City employee remains in jail over phone calls

YOUNGSTOWN -- A seasonal city employee, accused of running up a $425 bill for personal calls on a city telephone, will remain in Mahoning County jail without bond at least until his probation revocation hearing at 9 a.m. July 7 before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum.
James Bowers, 25, who was apprehended by parole agents Tuesday, is charged with theft in office because he allegedly used a Pemberton Park telephone to call a dating service.
Bowers will remained jailed until next month's hearing because he agreed there was probable cause for his arrest on the theft charge in a Thursday appearance before Judge Krichbaum in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Bowers will get a court-appointed lawyer.
Bowers, who gave Hudson and Delaware avenue addresses, had been on probation after his conviction last September on three counts of attempted child endangering.
J. Michael Thompson, assistant county prosecutor, said Bowers, his girlfriend and three children had been living in a Youngstown house with no water or electric service and dog feces on the floor in February 2005.
If convicted on the theft charge, Bowers faces six to 12 months in prison, a fine of up to $2,500, permanent disqualification from public employment in Ohio and forfeiture of any pension benefits.