YOUNGSTOWN Mahoning jail will be avoided for Koliser

The prosecutor will seek an aggravated murder indictment Thursday.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Once he's in town, Martin L. Koliser Jr., accused of killing Patrolman Michael T. Hartzell, won't wait for trial in the Mahoning County jail, where the dead officer's fianc & eacute;e works as a deputy.
"It wouldn't be appropriate to have him here under these circumstances," Sheriff Randall A. Wellington said today. "Trumbull's jail would be the closest, but nothing is official yet."
The sheriff said Trumbull County jail makes sense because until trial, Koliser, 30, will have to be available for hearings at Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Wellington said Deputy Stephanie Harchar, 23, Hartzell's fianc & eacute;e, works in the corrections division. The sheriff said several deputies have expressed concern about housing Koliser where she might have to interact with him.
Sheriff understands
Trumbull County Sheriff Thomas Altiere said he understands the need to avoid housing Koliser in Mahoning County's jail.
"We're so packed, but we'll do what we can to help out Mahoning County, a good neighbor to us." Altiere said he will check with his jail administrator and give Wellington a call.
Hartzell, 26, was buried Saturday at Resurrection Cemetery in Austintown. He was shot twice in the head and once in his bulletproof vest at 2:19 a.m. Tuesday when he and Koliser ended up at a red light downtown.
Koliser was driving a Lincoln that had been spotted outside a West Side bar, where Donell J. Rowe, 23, of Youngstown was shot in the chest. The Hartzell shooting, called an ambush by police, was witnessed by taxi drivers.
Koliser, who drove to Florida and arrived there about 5 p.m. Wednesday, is being held without bond at the Pinellas County jail in Clearwater pending transport to Ohio.
He surrendered to police late last Wednesday at a motel in Palm Harbor, Fla., after being lured there by a cooperating witness who told The Vindicator that Koliser confessed both shootings and showed no remorse.
Bringing him back
The Adult Parole Authority will make arrangements to bring Koliser to Ohio from Florida, but it's unclear when, Lt. Robin Lees, Youngstown Police Department spokesman, said today. Koliser was placed on parole last December when he was released from prison.
Lees said Detective Sgts. Jose Morales, John Kelty, Ron Rodway, all homicide detectives, and Patrolman John Patton, a crime lab technician, traveled to Florida Friday. The team, which returned Sunday, gathered what evidence they could, Lees said, declining to elaborate.
The gun used to shoot Hartzell has not been found, Lees said. It's undetermined if the gun also was used in the wounding of Rowe.
Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains said the parole authority, which has a hold on Koliser, may house him in a Columbus or Cincinnati prison. The authority will then relinquish him to Mahoning County this week, the prosecutor said.
Aggravated murder
Gains said he will seek an aggravated-murder indictment Thursday against Koliser with three specifications -- fleeing from an attempted murder (Rowe), homicide of a law enforcement officer, and killing or attempting to kill two or more people where one results in death. The prosecutor said he wants Koliser to face the death penalty.
It's possible that Koliser will be represented by public defenders in Columbus, not lawyers from this area certified for death penalty cases, Gains said. A judge will appoint the defense attorneys, he said.
Gains estimated it could take 12 to 18 months for the trial to begin. He anticipates "a slew" of motions by Koliser's defense attorneys.
"This is being done by the book," Gains said. "I want to make sure everything is done correctly, for the family and all concerned, and Donell."
meade@vindy.com