YOUNGSTOWN No change of venue in Koliser murder trial

Lawyers said they're prepared for the mid-October trial.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Martin L. Koliser Jr.'s trial in the killing of a Youngstown policeman and the wounding of a city man is going forward next month in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Koliser, 30, of Boardman, faces felony charges including aggravated murder, attempted murder and escape. He could get the death penalty if he is convicted of the aggravated murder charge.
Authorities say he shot and killed Patrolman Michael T. Hartzell in the early hours of April 29, and that he wounded 23-year-old Donell J. Rowe with a gunshot outside a West Side bar about two hours earlier.
A pretrial was Friday in common pleas court, where lawyers for both sides told Judge R. Scott Krichbaum that they are prepared for the Oct. 14 trial date.
Venue
Koliser's attorneys, who are from the Ohio Public Defender's Office, had said in the past that they might ask that the trial be moved to another county. They feared that the amount of publicity surrounding Hartzell's death could make it impossible to seat an impartial jury here.
But Atty. William J. Mooney said Friday that the defense does not expect that to be a problem and they're prepared to move ahead.
Koliser, whose once-shaved head now is covered with dark hair, sat quietly at the defense table during the hearing, fingering the chain that bound his wrists together.
Mooney, Koliser and assistant prosecutor Jay Macejko met behind closed doors with Judge Krichbaum after the hearing to discuss matters related to security during the trial.
bjackson@vindy.com