Court orders care for municipal judge

A Brownsville municipal judge was committed to a mental health center in Harlingen Thursday morning, less than two weeks after he was ordered released from a mandatory stay at another psychiatric facility.

Municipal Judge Phil Bellamy will remain confined for the next two weeks at Rio Grande State Center, where he has been held since Friday after friends and family say he displayed erratic behavior.

The court finds "probable cause exists that there is substantial risk upon himself or others," Cameron County Court-at-Law No. 3 Judge Menton Murray Jr. said of Bellamy’s mental condition. The Cameron County judge gave the ruling at a 2-hour hearing held in a conference room at the psychiatric facility.

Murray had originally ordered Bellamy released Jan. 25 from Valley Baptist Medical Center East Campus in Brownsville after a two-day hearing last week. The county court-at-law judge had said then there was not enough evidence to show Bellamy could harm himself or others if let out, even if he did need help.

But on Friday of last week, Bellamy’s parents obtained an emergency detention warrant for him after they said he barricaded himself in his office and was threatening to kill himself. They said they contacted the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office after hours, but a justice of the peace in Brownsville could not be reached. A justice of the peace in Harlingen then issued the warrant and Brownsville police officers transported Bellamy to Harlingen’s Rio Grande State Center on that Friday night.

This week, at Thursday’s hearing, a friend and family members of Bellamy testified that he was not eating or sleeping well and had been acting irrationally since his release.

A friend of Bellamy’s, Manuel Rangel, described how Bellamy had asked that Rangel take him to get a haircut and to the hospital. Bellamy had been unfocused, at one point stating that "if he wanted to, he could fly out of the window" of the car, Rangel testified.

"It did hurt me to see him that way," said Rangel, who has known Bellamy for five years. "I have never seen him that way."

New incidents not mentioned in Bellamy’s previous court hearing also surfaced on Thursday. His wife, Eliza Bellamy, testified that in a week’s time in January her husband had wrecked three cars, fired a gun accidentally in their home while by himself, had been thrown out of a bar and had been arrested. Their son, Brock Bellamy, 14, testified he had hid a gun his father had left on a chair in his office.

But Bellamy denied claims that he had threatened to commit suicide and said he had sought medical attention as ordered at his last hearing. Noe Garza, Bellamy’s counsel, said Bellamy had not threatened to physically harm any of his friends or family.

His client had a right to ignore his parent’s and wife’s calls and deny them entry into his law office, Garza said.

Bellamy, 46, has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, according to court testimony. He has fought confinement at a mental health facility and court-ordered treatment since his arrest in mid-January after a customer service dispute at Sam’s Club. Brownsville police officers said he was taken into custody on charges of disorderly conduct and "terroristic threats" for arguing with two Sam’s employees and a manager and yelling expletives before leaving the store.

At the Jan. 25 hearing, psychiatrists described Bellamy’s refusal to take medications, "flight of ideas" and manic episodes of "grandiosity," in which Bellamy likened himself to fictional characters Spock and Spongebob.

But in an impassioned response Bellamy defended his behavior, claiming Valley Baptist had held him illegally and forced him and other patients to take medications they had a right to refuse.

Having their son reinstated at a mental health center has been a difficult decision for Bellamy’s parents, Benny and Lou Bellamy. They have been in the city from San Antonio since their son’s first hearing.

"You can call it tough love," said Lou, Bellamy’s mother, fighting back tears after Thursday’s hearing. "We love him and we are concerned for him; that is why we got the warrant. He needs help. All of his friends want the same thing."

Bellamy has practiced law for 17 years and has served as a municipal judge in Brownsville for eight. He is well known and respected within the city’s legal circles. His father, Benny, described his son as an honest, hardworking man who finished among the top five people in his class at St. Mary’s Law School in San Antonio.

He hopes people will understand his son has a serious illness, and Thursday’s hearing was particularly emotional for his son, Benny Bellamy said. The municipal judge has since called his wife to say he is ready to submit to treatment, the father said.

"He would not have accomplished all that he has accomplished if he was not this smart," his father said. "And he would not put all of that in jeopardy if he was not ill."

Bellamy’s recent behavior has come as shock to city officials, several commissioners said. Although he was described as having an eccentric personality, they said he had not ever displayed irrational behavior until recently.

It is still unclear whether he will return to his municipal court duties. But City Manager Charlie Cabler said part-time judges are handling his cases to allow the city to make a decision about his employment.

Bellamy earns $28,686 annually, working 20 hours a week as a municipal judge. As of Friday, he had 11.50 days of sick leave and 43 days of annual vacation left with the city.

"We are hoping he gets all the help and medical assistance he needs to be able to return and be able to handle his responsibilities," Cabler said. "But we do not know when that day will be."