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Coroner, BCI investigate Struthers inmate suicide after disorderly conduct arrest
By SARAH LEHR
STRUTHERS
Peter Bugno had been joking with police just hours before officials found him dead in his holding cell, said a city police captain and interim chief.
Bugno, 43, of Boardman, was in the city jail after his arrest early Thursday on a charge of disorderly conduct. The Mahoning County Coroner’s Office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are investigating the death.
Capt. Patrick Bundy, acting chief while Chief Tim Roddy is on vacation, said Bugno was not on suicide watch. He hanged himself.
Bundy said Bugno made jokes and seemed to be in good spirits before his death. Bundy declined to disclose what Bugno used to hang himself, citing the ongoing investigation. Bugno did not leave a note, Bundy said.
Officials found Bugno dead about 8:40 a.m. Thursday when someone went to serve him breakfast, Bundy said.
There was a suicide in the jail in 2005 and another in 2006, Bundy said.
Detective Jeff Lewis said Bugno had been booked into the jail about 5:30 a.m. Lewis said it is protocol to check on inmates every hour and said officers had followed protocol.
Bundy said he last checked on Bugno about 6:20 a.m. Bundy said it is protocol to check in on inmates “about every hour or two.”
Bugno and Donald Brocious, 53, of Youngstown were arrested about 4:30 a.m. Thursday near Youngstown-Poland Road, according to a police report.
A police report states that, while on patrol, Officer Jeremy Cramer saw two unidentified men near Semach’s Northside Television. According to the report, Cramer yelled at the men to stop, but they took off running. Cramer then radioed for assistance from Capt. Michael Leonard.
The report says officers caught up with Brocious, who was “hiding in a bush.” The report said Brocious smelled as if he had been drinking.
Brocious denied running from the police and said he was waiting for a cab, the report states.
Officers placed Brocious in the back of a police car, then located Bugno behind a trash receptacle at another Youngstown-Poland Road business, the report states.
Bugno, who also smelled as if he had been drinking, denied knowing Brocious and said he was not running from police, according to the report.
Bugno told the officers he had been at Tangier Bar and Pizza, though police noted the bar had closed at 2 a.m.
Police arrested both men on a fourth-degree misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct while intoxicated and took them to jail.
In response to questions about the justification for the arrests, Bundy said, “It was suspicious because it was 4 at night, not 4 in the afternoon. An hour later, we found that a building was broken into. ... We’ve had a rash of car break-ins. In this business, you can’t just wait for something to happen.”
Brocious was released from jail after posting his bond, set at 10 percent of $1,000. He will be arraigned Monday in Struthers Municipal Court.
Bugno was unable to post $100 for his bond. He was to have been arraigned Friday.