YOUNGSTOWN — City firefighter Adaris Bellamy, facing two aggravated menacing charges, will be placed Friday on unpaid suspension until at least his criminal case is closed.

Fire Chief Barry Finley said Wednesday that he decided the unpaid suspension was the best decision.

“It’s until his court case is completely resolved,” Finley said. “I’m hoping that he’s going to take an anger management class or something like that.”

Bellamy, 34, of Longview Drive NE in Howland, was arrested April 7 for one first-degree misdemeanor count of aggravated menacing for having a rifle at the Warren Township Fire Department and pointing it at someone in the West Market Street building.

Bellamy was also accused of pointing the rifle at a man at a food donation box shortly after leaving the fire station.

After Bellamy’s arrest, he was put on paid suspension while Finley reviewed the matter. Finley held a predisciplinary hearing April 17.

During an April 18 appearance in Warren Municipal Court, a second first-degree misdemeanor aggravated menacing charge was added with prosecutors saying it was inadvertently omitted from the initial filing.

Bellamy, who pleaded not guilty to the two charges, is out of jail on a $15,000 surety bond with his next pretrial set for May 16, court records show.

Bellamy was ordered by Judge Patty Knepp to undergo a risk assessment.

Also during his April 18 arraignment, Judge Natasha K. Natale ordered Bellamy to have no contact with the Warren Township Fire Department except for emergency purposes and to surrender all firearms to the township’s police department while his case is pending.

Finley said when Bellamy’s case is resolved, depending on the outcome, he will decide to either return the suspended firefighter to active duty or continue to keep him on unpaid suspension.

Bellamy makes $63,614 annually.

Bellamy, hired Feb. 22, 2016, as a Youngstown firefighter, was suspended in October without pay for 60 days for testing positive for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), according to records in his personnel file. The use of THC, found in marijuana and cannabinoids, is prohibited under the city’s drug and alcohol policy.

An Oct. 21 disciplinary letter from Finley said Bellamy tested positive for the controlled substance during an Oct. 9 random drug test with an Oct. 21 confirmation test also coming back positive for THC.

Bellamy had an Oct. 24 disciplinary hearing at which Finley suspended him for 30 days without pay.

Bellamy signed an Oct. 25 letter that suspended him without pay from Oct. 27 to Nov. 25 for a drug and alcohol testing policy violation. The letter states Bellamy had to be evaluated by a substance abuse professional to determine what assistance, if any, he needed. The letter also stated that if he tested positive a second time, he would be subject to immediate termination.

BUNDY CASE

Meanwhile, fire Lt. Patrick Bundy, who faces two felony charges in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, remains suspended without pay because of his arrest on accusations he worked while receiving disability benefits from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

Bundy’s trial is scheduled for today, according to the Franklin County court docket.

Bundy’s six-week suspension started April 20 with him reporting back to work June 1.

Hired by the Youngstown Fire Department on Feb. 14, 2010, Bundy’s annual salary is $68,183.

Bundy’s predisciplinary hearing was March 7 with Finley informing him of the unpaid suspension April 14.

Bundy, 46, of Van Drive in Poland, was charged Feb. 20 by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office with workers’ compensation fraud and theft, both fifth-degree felonies. The amount of the alleged theft is $5,880.

The attorney general’s office contends Bundy worked for EFI Global as a fire inspector while also receiving workers’ compensation benefits from Jan. 16, 2022, to Feb. 26, 2022, he “was not entitled” to obtain or “presented a false or misleading statement with the purpose to secure” those benefits “with purpose to defraud or knowing he was facilitating a fraud.”

Bundy’s unpaid suspension is for six weeks, which is the exact amount of time he is accused of improperly collecting workers’ compensation benefits while working for EFI Global.

The attorney general’s office contends Bundy “signed and submitted multiple applications for temporary total disability benefits wherein he indicated that he was not working since he was injured. In addition, the defendant made multiple misrepresentations regarding his work activity to the BWC and / or its representatives.”

On four different occasions, Bundy filed appeals of workers’ compensation cases in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court against Youngstown for two different incidents after his claims were rejected by the BWC and the Ohio Industrial Commission.

Two cases involved a Sept. 24, 2020, incident in which Bundy contended he was injured when responding to a structure fire and the ceiling collapsed on him. Two other cases were filed after Bundy claimed he was injured when he slipped and fell on Feb. 1, 2021 while on the job.

In all of the cases, the city disputed the claims and Bundy voluntarily dismissed the appeals.

The city was going to make financial settlements with Bundy in the two incidents, but no money was given to him. The city held off on paying the settlements at the request of the attorney general’s office, which was investigating the separate claim.

Bundy also was arrested April 3, 2023, by the Portage County Sheriff’s Office and charged with assaulting a vehicle towing business employee in Deerfield.

Kevin T. Poland, a Portage County Municipal Court judge, found Bundy guilty of attempted assault, a second-degree misdemeanor. Bundy was given a 90-day suspended jail sentence, fined $500 with $450 of it suspended and placed on probation for a year.

Bundy wasn’t disciplined by the city for that conviction.