A former Martinsville fire and EMS assistant chief was indicted by a grand jury Monday afternoon for "discrepancies" in his time records.

John W. "Jay" Russell Jr. was charged with grand larceny, embezzlement, obtaining money by false pretense and misappropriation of public funds, according to a news release from the city.

City Public Information Officer Scott Coleman declined to elaborate on the discrepancies in Russell's time records.

Russell, who was in charge of managing time records for the entire department, was fired from his position in June after more than 16 years.

State police began to investigate Russell last summer at the request of Martinsville Commonwealth's Attorney Joan Ziglar after discrepancies were found in Russell's time record, the release said.

As of Monday evening, Russell had not been arrested on the charges, Coleman said.

-- Janelle Rucker