FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A former Flagler County Fire Rescue paramedic who was arrested in 2024 over allegations he sexually battered an unconscious person in an ambulance is now accused of stealing patients’ debit cards and making fraudulent purchases with them.

James Melady, 38, faces new charges of fraudulent use of personal identification without consent of a victim 60 years of age or older and unlawful possession of a stolen credit card, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Melady was first arrested in September 2024, accused of molesting a patient in an ambulance while he was on duty in 2021. The sheriff’s office said it learned about the incident when Daytona Beach detectives, who were investigating Melady for an unrelated case, discovered video they said Melady took of the sexual attack. When he was arrested to face charges of sexual battery on a helpless person and video voyeurism on a victim 19 years of age or older, Melady told detectives that he had retired from Flagler County Fire Rescue earlier that year.

The fire department introduced new protocols following Melady’s arrest, among them being it mandatory that two people ride in the back of an ambulance transporting a vulnerable or underage patient and that all new fire rescue employees undergo psychological evaluation.

At latest, the sheriff’s office refers to an investigation by its General Assignment Unit and the State Attorney’s Office for the Seventh Circuit. Detectives determined that Melady stole debit cards and personal identification information from victims who suffered medical emergencies and used them to make fraudulent purchases, the news release states, adding three victims have so far been identified.

The release mentions one instance, that of a 92-year-old victim who had fallen and whose purse was given to Melady in transit to the hospital. Before giving back the purse, Melady allegedly stole the victim’s debit card, using it several days later to make two purchases totaling $715.38 at the Sam’s Club in Daytona Beach, according to the sheriff’s office.

Melady was rearrested via warrant at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he’s being held without bond pursuant to the prior arrest, the release states.

The investigation is ongoing, the release states. Anyone who has noticed unusual purchases on their bank account or credit card bills after being transported in a Flagler County Fire Rescue ambulance are asked to contact the sheriff’s office by calling 386-313-4911 or emailing TIPS@flaglersheriff.com.