CLEVELAND – The owner of a Masonry company has been indicted for their role in the collapse of a Lakewood parking garage in December.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office has issued the following statement:
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley announced today that a Cuyahoga County grand jury has returned an indictment charging the construction company Atlas Masonry Restoration and Maintenance, as well as its owner, 55-year-old Elmer Mekker, and 52-year-old foreman Charles Hawley, for the Marine Towers West parking garage collapse in Lakewood in December 2021.
“It is a miracle that the recklessness displayed, not only by Atlas Masonry but the owner and foreman in charge, did not result in serious injury or death,” said Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley. “Their poor decisions put hundreds of lives at risk, and they need to be held accountable for that.”
In November 2021, Marine Towers contracted Atlas Masonry Restoration and Maintenance to complete various concrete repairs on the property.