Parole officer of Cottrell's suspected killer reinstated

COLUMBUS - The parole officer who had been put on administrative leave in the wake of the fatal shooting of a police officer has been reinstated.

According to a statement from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, parole officer William Baer was reinstated after an investigation revealed he had not violated any "any DRC policies or procedures during his supervision of Herschel Jones."

Baer had been placed on leave following the fatal shooting of Danville police officer and Newark native Thomas Cottrell Jr. last month.

Jones was charged Monday in Knox County Common Pleas Court with aggravated murder with a death penalty specification in Cottrell's death.

He had been released from prison in April, according to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction records. He was listed as being under the supervision of the Adult Parole Authority.

Baer, who had been with the parole authority since 1995, was supervising Jones.

An earlier report from 10TV indicated one of Jones' relatives called the parole officer a week before Cottrell's death to alert the officer to Jones' reported drug use and alleged abuse of his girlfriend.

The investigation further revealed the phone call Jones’ sister claimed she made to Officer Baer did not happen, according to the DRC statement.

In Baer's last annual employee evaluation, it stated he was meeting expectations. In addition, under the goals and performance expectations summary, it was noted that "(Baer) works in a rural area and maintains a caseload of approximately 80 cases between Knox/Holmes counties. Bill has really worked hard at submitting early termination's on offenders as soon as they become eligible. This has helped him maintain his caseload numbers."

The review from 2014 noted that Baer had a caseload of 65 cases.

Jones is accused of shooting Cottrell on Jan. 17 behind the Danville Municipal Building. Jones was located several hours later and arrested by police for a violation of his parole.

Under Ohio law, killing a police officer is one of the aggravating factors for a potential death sentence.

Jones also was indicted on charges of tampering with evidence; three counts of grand theft of a firearm; one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle; and charges of assault, kidnapping and aggravated burglary.

Some of the charges date back to November 2015, when Jones is suspected of robbing a person at gunpoint in a home in the Mount Vernon area.