UPDATE: Felony Charges Against Former School Board Member Dropped

The case against a prominent Lakewood businessman and former Lakewood school board member has turned out to be a classic case of mistaken identity.

Felonious assault charges against former school board member Charles Geiger were dropped today by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, after police officials said that a false identification of Geiger’s vehicle was made in a March 1 incident in Cleveland.

Geiger, a 22-year member of the , was facing three felony charges after a Cleveland police officer accused Geiger of striking him with his car at 1450 Chester Ave. and driving away.

Geiger’s attorney, William “Bud” Doyle, said that a charge of obstructing justice against Geiger’s wife, Patricia, also is expected to be thrown out.

“The investigating detective informed me that, after further study of video tape evidence, they have concluded that there was a faulty identification of Geiger and that any further proceedings against him are going nowhere,” Doyle said.

He also said detectives told him that the investigation is continuing in “another direction” with the video evidence in question being sent to NASA for further enhancement.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office issued a statement noting the investigation in Charles Geiger is over.

"The Cleveland Police Department finished their follow up investigation and requested that we withdraw the criminal complaint the city had filed against Charles Geiger III," said prosecutor's office spokesman Ryan Miday. "Upon review, we have withdrawn this complaint."

LakewoodAlive, a community development organization, released this statement on its website in support of the Geigers:

 Throughout their lives, Chas and Patti have been widely known as model citizens and public servants.  Seeing someone so beloved and so well respected falsely and publicly accused of wrongdoing has been a shattering experience for the Geiger family and the Lakewood community. 

Repeated calls to the Cleveland Police Department have not been returned.

 Geiger — a former school board member who owns and sits on the board of directors for First Federal of Lakewood — was arrested early March 2 at his Kenneth Avenue home.

He and his wife were handcuffed and taken to jail.

Charles Geiger was charged with felonious assault, a fourth-degree felony; obstructing justice, a fifth-degree felony; failure to comply with the order of a police officer, a first-degree misdemeanor; and possessing criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony.

They were both released on bond later that day.

In a police report, Cleveland police officer Sgt. Tony Gorsek, said he was directing traffic at a Chester Avenue parking garage, and told a driver — who he later claimed to be Charles Geiger — to turn east out of the garage.

The driver did so, but then immediately made an illegal U-turn, Gorsek said in the report. When the officer tried to stop the vehicle, it sped away, striking Gorsek and causing him to "tumble" down the street.

In the report, Gorsek said he took down the license plate and was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

Geiger wasn’t the driver who hit Gorsek, Doyle said, adding that Geiger wasn't even in Cleveland.

“He was at the Melt restaurant in Lakewood having dinner with his daughter,” Doyle said. “Then, he went home.

 According to the police report, two witnesses saw the illegal U-turn, then saw the police officer on the ground. The parking garage owner told police that surveillance video caught the incident on tape.

“I wish I could give the police some information,” Doyle said, “because they should find the person who did this. It certainly was not Charles Geiger.”