A judge in Mentor denied bond on Monday for the man charged in the hit-and-run death of a city police officer.
Brian Anthony, 24, pleaded not guilty to failure to stop after an accident and tampering with evidence, both felonies. Police say more charges could be coming after blood and urine test results come back.
Patrolman Mathew Mazany was helping with a traffic stop when a motorist struck him on State Route 2 around 1 a.m. on Sunday, police say. He was pronounced dead at TriPoint Medical Center.
Mentor Police Chief Kevin Knight said the other officer was not hurt, and the occupants of the stopped vehicle were treated for minor injuries.
Knight said a tip led officers to a damaged Jeep at Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve and Marina Sunday morning. There they arrested Anthony after his father told him over the phone to turn himself in, Knight said.
Knight said Anthony was with friends at the marina and told police he wasn’t sure if he had hit something.
Anthony’s attorney, Hector Martinez, said in court that his client had no prior felony or DUI record. According to city court records, Officer Mazany cited Anthony for a traffic violation in 2012.
Outside Mentor’s civic center, people placed flowers at a memorial for Mazany. An American flag with a single blue stripe was flying on Route 2 near the spot where the crash took place.
Mazany, 41, leaves behind a son, among other family members. He served in the department for 14 years.
“He loved the midnight shift, he was out there all the time, he liked working with the younger officers, which he was doing on that traffic stop,” Knight said.
Knight said drivers should slow down or pull over when they see flashing emergency lights on the road.
“People need to get off their phones, pay attention to their driving, follow the laws, slow down, and that will give us a little bit more of a chance,” he said.
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