CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An Ohio Highway Patrol trooper faces felony charges after he used a law enforcement database to look up information about acquaintances of his estranged wife while he was on duty, according to prosecutors and court records.

Brian Bracy, 49, of Elyria, pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of fifth-degree felony unauthorized use of property at his arraignment this week in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and was released on a $2,500 personal bond.

The case was assigned to Judge Deena Calabrese. His first court appearance is set for Dec. 4.

Bracy, who is based out of the Ohio Highway Patrol base in Brook Park, was placed on unpaid leave after a grand jury handed up its charges earlier this month, Lt. Brad Sellers said.

Prosecutors say Bracy used his access to the Law Enforcement Automated Database system, or LEADS, to search for names, license plate numbers and other identifying information of his wife’s friends 12 times between Dec. 4, 2017, and Sept. 10, 2018, after the two had separated.

Court records show Bracy filed for divorce on Sept. 6, 2018.

The Patrol’s Administrative Investigations Unit received a tip about Bracy’s use of the database earlier this year and began investigating, then turned over the probe to its criminal investigators, Sellers said.

Bracy joined the patrol in 2004.

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