WARREN Trumbull County 911 Director Ernest Cook on Thursday pleaded no contest in Eastern District Court to two misdemeanor charges linked to a Brookfield Township accident on July 14, 2018, where a teen skateboarder ran into his car.
Cook, 69, 7144 Wildwood Drive, Brookfield, was charged with loss of physical control under the influence, a first-degree misdemeanor, and failure to report an accident, a minor misdemeanor. Judge Marty D. Nosich found Cook guilty and on the first charge, gave him a suspended 180-day jail term; a $1,000 fine of which $500 was suspended; and placed him on a six-month probation.
On the second charge, Cook was fined $150 plus $45 in court costs.
Justin Herdman
As United States attorney for the Northern Ohio District, Justin Herdman said his chief priority was to focus on saving lives.
Herdman took some time last week to look back on his four years as the top federal cop in northern Ohio, at what he did right and what he could have improved upon.
“What we did best in this office was to put deserving people in jail and take their money,” Herdman said. “That was our core competency being in the law enforcement business.”
Friday was the Ohio native’s last day on the job. He handed the office reins over to his first assistant, U.S. Attorney Bridget Brennan.