By Brandi Makuski
A 57-year-old Plover man is back behind bars after being arrested on new handgun-related charges.
Bernard Bell was arrested on Jan. 11. He made his bond appearance before Judge Michael Zell on Jan. 16 by video from the Portage Co. Jail. He was represented for the hearing by attorney Greg Venturini from the public defender’s office. Assistant District Attorney Brian Pfeil represented the State.
According to the incident report, police were called to conduct a welfare check on the 2800 block of Maple Dr. at about 4 p.m. on Jan. 11. Upon arrival, witnesses told officers that they observed Bell running in the hallway of his apartment building “making threats that were perceived by residents as life-threatening, while holding a Glock handgun.” Witnesses said it had been going on “for some time” before police arrived.
One resident of the building told police that they believed Bell may have been hallucinating, possibly due to some kind of drug use, the report said.
Pfeil requested that Bell be held on a $25,000 cash bond, citing Bell’s criminal history. Bell was convicted in Cook Co., Ill., for manufacturing/delivering cocaine in 1989, and has a 2005 conviction of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. He was also convicted of possession of a controlled substance in 2013.
In Portage Co., Bell was charged in 2022 with endangering safety by reckless use of a firearm, criminal damage to property, possession of a firearm by an out-of-state felon, possession with intent to deliver THC, and maintaining a drug trafficking place. He was released on a $5,000 cash bond in spring 2022 and later pleaded not guilty to those charges.
In the 2022 incident, Bell is accused of firing several 9mm rounds at the former location of Steel King, 2700 Chamber St. The bullets shattered several windows and damaged interior walls there, according to the criminal complaint. His jury trial in that case has been scheduled for Feb. 21.
For the new case, Venturini requested a smaller cash bond because his client is employed, has no history of missing court, and lives locally so he wasn’t a flight risk.
Judge Zell called the new charges, which include bail-jumping and felon in possession of a firearm, “very troubling” and agreed with the State’s recommendation of $25,000 cash “for the safety of the public.”
Non-monetary conditions of Bell’s bond include not possessing any weapons and participation in JusticePoint.
Bell returns to court on Jan. 29 for an initial appearance.
Felon pending trial on handgun charge rearrested on new gun charges - Point/Plover Metro Wire
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