Former PIB officer Korossy arraigned on felonies
PORT CLINTON – Former Put-in-Bay police officer Steve Korossy turned himself in Friday morning and was arraigned on 14 felony counts of misusing Ohio’s law enforcement database and one misdemeanor count of falsification, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Korossy was indicted on the charges by an Ottawa County grand jury on July 15, and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
His current residence is in Florida. He was briefly employed by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in Florida before being terminated after the indictment was announced.
Magistrate James VanEerten set Korossy’s bond at $7,500 and ordered him not to leave Ohio, despite a request to the contrary from his defense attorney, Kevin Spellacy.
"He has children enrolled who are supposed to start school this August in Florida," Spellacy said.
Spellacy asked the court to allow Korossy to travel back from his out-of-state home for any necessary future court appearances as well as either personal bond or a 10 percent provision, all of which was denied.
"He did not turn himself in immediately," Special Prosecutor Margaret Tomaro said. "He was informed within an hour of the indictment, and he took well over a week to have his attorney contact me and then arrange to turn himself in."
Korossy also was ordered to provide a verifiable Ohio address before he could be released. Spellacy explained that Korossy does own a property in Ohio but that it is being rented and is unavailable for him to stay at.
After the arraignment, Korossy was incarcerated at the Ottawa County Detention Facility.
A pretrial hearing was scheduled for Oct. 14, with a final pretrial on Nov. 4. His jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 17.
If convicted, Korossy faces up to 14 years in prison.