'I can kill and I don't care,' the convicted killer said before sentencing.

'I can kill and I don't care,' the convicted killer said before sentencing.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Martin L. Koliser Jr. said he wanted no mercy -- Judge R. Scott Krichbaum showed him none.
"I never thought I'd meet somebody that has no redeeming value," Judge Krichbaum said. "I guess I can't say that anymore."
At 9:34 a.m. today, Judge Krichbaum, of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, sentenced Koliser to death by lethal injection in an emotional hearing. The execution is scheduled for March 9, 2004.
Koliser, 30, of Boardman, was convicted last week of aggravated murder with death penalty specifications for killing Youngstown Patrolman Michael Hartzell as the officer sat in his cruiser just before 2:20 a.m. April 29.
Hartzell, 26, was investigating a shooting some two hours earlier outside the Casaloma Gardens bar on Mahoning Avenue, in which Koliser was the suspect. He had stopped behind Koliser's car at a traffic light at West Federal Street and Vindicator Square.
Witnesses said Koliser got out of his car with a gun in his hand, walked quickly back to the cruiser and fired three shots through the driver's-side window, two of them fatally striking Hartzell in the head.
A third shot hit Hartzell in the chest but was stopped by his bulletproof vest.
'The acts of a coward'
Judge Krichbaum reflected on Koliser's comments to friends after the shooting that he was a "warrior," but the judge pointed out that the police officer never had time to draw his own gun to defend himself.
"You gave him no chance; those aren't the acts of a warrior, those are the acts of a coward," Judge Krichbaum said.
Koliser remained silent throughout his trial, refusing to allow his lawyers to present a defense or to present any evidence that might have persuaded jurors to save his life. In a rambling statement this morning, he offered no apologies.
"I hate everybody," Koliser said. "I hate society. I don't want to be a part of society and I have demonstrated that. The sad thing is, that I can kill and I don't care."
Hartzell's father, Howard Hartzell, said the statement was one of the coldest, most unfeeling he has ever heard. He thought the death penalty is appropriate for Koliser.
Prosecutor Paul Gains and assistant prosecutor Jay Macejko agreed.
"This man is the poster child for the death penalty based on what he said here today," Gains said.
"Rest in peace, Michael Hartzell," Macejko said. "Your killer has been brought to justice."
Attempted murder
Koliser also was convicted of attempted murder for the Casaloma Gardens shooting, in which he fired one shot into Donell Rowe's chest after the two had argued. Rowe, 23, of East Avondale Avenue, was hospitalized for 16 days but survived.
Koliser also was sentenced to 13 years in prison for shooting Rowe, who was not in the courtroom today.
Rowe's father, Larry Allen, spoke to Judge Krichbaum about the pain his family experienced because of Rowe's injuries. He ended his remarks to the judge by saying "Goodbye" -- which was the last thing Koliser said to Rowe before shooting him.
The same jury that convicted Koliser last week of shooting Hartzell and Rowe deliberated just three hours Wednesday before recommending that he die by lethal injection. The panel could have opted instead that he be imprisoned for life with no chance of parole, or that he be given life in prison with parole eligibility after serving at least 25 or 30 years.
When a jury recommends the death penalty, Ohio law requires the trial judge to independently review the evidence and determine whether it is an appropriate punishment. The judge then has the choice of either affirming the death sentence or imposing one of the prison options.
If the jury had recommended life in prison, the law does not allow the judge to overrule it and impose the death penalty.
No defense witnesses
Koliser's attorneys, William J. Mooney and Jerry McHenry, called no witnesses in Koliser's defense during the trial, and did not call witnesses during Wednesday's mitigation hearing because Koliser did not want them to put on a defense.
Mooney and McHenry are from the Ohio Public Defender's Office in Columbus. They were appointed to represent Koliser at taxpayers' expense.
After sentencing, McHenry said he had never before tried a death-penalty case in which the defendant wanted to put up no fight at all.
"This was novel, that's for sure," McHenry said.
bjackson@vindy.com