A cruiser sits outside the Dunbar Police Department on Oct. 31, 2024.
Gazette-Mail file photo
A Dunbar Police officer was terminated Saturday after being charged on the same day with 10 violations of a protective order and sending hundreds of texts to a victim, according to Dunbar Mayor Scott Elliott and court records.
The misdemeanor violations charges against Joshua Allen Clay, 22, of Dunbar, were filed in Nicholas County Magistrate Court. Clay violated the order on July 16, according to the criminal complaint. Clay called a person — only identified as a female victim — 12 times on July 16 and also sent 518 text messages to her, according to the complaint.
Clay was also charged with one count of harassment in violation of an order and one count of stalking. On Tuesday, Clay pled not guilty to all charges in Nicholas County Magistrate Court and paid a $15,000 bail, according to court documents.
Clay, who had been employed as a DPD police officer since March 2025, was also charged on July 7 in Kanawha County Magistrate Court with a misdemeanor offense of domestic battery after his wife made the accusation to a Kanawha County Sheriff's Office deputy who arrived at Clay's home on Dutch Hollow Road. Clay had left the scene after he made "threats and eventually him putting his hands on her," according to the criminal complaint in that case.
At the time, Clay denied the charges.
"It's all bogus," Clay said in a phone interview. "There was no physical altercation. I wasn't interviewed. There is no corroborating evidence."
In that case, Clay made no plea in Kanawha County Magistrate Court, but paid a $3,000 bail, according to court records.
On Thursday, Elliott confirmed Clay's termination.
"He was he was on paid administrative leave pending the charges," Elliott said, referring to the July 7 charges in Kanawha County. "And then new charges were brought," Elliott said, which resulted in Clay's termination.
Clay did not return several messages for comment.
What's next
Clay has a trial date set for 9 a.m. Aug. 3 in Kanawha County Magistrate Court and a preliminary hearing set for 10 a.m. Sept. 23 in Nicholas County Magistrate Court.
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