Off-duty Cleveland cop guilty of misdemeanor DUI, weapons charges in Avon Lake Municipal Court

An off-duty Cleveland police officer and North Ridgeville resident arrested for driving drunk while armed with a gun on Interstate 90 in Avon in March has pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Originally charged with a felony for having his service weapon in the car with him at the time of his arrest, Steven Schmitz pleaded "no contest" March 18 to a reduced charge of using weapons while intoxicated and DUI, both misdemeanors, in Avon Lake Municipal Court. Judge Allison Manning found Schmitz, 39, guilty of both charges. She sentenced him to 30 days in jail on the DUI and fined him $1,000, with 27 days of the jail term and $500 of the fine suspended on the condition he have no violations of the law for one year while on court-monitored probation. Schmitz's driver's license was suspended for one year, through March 1, 2026, with limited driving privileges. Instead of three days in jail, Schmitz was ordered to complete a three-day driver intervention program within 90 days of sentencing. Manning also sentenced Schmitz to 30 days in jail and fined him $500 on the weapons charge. All of the jail term and $250 of the fine were suspended on the condition Schmitz follow the conditions of his court-ordered probation on the DUI charge. Court costs were $194 total across the two cases. A misdemeanor speeding charge also was dismissed at the request of the Avon Lake city prosecutor, according to court records. Schmitz, of Tail Feather Drive in North Ridgeville, was doing 94 mph in a 65-mph zone in the westbound lanes of I-90, when his 2018 Mazda 3 was pulled over just before 4:30 a.m. March 1 by a State Highway Patrol trooper. Schmitz was wearing a Cleveland Police Department shirt and told the trooper he was going home after working at a Cleveland nightclub until 3 a.m. He appeared intoxicated, took one sobriety test but refused all other testing and was taken into custody. Schmitz's police-issued firearm was in its holster on the passenger seat and within reach, according to the arrest report. He was booked then released on a summons to appear in court at a later date. According to court documents, Schmitz was initially charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a felony, under a section of Ohio law that says "No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle if, at the time of that transportation or possession ... The person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.