LISBON — Another hearing is set for 1 p.m. June 11 in the case against a former East Palestine police officer accused of allegedly making threats against a judge, the prosecutor’s office and three others.

Matthew Elser, 45, Market Street, Columbiana, wasn’t present and no hearing was held on the record Friday. He reportedly remains at Heartland Behavioral Healthcare in Massillon.

Retired Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Edward O’Farrell, who was appointed as a visiting judge for the case, met behind closed doors with Elser’s appointed defense attorney, Rhys Cartwright-Jones, and Special Prosecutor Edward A. Czopur, who was assigned to the case.

Elser has never faced arraignment on the charges. In October, Elser was ordered hospitalized at Heartland after O’Farrell found he was not competent to stand trial, noting that he was not capable of understanding the nature and objective of the legal proceedings against him and not capable of assisting in his defense of the criminal charges.

At that time, O’Farrell also found a reasonable probability that the defendant could be restored to competency to stand trial within the six-month time period allow by law.

In March, Elser was found competent, but then was ordered evaluated for sanity. The results of that evaluation have not been made public.

Charges against Elser include one count third-degree felony intimidation, four counts of third-degree felony retaliation, one count third-degree felony intimidation of an attorney, victim or witness in a criminal case, and misdemeanors of five counts telecommunications harassment, five counts aggravated menacing, and one count unlawful restraint.

According to the indictment, the unlawful restraint charge dates back to Oct. 10, 2024 when Elser allegedly restrained a woman of her liberty at a house in Columbiana. He was charged with the unlawful restraint in county Municipal Court and while that case was pending, on June 24, 2025, the victim in the case came to the police station in Columbiana to report receiving multiple unwanted phone calls from Elser.

The police affidavit noted that “the victim states that in these messages the defendant threatened to kill her, her family members, and the judge and prosecutor of his case.” At that time, one count of misdemeanor telecommunications harassment was filed. The judge in question was county Municipal Court Judge Tim McNicol. The indictment was served on Elser in July 2025 with those charges plus additional charges.

County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino confirmed that Elser previously worked as a police officer for the East Palestine Police Department and briefly with the Perry Township Police Department.

Most of the charges stem from June 24, 2025 although there were two charges from June 25, 2025 and the one from Oct. 10, 2024. Besides allegedly knowingly causing McNicol to believe he would be harmed, Elser also allegedly knowingly caused the Columbiana County Prosecutor’s Office to believe he would cause harm to the county Prosecutor’s Office or property of the county Prosecutor’s Office. He also allegedly threatened the victim from the first case and two others.