All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
(Lander, WY) – The preliminary hearing for Zachary Bellinger (Y.O.B. 1991) was held on January 8 in Lander’s Circuit Court.
Probable cause was established at the hearing and the case is now bound to District Court, according to recent court filings.
The hearing was originally scheduled for December 18, but later moved to the January 8 date. At this time, no further hearing dates are available in the court registry, but will be forthcoming.
Bellinger, a former employee of the Lander Bar/Gannett Grill, was originally charged with arson in the third degree and criminal trespass, in relation to the attempted arson of the Lander Bar on December 9.
As previously reported, bar management filed a no-trespass notice against Bellinger on November 27 after he was fired following a “threatening complaint” he made to another employee.
On December 6, LPD officers contacted Bellinger to attempt to give him that no-trespass notice, but he “became belligerent and refused service of the yellow hard copy,” court documents state.
On December 9, the Lander Police Department was notified of what appeared to be an attempted arson at the Lander Bar, where law enforcement later observed “burned and soot-covered wood and metal on the west wall outside the rear exit of the building as well as partially burned leaves on the concrete patio below and near the burned west wall,” and also made note that “a portion of the concrete appeared to have an accelerant burned from it.”
Investigators were then able to later use various surveillance footage to confirm that Bellinger had been in the area with a gas can around the time of the attempted arson.
According to the additional information in the probable cause statement released since County 10 last reported on the case, a gas can and clothes smelling of gasoline were later found at Bellinger’s residence.
The additional information also discloses more details about the lead-up to Bellinger’s termination.
Bellinger was fired from the Lander Bar on November 23 “because he was alarming staff with his behavior,” documents state. According to statements management made to law enforcement, he was later “angry and clenching his fists” when he was informed that he was being let go.
Another employee shared with investigators that two days later, on November 25, Bellinger made a comment about “mortals” getting “their heads cut off” in reference to the employee’s tattoo.
On November 27, another manager requested that Bellinger be served a no-trespass notice, which officers were not able to issue on that same date, the probable cause documents continue to inform.
On December 6, that same manager informed detectives that Bellinger was “glaring through the windows” of the business. At that point, he had still yet to be served his no-trespass notice.
Witness statements indicate that when served the notice later that day, Bellinger returned and spit on the window outside of the Lander Bar.
On December 9 when the attempted arson took place and the investigation began, law enforcement later observed a gas can on Bellinger’s front porch that matched the one seen in the previously mentioned surveillance footage.
A search warrant for Bellinger’s residence was approved that same day, and detectives discovered clothing that “smelled strongly like fresh gasoline” in the bedroom.
The detective’s observations in the court documents also state that there were “two possible burn marks on the forearm of the left sleeve of (a) sweatshirt,” and that the sweatshirt cuff was “stiff as if the fabric had been heated and partially melted, rendering (it) stiff.”
Detectives interviewed Bellinger the same day, and he “repeatedly denied he had started the fire.”
The probable cause statement also shared new details about the Lander Bar’s surveillance footage leading up to Bellinger’s arrest.
The footage indicates that a subject was seen appearing out of an alley and heading toward the Lander Bar around 5 AM, carrying a white cup.
The subject “partially disappears from view” before returning into camera view, when they lit a lighter and squatted down near the building.
Court documents inform that “Immediately after the subject squats down, a fireball explodes and encompasses the northeast corner of the building,” and the flames continue to burn for about three minutes before the surveillance footage ends.
The probable cause statement shares that while the subject could not be identified by the surveillance footage quality alone, one of the managers was able to confirm that the subject wore “the same type of clothing” as Bellinger, which matched the surveillance footage obtained from other businesses.
A warrant was later issued for Bellinger’s arrest, which was executed on December 13, and the preliminary hearing was set. He remains detained at this time.
As stated above, the dates for ensuing hearings have yet to be shared.
The maximum sentence for an arson in the third-degree charge is 5 years imprisonment and a $5,000 fine.
The maximum sentence for a criminal trespass charge is 6 months imprisonment and a $750 fine.
County 10 will provide updates on the case as they become available, which can be viewed here.