Former cop pleads guilty to 26 felonies

MARBLEHEAD — A former Marblehead police officer pleaded guilty on Friday to misusing a police database. Michael Scherer, 34, of Perrysburg, pleaded guilty to 26 counts of unauthorized use of Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway, each of which is a fifth-degree felony. Scherer was accused of using the state police database to search for information on people at times when his shift had ended and on days he was scheduled off of work. He was originally indicted in August. As part of his plea, no counts were lowered in severity and none were dismissed. Scherer did agree to pay all court costs associated with the prosecution. The state agreed to remain silent on sentencing, leaving that to Ottawa County Common Pleas Court Judge Bruce Winters. Scherer's sentencing hearing is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on March 7 in Ottawa County Courtroom No. 1, according to court documents. He is facing up to one year in prison and up to a $2,500 fine on each count. Prison time and fines are not mandatory, according to a guilty plea form. The indictment accuses Scherer of illegally utilizing the police database in each month between January 2022 and June 2024. As a convicted felon, Scherer will be disqualified from possessing a firearm and will no longer be allowed to work as a peace officer. A troubled officer Scherer was fired on July 22. A suspension notice in his personnel file alleged that he ran "124 inquiries through (state database) outside the scope of law enforcement." Scherer, who joined Marblehead police in 2021, had a troubled history with the department before the unauthorized use of the criminal database was discovered, according to the documents the village provided in July in response to a public records request from the Register. "I have received numerous complaints from some residents at Bay Point Resort and their management company regarding the extensive time spent at Bay Point on Bay Point Boulevard by the Marblehead police on midnight shift," Marblehead police Chief Kenn Thellman told Scherer in a July 12 disciplinary notice. "There have also been reports of an unidentified female in the police car as well." The cruiser on some nights was parked on Bay Point Boulevard "in excess of five hours," Thellmann wrote. The midnight shift for road patrol is from midnight until 6 a.m. Scherer responded in writing to the notice from the chief. He said the amount of time he spent at Bay Point was being "exaggerated." He also stated that there were no "excessive displays of affection" while the woman was in the cruiser with him. "As you had me do before on previous occasions of a 'ride along,' I have signed release and waiver forms for an individual who rode with me for a couple hours on a few days this week," Scherer wrote back. Scherer was a Toledo police officer until 2019 but resigned after a disciplinary investigation determined he engaged in "conduct unbecoming an officer" and "abuse of authority," according to a background summary the village provided. The report does not provide any detail about what took place to prompt that investigation. He also served as a part-time Woodville police officer but quit that job after he "allegedly lied to a dispatcher" about picking up and dropping off equipment when he was actually 'giving a woman a ride to a hotel,'" the background check states. Register executive editor Matt Westerhold contributed reporting.