Area man escapes from house arrest

The Beaver Township man posted pond Aug. 25 and was released from jail.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Beaver Township man facing 19 charges from a two-county police chase has escaped from house arrest.
Community Corrections Association, which was monitoring the house arrest of Christopher Aczel, 33, filed a report Wednesday with Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. The report said Aczel tampered with his electronic transmitter at 2:42 a.m. Saturday.
CCA contacted Aczel on Monday and requested he report to have the transmitter checked, but he failed to show up. His mother told CCA he left her Boardman home where he was staying while she was running an errand and she didn't know where he was.
Judge Maureen A. Sweeney set bond at $250,000, with 10 percent required to be released, and ordered house arrest for Aczel on Aug. 23. He was to be confined to home except a half-hour before and after court hearings. He wasn't allowed to work and had to get court approval to make medical appointments. Aczel posted the bond on Aug. 25 and was released from the Mahoning County jail.
Aczel had been held on $1 million bond. Atty. Ted Macejko Jr., who is representing Aczel, filed a motion arguing for a more reasonable bond and said his client wasn't a flight risk.
About the chase
Police say Aczel led them on a chase in July. His vehicle rammed an unmarked cruiser in Canfield containing three officers, police said. Officers had tried to serve a search warrant on Aczel for other charges.
The pursuit led to Portage County, where Aczel abandoned his vehicle and fled, police said. He surrendered a few days later.
Authorities also allege that on July 20 he attempted to remove a weapon from an officer and tried to escape from detention.
A county grand jury also returned a secret indictment against Aczel on July 14 on several drug charges.