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CAROL LOLLIS

O'Brian Tomalin, owner of Sierra Grille in Northampton, talks about his employee Anthony P. Baye.

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A photo of Anthony Baye from Facebook.

NORTHAMPTON - There was a time when Anthony P. Baye, the city man charged with arson, was so familiar at Packards, he had his own theme song sung upon entering the pub.

Baye's welcome was a reworking of the Batman jingle, subbing in "Antman," in reference to Anthony, for Batman.

Andrew Bombard, a doorman for the past five years at Packards, said he used to called Baye "Antman" when he came into the bar at night, and together, the two would start singing the jingle, to the entertainment of bar patrons.

"That was my schtick with him," Bombard said.

News of Baye's arrest Monday in connection with the Dec. 27 arson that killed Fair Street residents Paul Yeskie Sr. and Paul Yeskie Jr. made him feel sick to his stomach, he said.

Others who know Baye expressed similar shock and despair.

"I had a girlfriend call me in tears going, "It's Anthony,'" Bombard said Tuesday.

"He was always jovial," he said of Baye. "It's something that you would never think he would do. It blows your mind."

Baye, 25, of 85 Hawley St., was a familiar face in the city. He attended local schools, worked at several downtown restaurants over the years and frequented its many nightspots.

And he lived smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood plagued with suspicious fires, including two fires that destroyed homes over the past four years. Most recently, Baye worked as a line cook at the Sierra Grille on Strong Avenue.

His network of friends and acquaintances touched all corners of Northampton and many who learned of his arrest on charges of arson, burglary and murder early Tuesday were stunned by the news.

Baye was described by the people who knew him as a "normal kid," a team player at work, responsible and pleasant. However, people who remember Baye from high school or as little as five years ago describe him as shy and quiet.

"I was completely shocked," said O'Brian Tomalin, the owner of the Sierra Grille on Strong Avenue. "We're all just like, 'What?'"

A 2003 graduate of Northampton High School who played varsity lacrosse, Baye is an only child who lived with his parents in a single-family home flanked by an apartment house and the Hampshire Educational Collaborative. An above-ground pool and small garden dot the rear and side yards of the home, which is surrounded by chain linked and wooden picket fences.

He was enrolled as a student at Holyoke Community College, where he was studying communications and sports management, according to his Facebook page where he connected with 349 friends, many of them Valley residents.

The last posting on Baye's Facebook site shows he joined the Friends of Northampton Arson Victims discussion group, which had been established in the wake of the Dec. 27 fires.

In the hours prior to the fires, set mostly across neighborhoods in Ward 3, Baye had been at a private party for Northampton High School alumni at the World War II Club on Conz Street until about midnight, according to a bartender who spoke with the Gazette.

Katie Musante, a high school classmate of Baye's now living in Holyoke, said she was surprised Baye was being charged with arson. Like a number of people who knew Baye years ago, she described him as "normal" and "shy."

"He was on the polite side," said Musante, who did not attend the party. "He seemed like such a shy kind of kid. This is surprising."

Tomalin, his employer, said in the days following the fires, Baye worked full shifts Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the restaurant. He said Baye had been pulled out of work during his Monday shift and questioned by police, but later returned to work. Nothing seemed amiss.

"He didn't seem like he had a huge weight hanging over him," Tomalin said.

In fact, Tomalin said Baye was looking forward to attending a field trip to Vermont Tuesday with co-workers. Still grappling with the turn of events as he stood in the restaurant's kitchen Tuesday morning, Tomalin said Baye was among his most responsible and pleasant employees, always showing up for work and covering for others when needed.

"I would vouch for his character in a heartbeat," Tomalin said. "He's just a really good guy. I don't think I have ever seen him get angry."

Baye had worked at other city restaurants in recent years, including Viva Fresh Pasta Co., Fitzwilly's restaurant, and Pizza Paradiso, according to his MySpace page and those who know him.

Bill Collins, general manager for the Spoleto Restaurant group, which includes Pizza Paradiso, said when Baye worked at the restaurant four years ago he was a "quiet guy."

"He kept to himself," Collins said. "He seemed like a nice guy. I certainly didn't expect to find out anyone involved with the arson worked for us at one point."

At-Large City Councilor Jesse M. Adams, who said he many friends in common with Baye but does not know him personally, described him as "very, very social," and said: "He wasn't the typical introvert with no friends."

Baye also worked a few summers on Martha's Vineyard in the service industry and worked a brief stint as a bouncer at Packards on Masonic Street.

Meanwhile, neighbors who lived close to Baye were confounded too.

When Barry Kozaczka, who lives at the corner of Hawley and Holyoke streets, was shown Baye's house by a reporter, he looked down the street at the house from his own driveway and said, "Ain't that something."