O'Connell out of jail

FREMONT — A judge ordered a former sheriff's detective be released from jail Tuesday following his arraignment in Sandusky County Common Pleas Court.A grand jury indicted Sean O'Connell, 53, on four felonies, including three counts of tampering with evidence and one count of unauthorized use of a crime database. His indictment also included misdemeanor charges of falsification, coercion, dereliction of duty and obstructing official business.If convicted on all charges, O'Connell could face 11 years and three months in prison.The charge of unauthorized use of the crime database stems from when O'Connell used the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway to look up Register editor Matt Westerhold, Henry County prosecutor Gwen Howe-Gebers said."He ran (Matt Westerhold. He's the victim for) the unauthorized use of OLEG," she said.In July, Judge John Dewey appointed Howe-Gebers to serve as special prosecutor. She said Dewey has since recused himself and has been replaced by Sandusky County Judge Robert Hart.Every other charge relates to O'Connell's investigation into the murder of Heather Bogle, Howe-Gebers said."I've been working with (investigators), they've been the one's talking to all the individuals involved," Howe-Gebers said. "When (the investigators) finished their investigation, we met a couple of times, and then I presented to the grand jury."U.S. Marshals arrested O'Connell in Fremont shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday following the grand jury's indictment earlier that day. He was taken to the Erie County jail, where he remained incarcerated over the holiday weekend. On Tuesday, O'Connell appeared in court for his arraignment with former Sandusky County prosecutor John Meyers representing him."Sean and I both feel rather strange on this side of the courtroom," Meyers said. "It's a side I don't think he's ever been on and I've been on infrequently."O'Connell and Meyers have a long history together. They had worked together in 1999 after a sheriff's deputy was accused of causing the death of a 21-year-old man, who was killed by the compactor of a trash truck. Lee Naus was tossed into a dumpster after he'd passed out from a night of drinking in Fremont, but O'Connell never interviewed the deputy who allegedly put him in the dumpster.Meyers, who was prosecutor back in 1999, said in 2015 he didn't believe the deputy caused Naus' death, and, as a private attorney, represented the deputy that same year when the sheriff's office was accused of covering up information in that old investigation.It's unclear what the relationship between Meyers and the accused deputy was in 1999 when no charges were ever brought related to Lee Naus death, or why both Meyers and O'Connell failed to pursue an interview with him after multiple people suggested the deputy tossed Naus into the dumpster as a practical joke.No evidence was ever presented to a grand jury after that initial investigation of Naus' death.But Meyers said he was only sitting in at Tuesday's hearing. Another attorney, Chris Fiegl, will represent O'Connell at trial. Fiegl was unable to attend Tuesday's arraignment because he was in federal court for another case, Meyers said.A 2016 Lorain County sheriff's investigation of O'Connell determined he mishandled the Bogle investigation, and also provided Meyers with confidential financial documents from the sheriff's office in an apparent effort to force former Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer out of office. O'Connell wanted to succeed Overmyer as sheriff, the report states. Judge Hart set an initial trial date of March 27 in Fremont and released O'Connell on his own recognizance, provided he check in regularly with authorities.Deputies took O'Connell back to the Erie County jail on Tuesday following the court appearance. He spoke briefly to the Register upon his release."When this is all done and over with, maybe, Mr. Matt Westerhold and myself can sit down and have a friendly beer on a patio overlooking the lake and we can talk about a lot of this stuff."WATCH BELOW: O'Connell talks with the Register's Michael Harrington and Jilly Burns after his release from the Erie County jailWatch the full arraignment. Mishandled InvestigationHeather Bogle's body was found in the trunk of her car on April 10, 2015, a day after her family reported her missing after she failed to pick up her daughter from school. She'd been shot and bludgeoned.During O'Connell's 18 months as lead investigator into Bogle's homicide, he received criticism from family members and other law enforcement for bumbling the probe.Family members accused him of misleading them and not following up on possible leads they provided to him. At one point, some of the family asked the FBI for help and even wanted O'Connell removed from the case entirely.Other police leaders said O'Connell failed to follow basic investigatory techniques. At one point, former Clyde police Chief Bruce Gower advised O'Connell to stop feeling "butthurt" by criticism and focus on investigating.The Register also reported on contradictory information O'Connell provided to different media companies and reported at different times. Additionally, it related numerous accounts of alleged mistreat in past investigations he led.All three people O'Connell identified as suspects in the killing of Bogle, 28, were later exonerated.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterFormer Sandusky County sheriff's detective Sean O'Connell walks out of the Erie County jail on Tuesday after being released on his own recognizance after being indicted on several charges. O'Connell's defense lawyer John Myers and special prosecutor Gwen Howe-Gebers wrap up the court hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017. Escorted by several deputies, former detective Sean O'Connell enters the courtroom on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017 for his arraignment hearing after being indicted on several charges the previous Friday. Sandusky County Court of Common Pleas Judge Robert Hart reads the charges to the court during Sean O'Connell's arraignment on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017 in Fremont. Former Sandusky County sheriff's detective Sean O'Connell leans in to ask his defense attorney, John Myers, a question during O'Connell's arraignment hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017 in Fremont. John Myers, O'Connell's defense attorney, returns to his seat after approaching the stand during Tuesday's arraignment at the Sandusky County Court of Common Pleas in Fremont.