THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 8, 1995 TAG: 9512080492
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE AND MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
A man under court order to stay away from his family fired several gunshots into the family home early Thursday and then waited.
When police arrived, he refused to surrender and threatened to shoot the officers, prompting them to open fire.
The man, Robert N. Bellis, 43, was hit in the chest three times. He was listed in serious condition Thursday night at Virginia Beach General Hospital.
No one else was injured.
This was the second time this week that local police have shot a suspect. On Tuesday night, a Norfolk police officer shot and killed a stolen-car suspect who attacked him with a piece of lumber.
Thursday morning's shooting shattered the normal calm of the Lake Placid community. But it didn't come as a complete surprise to neighbors or police.
Police have been called to the Bellis home in the 1800 block of Olympic Drive at least 10 times this year. About half of the calls were for domestic disputes, said Mike Carey, a police spokesman.
On Sunday, Bellis was arrested at the home and charged with disturbing the peace, police said.
On Monday, Bellis' wife, Joni, got a court order barring her husband from visiting her or their children. A neighbor who asked to not be identified said Joni Bellis feared her husband's temper.
Records show the couple had lived in the four-bedroom, two-story home about 10 years.
Authorities said Bellis had recently been laid off, or was fired, from at the Ford assembly plant in Norfolk.
Thurston said Bellis and his wife were apparently separated but not divorced. It was unclear where he had been staying since his wife obtained the restraining order.
Shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, police said Bellis drove his pickup onto the front lawn of the house where his wife and three children were at home and opened fire with a handgun.
The spray of shots left an arc of bullet holes in a front-room picture window, just inches below a Santa Claus decoration.
The pickup ripped through the yard, tearing up grass and ripping down a small tree. In the street, black tread marks remained where the truck had come to a sudden stop and then lurched forward.
One block away, at Whiteface Court, the truck sped around in a circle, again leaving tread marks. Then, another block down Olympic at Walden Court, Bellis parked the truck facing toward his home.
When police arrived, Bellis ``exited the truck armed with a handgun,'' said another police spokesman, Lou Thurston. ``After confronting the man, the officers fired their weapons.''
A witness told investigators that Bellis shouted at the officers: ``Shoot me! Shoot me!''
The witness also said Bellis said ``he was not going to shoot himself but was going to shoot the officers,'' Thurston said. ``The witness also stated the man made a threatening move with the gun while moving toward the officers.''
The two officers - Brendhan B. Harris and Russell Simpson, of the 1st Precinct - opened fire.
Bellis was taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery early Thursday and remained in intensive care Thursday night. Charges against him are pending, police said.
Investigators sealed off the street where Bellis was shot for several hours while they gathered evidence and took measurements. Police also sealed off the Bellis home two blocks away. The family declined comment.
Investigators gave no indications that they were questioning the officers' decision to shoot Bellis. But their actions are under routine review by police and the Commonwealth's Attorney.
Both officers have been taken off street duty temporarily, which is the department's policy.
This is the second police shooting in Virginia Beach this year - both during domestic disputes. Jimmie B. Coward, 47, was shot to death March 17 after he shot and wounded his wife, and then barricaded himself in another house.
KEYWORDS: ASSAULT SHOOTING ARREST INJURIES by CNB