CLEVELAND, Ohio — The fate of a 65-year-old man who prosecutors say wasn’t wearing pants or shoes when he tried to kidnap a 10-year-old boy from a Strongsville ice rink now lies in the hands of a Cuyahoga County judge.
Judge Michael Jackson is expected to announce a verdict on Tuesday in the bench trial of Martin Schellentrager, a North Royalton man whose attorneys say suffers from depression, anxiety and a condition that leads to passing out.
Schellentrager is charged with one count of kidnapping, a first-degree felony, in the July 10 incident at Iceland USA. He faces up to 11 years in prison if he’s convicted.
Prosecutors said during the two-day trial this week that the boy was at the ice rink as his father and was standing in the lobby when Schellentrager walked up to the boy.
Schellentrager wrapped his arms around the boy’s shoulders and walked toward the front doors, prosecutors said. The two made it about 20 feet before the boy’s father intervened and grabbed his son, prosecutors say. Schellentrager walked outside.
Witnesses called police. Officers spoke to employees of the ice rink, a witness, the boy and his father, who all told the officers that Schellentrager tried to drag the boy out of the rink, according to court records.
Police found him in the parking lot of a neighboring Holiday Inn, according to court records.
Schellentrager did not deny the story, police said. He was arrested and taken to the Strongsville jail.
A grand jury indicted him that same month, and a judge set his bond at $100,000.
That bond was reduced to $35,000, and Schellentrager was released in October and allowed to live with his brother, who is a psychologist, according to court records.
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