YOUNGSTOWN Man pleads to aiding suspect

All four men are expected to testify against Martin Koliser next month.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The last of four men accused of helping Martin L. Koliser in the hours just after a city policeman was shot this spring has admitted his role and now awaits his sentence.
Lemar Butler, 22, of Stratmore Avenue, pleaded guilty Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to one count of attempted obstructing justice. Prosecutors made no recommendation for sentencing, leaving that up to the discretion of Judge James C. Evans.
Butler was originally charged with obstructing justice, a third-degree felony. The charge was reduced to the fourth-degree felony of attempted obstruction in exchange for his plea of guilty.
The judge ordered a background check on Butler before sentencing. Under Ohio law, Butler can be placed on probation or could get up to 18 months in prison, said assistant prosecutor Jay Macejko.
At the request of defense attorney Robert J. Rohrbaugh II, Butler will remain free on bond while he awaits sentencing. He has been confined to his home on electronically monitored house arrest, which will be modified to allow him to work until he returns to court.
Case background
Butler, Frank A. Howley Jr., Forrest A. Rupp Jr. and Jonathan A. Kuzan were indicted in May on obstructing justice charges. Police say the men are friends of Koliser, who faces felony charges in the shooting death of Youngstown patrolman Michael T. Hartzell and the wounding of Donell T. Rowe in April.
Authorities say the men each had a role in either aiding Koliser after the shootings, or hampering police efforts to find him.
Butler, they said, paid for a taxi to take Rupp from Austintown to Kuzan's apartment in Youngstown. Rupp had been stranded in Austintown because he'd met up with Koliser there and allowed Koliser to take his car, which Koliser drove to Florida.
When police later questioned Butler, he denied knowing Koliser or anything about his whereabouts, which constituted the obstruction charge, Macejko said.
Butler was the last of the Koliser acquaintances in the matter to make a plea agreement. The others have already pleaded and been sentenced.
Other sentences
Howley, 22, of Youngstown, was sentenced in July to 18 months in prison, and was set free in August after Judge Evans granted his request for judicial release.
Kuzan, 23, of Youngstown, was sentenced to two years in prison, and Rupp, 23, of Boardman, was sentenced to three years behind bars.
As part of their plea agreements, all four men agreed to testify against Koliser at his trial, which is scheduled for Oct. 14 before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum.
Koliser's charges include aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder. He could receive the death penalty if he is convicted of the aggravated murder charges.
bjackson@vindy.com