Spokesman says suspect was talking

At 18, the homicide suspect stole and torched his girlfriend's car.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- It wasn't an outright confession to killing a cop, but Martin L. Koliser Jr. made an admission to a Pinellas County deputy that can be used in court, a Florida spokesman says.
The discussion took place as Koliser was being transported from the Knight's Inn in Palm Harbor, Fla., to the 2,300-inmate Pinellas County jail in Clearwater, Sgt. Greg Tita said Thursday from his office at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department.
Tita said Koliser "made an admission [to the deputy] about an involvement in Ohio." He wouldn't elaborate.
He said discussions between Koliser and the person who tipped police to his whereabouts in Florida also will be beneficial in the case. Again, Tita declined to elaborate.
"It's not a happy ending, but it's a good ending," Tita said. "Society's worst is a cop killer."
Tita suggested Thursday that the informant has a good chance at claiming the $40,000 reward offered by the Youngstown Police Department for information leading to Koliser's arrest. Without the tipster, "We'd still have a wanted man," he added.
Lt. Rod Foley, YPD spokesman, said the chief and detectives will set up a committee to determine who is eligible and how the reward money will be split.
Police Chief Robert E. Bush Jr. sent e-mails Thursday to all the law enforcement agencies that aided in the manhunt, thanking them for their efforts.
What happened
Koliser, 30, is charged in the execution-style killing of city Patrolman Michael T. Hartzell, 26, at 2:19 a.m. Tuesday. The officer was two blocks from the police station on Boardman Street, his destination to drop off reports.
Foley said Koliser and Hartzell both ended up at the red light on Federal Plaza West at Vindicator Square, and the officer ran a check on the license plate number of the two-tone gray Lincoln Town Car Koliser was driving to see if the car had been stolen.
It wasn't a traffic stop; Hartzell hadn't activated the overhead lights or siren.
Koliser approached the cruiser and shot Hartzell three times, including twice in the head, before the officer could react, Foley said. At least three taxi drivers witnessed the shooting.
The Lincoln was later abandoned and Koliser stole the 1990 Oldsmobile Calais now in Florida, police said.
A memorial erected at the site, in front of the old Master's Tuxedo shop, was covered today with plastic, to protect it from the rain.
Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains, a former police officer, said he will seek the death penalty.
Earlier shooting
Koliser also is charged with the attempted murder of Donell Rowe, 23, of Salt Springs Road, who was hit in the chest during a shooting outside a bar on Mahoning Avenue on the city's West Side two hours before Hartzell was shot.
The two-tone Lincoln matched the description of the car seen leaving the Casaloma Gardens bar.
A team of YPD detectives and a crime lab officer were in Florida today.
Tita said the 1990 Oldsmobile is locked in a secure garage at the sheriff's department forensics lab. The car will be made available only to the Youngstown officers, Tita said.
U.S. marshals are expected to transport Koliser to Youngstown early next week. He's being held on Ohio and FBI warrants, including one for parole violation.
Koliser appeared before a judge Thursday afternoon in Florida for an advisory hearing. The judge advised the prisoner that he is being held without bond.
Koliser, whom Foley called a predator with a history of violence, began his criminal career at 18. He's been in and out of jails and prisons ever since and has been on parole since December.
Koliser's name triggered a memory with Capt. Alvin Ware and Lt. Kevin Johnson at the Youngstown Fire Department arson bureau. On Thursday, they dug out an arson report from October 1991, when Koliser was 18.
Arson case
At the time, Koliser lived with an older woman on the South Side, Johnson said. He said Koliser was living off the older woman and had another girlfriend.
Koliser stole the older woman's 1987 Oldsmobile Calais and took off toward Gibson Street, traveling down the hill to Alpine Avenue, near the city sewage treatment plant.
The car bounced off the fence at the plant several times, doing several hundred dollars' worth of damage to the fence.
Johnson said Koliser painted "black power" on the side of the car before setting it on fire. He thought the slogan would throw suspicion on someone else.
Koliser was indicted on felony charges, which were later kicked back to municipal court as misdemeanors. He was found guilty of arson and receiving stolen property, and a gun charge was dismissed.
Then-Judge Patrick V. Kerrigan sentenced Koliser to 180 days in jail on each conviction, with both sentences to run at the same time.
meade@vindy.com