Co-defendant testifies and expresses regret during Donald Kopchak trial

MEDINA — Daniel Lajack expressed regret for an incident in which a man was detained after being accused of being an illegal immigrant during the jury trial of his co-defendant Donald Kopchak on Wednesday. Lajack said he does not remember telling Kopchak that Texas truck driver Yonas Bokredingil was "not free to leave" and alleges he did not give Kopchak orders that night. "I had an honorable career, and in 30 minutes, it was turned upside down," Lajack said. "Again, there's no excuse for what I did. I accepted responsibility for all of this." On the other hand, Kopchak's girlfriend, Krystal Gagliardi, who was also there that night, testified that Lajack told Kopchak that Bokredingil was "not free to leave." "At that moment, when he said that, that's kind of what made me perk up," she said. "Like, what's going on? That was kind of a turning point." Gagliardi also alleges Kopchak told her to call 911. She handed her phone to Lajack, who talked to the dispatcher about an "illegal migrant" at the Buzzard's Roost. On April 26, 2024, Lajack, 41, of Brunswick, and Kopchak, 48, of Brunswick, were off-duty officers when they allegedly questioned Bokredingil's citizenship status and detained him when they were at the Buzzard's Roost Tavern in Hinckley. Bokredingil was not causing a commotion, not committing a crime and there was no probable cause or reasonable suspicion in this instance, Lajack said. He alleges a conversation between him and Bokredingil led him to suspect he was here illegally. "At that time, there was so much media coverage with the presidential election, all the border stuff and see something, say something," Lajack said. "You go to work every single day, it's on the news with TVs inside the office, and then you throw alcohol on top of that. I made a horrible mistake that evening, and I never should have been involved." At the time of the incident, they served on law enforcement agencies outside of Medina County and were deputized to serve on federal law enforcement task forces. Lajack responded "no" when asked if immigration investigation or enforcement is within the purview of forces they were involved with. Lajack also said he never should have asked for Bokredingil's driver's license and that "it was stupid" that he claimed it was fake. "I look back at that night over the last two years, and I ask myself why I did what I did," he said. "It's been killing me for the last two years." On multiple occasions, Lajack expressed remorse for how Bokredingil was treated that night. He said he regrets his involvement and that it never should have happened. "I relive it every single minute of my life," he said. "I wake up, I go to bed to it, if I even go to bed. I 100 percent feel terrible. How do I look at my kids when I said these things or did anything? How do I look at my neighbors? How do I look at all law enforcement going forward?" Hinckley police Sgt. Jessica Parente was at the scene at the Buzzard's Roost. She asked Kopchak if they were on-duty or on assignment that night. "(Kopchak) kept stating that he works undercover all the time," she said. "He did say no to the assignment." Parente said she would not arrest someone solely based on what another officer told her. In her opinion, the first thing Lajack and Kopchak should have done was call the police if they suspected there was an issue before approaching Bokredingil. "They should have called us to let us come and investigate," she said. "Actually, at no point should the police have been called or been investigating. There should have been nothing, but to answer your question, it should have been done the right way." Brunswick police were also there that night. When asked, Brunswick Sgt. Joe Ceccacci said he never would be off-duty at a bar and put someone in "an arm bar," but later said he is never "truly off-duty." "No. 1 is I don't drink," he said. "No. 2, in my professional opinion, if I'm off-duty, unless somebody is in harm's way where they can be physically hurt, it's not my duty to interject at that point. It's my duty to be a good witness and call officers who are on duty." Kopchak is faced with two counts of abduction, one count of ethnic intimidation and one count of assault. Lajack had similar charges, but in February, he entered a guilty plea to attempted abduction, and the remainder of his charges were dropped. Kopchak's trial continues today in Judge Joyce Kimbler's courtroom in the Medina County Court of Common Pleas. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.