Man arrested year and half after officer's hit-skip death

The Associated Press

COLUMBUS - A man charged with the hit-and-run death of a police officer a year and a half ago had been a suspect for several months, his attorney said yesterday.

Police had interviewed Marconi Terrell Harris extensively, attorney Charles Blum said. He said he does not know what evidence police have against his client or where they got it.

Police would not say what led them to Harris, who was charged with fleeing the accident that killed Lt. Chris Claypool, a 13-year police veteran with a wife and two children.

Claypool, 39, was struck early April 29, 2001, while walking across an intersection to investigate a minor traffic accident. Witnesses did not get a good look at the car because it was dark.

"This was like a giant jigsaw puzzle. These guys had to put a million pieces together," Deputy Chief John Rockwell said.

Police had repeatedly asked the public for help solving the case, seeking reports of cars that looked like they had been damaged. Hundreds of tips were received on telephone lines staffed around the clock, and a reward fund totaling more than $20,000 was established.

Officers volunteered their time off the job to work the phone lines and to search for suspects. "We got hundreds and hundreds of tips. We ran all those tips down. Most recently, we settled on Harris," Sgt. Ron Roberts said.

Harris, 28, of Columbus, was arrested Tuesday night while riding as a passenger in a pickup truck. He was charged with hit-skip and cocaine possession and scheduled to be arraigned today in Franklin County Municipal Court, Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said.

Harris has been arrested previously on drug, assault and weapons charges, according to the state prisons department and court records.

Although it was dark when the crash occurred, some witnesses said they thought the car that hit Claypool was a metallic, dark green color, and green paint chips were found at the scene, said Sgt. Earl Smith, a police spokesman.

The maximum penalty on the hit-skip charge is a year in prison and $2,500 fine. The drug charge is punishable by up to 1 1/2 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.