La Plata, MD – Ralph Michael Bellamy, 60 of White Plains, will be going to jail for four months beginning the day after Christmas. That sentence was handed down by Charles County Circuit Court Helen I. Harrington Wednesday, Dec. 16 in La Plata.

For the victim, in this case, Gladys “Bonnie” O’Connell, who once owned the Dollar King in Waldorf, the sentence amounts to too little too late.

Bellamy was facing sentencing on theft charges ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.
Despite losing his home, his wife and being homeless, the defendant had managed to pay $5,460 to date. He stopped paying restitution in August, which put him in court before Harrington.

Charles County Public Defender Michael Beach said that his client was put in the hospital with vertigo back in August.

“He was falling down a lot,” Beach said. “He was having a lot of dizzy spells. His vertigo interfered with his ability to work.”

Beach said the man’s nephew and family “stepped up” and are helping him get caught up with restitution.

“His nephew confirmed to me this morning that Mr. Bellamy can stay with him,” he added. “That will make a big difference.”

But for O’Connell, who employed Bellamy for 14 years at the Dollar King in Waldorf, the theft of cash the defendant stole from her had reverberating consequences for more than just her.

“I had to close my business,” she told the court. “It affected two ladies who lost their jobs and their homes. The more money we took in, the more money he stole. Judge Spenser made a deal without consulting me, that he could pay $100 a month. He stole from every single cash register. We didn’t pick up on it for the longest time. I trusted Mike. We all trusted Mike. And every day he made a fool of us.”

“You realize if I sentence him to jail you won’t get restitution,” the judge noted.

“I’d rather he went to jail for a long time,” O’Connell admitted.

“He stole $100,000 tax-free,” Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeremy Widder said. “I am recommending the 114-month cap [for a sentence].”

“This is a good example of, no one is as bad as the worst thing they’ve done,” Beach said, saying his client was “at a low point in his life.

“Here it is five years later, and he has been in no trouble,” he added. “He has paid restitution without any help. His life totally fell apart. He lost his house; he lost his wife. I don’t blame the victim. She is genuinely and justifiably upset. If he had been living in luxury for the past five years, that would be a different situation. He finally admitted to his family that he was in trouble and needed help.”

Edward Young, Bellamy’s nephew, told the court, “He’s a good guy. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t find out about this until last week. If he had said something earlier, I would have helped him out.”

“It’s a tragedy on multiple levels,” Beach said. “It’s not going to be rectified by sending a 60-year-old man to the Maryland Department of Corrections.”

“I was in the process of losing my home,” Bellamy said. “My wife had cancer. I’m not saying I’m an angel by any stretch of the imagination.”

“There are some facets of this case,” Harrington noted. “Mrs. O’Connell lost her business, other employees lost their jobs and lost their homes … it doesn’t help a bit that you were in a dire strait at that point. As tempting as it is to send you away for a long time, the sentence of the court is 114 months with all of that suspended but four months to be served at the Charles County Detention Center.”

The judge placed him on five years of supervised probation and told him, “You still need to be paying $100 a month. You still have an obligation you have to pay.”

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com