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Former Cortland police chief Mink pleads guilty to reduced charge
By Ed Runyan
CORTLAND
Former Cortland Police Chief Gary M. Mink, of Cortland, pleaded guilty Monday to a reduced charge of reckless operation for driving off of state Route 46 in Bazetta Township on June 24, damaging his car on a culvert, then leaving the scene.
At the hearing in Central District Court, Mink also pleaded guilty to failure to maintain reasonable control, a minor misdemeanor.
The reckless-operation conviction was a reduction from a first-degree misdemeanor hit-skip, leaving the scene of an accident, to a fourth degree misdemeanor.
Visiting Judge David Fuhry of Geauga County fined Mink $250 for the reckless operation and $50 for the reasonable control charges. Mink also had to pay court costs. He was not placed on probation.
Chris Becker, assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, handled the case Monday but said he could not comment on the reason for the reduction in the charge because he was only filling in for Deena DeVico, the regular Central District Court prosecutor.
Mink’s Jeep left the roadway at 6:33 p.m. near Tamer Win Golf Course, traveled 210 feet through the right-side ditch and hit a culvert, leaving behind parts of the car.
Mink, 61, then continued north on Route 46, apparently with a flat tire, and continued 2 miles to his home in Cortland. He was not injured.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol, which investigated the accident, said Cortland police followed a mud trail to Mink’s home 2 miles away and located the vehicle.
A Cortland police report says its officers were initially asked to check for a yellow Jeep driving erratically because Bazetta police were busy on another call.
Cortland police spotted Mink’s orange Jeep with a flat tire and a piece of the trim missing at his house and spoke with him in his driveway. He “seemed to be intoxicated,” the report says.
A sergeant with the Ohio State Highway Patrol later responded to Mink’s home to question him. Mink “refused to come answer the door,” according to a highway patrol report.
Mink agreed to meet with troopers at 3 p.m. the next day at a Cortland body shop to give a statement.
In the statement, Mink said, “I had planned to notify police within 24 hours.” When asked why he left the scene, he said “there was no other vehicles involved and I knew I had 24 hours to call it in.”
Mink told the sergeant he had consumed one drink at noon and had three to four glasses of vodka after the crash. When asked whether he did anything to avoid the crash, Mink answered: “It happened so fast.”
Mink was Cortland police chief until about 2012.