Prosecutor wants no bail for suspect in officers’ killing
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien filed a motion Monday night asking that the man accused of killing two Westerville police officers be held in jail without bail or bond pending the outcome of his criminal case.
O’Brien emailed a copy of the motion to the county public defenders office and will deliver it to defense counsel at Quentin L. Smith’s first court appearance Tuesday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court on two counts of aggravated murder in the fatal shootings Feb. 10 of Westerville Police Officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli.
O’Brien’s motion states that Smith, 30, should be held without bond because he faces potential death penalty charges and has proven he is a threat to public safety. The prosecutor pointed out that as a convicted felon for a prior burglary, it was illegal for Smith to be in possession of any gun.
“This defendant is a danger to the community and has no respect for the law or officers of the law and should be held without bond” under a section of the Ohio Constitution, O’Brien said.
Smith, 30, is accused of shooting the officers as they entered his residence on Cross Wind Drive in response to a 911 hangup call. Smith was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with one or both officers and was hospitalized at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center. He was transported Sunday afternoon to the county jail.
“This defendant is a danger to the community and has no respect for the law or officers of the law and should be held without bond.”
— Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien