived, placed them in a plastic bag and put them in the trash.
When police later questioned Kuzan about Koliser being at the house, Kuzan denied that he'd been there and denied having his dirty clothes.
Defense attorney Thomas Zena, who represented both men, said Kuzan came clean with police when they returned several hours later, and gave them the clothes.
"Mr. Kuzan has no love for Koliser," Zena said. "He barely knows Koliser."
He said Kuzan lied at first about Koliser's being at his house because he did not want to get Rupp in trouble. Zena said Rupp and Kuzan are cousins.
Kuzan said that at the time Koliser was at his house, newscasts were not identifying Koliser as the suspect in the shootings. Police originally identified a different man as the suspect in the Hartzell shooting.
Both Kuzan and Rupp apologized for their roles. Both said they never intended to help or harbor Koliser, though they admitted their actions hampered police attempts to find him.
"I'm sorry I'm here today," Rupp said. "I never want to go through this again."