Comerzan trial begins in St. Charles
A man accused in the death of a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper will stand trial for the second time in a year.
Serghei Comerzan, 22, is accused of fleeing from Trooper James Bava in August 2015 on Route FF in Audrain County. Bava was attempting to pull over Comerzan for speeding when he lost control of his cruiser and crashed.
ABC17 News was in the courtroom when Judge Ted House declared a mistrial in May 2017 after nearly 13 hours of jury deliberations. Jurors said they could not come to a unanimous decision.
This time around, Comerzan faces a new jury and downgraded charges. He was tried in 2017 for second-degree murder and felony resisting arrest. Friday, prosecutors reduced the murder charge to involuntary manslaughter.
The trial began Monday morning with opening statements.
Prosecutors said Comerzan knowingly fled from Bava and caused him to crash.
Comerzan’s attorneys argued that he did not know Bava was behind him. They said the investigation was conducted under the misconception that Bava was sitting in another trooper’s personal driveway on Route FF before he began to conduct the stop. The investigation eventually revealed Bava was driving west near the driveway and then saw Comerzan.
Highway Patrol Sergeant Matt Koch testified that Bava most likely had his sirens and lights on when he was attempting to pull Comerzan over. He was part of the initial investigation and had taken photos of the car post-crash. He testified that the mechanism that turns on the lights and sirens was clicked on.
The jury was taken outside the courthouse to view the car Bava crashed, and compare it to an undamaged one. Koch turned on the lights on the undamaged patrol car and the jury was allowed to look at how that compared to Bava’s car.
Corporal Bruce McLaughlin, Bava’s field training officer, was asked about the use of radar technology and the training done for it. The jury also watched a 10 minute recording of McLaughlin driving to the scene of the crash in August, 2015.
Sergeant Doug McPike, who oversees the troopers in Audrain County, testified about Route FF in Audrain County. He said it was a hilly, curvy and dangerous road.
The jury also heard from witnesses who said they saw a motorcycle speeding on Route FF that morning in August.
