Trial Could Shine Light on Bail Bond Loopholes

One of the city's most lucrative bail bond companies is on trial in Baltimore Circuit Court, and testimony in the obstruction-of-justice case could shed light on an industry that some public officials are trying to reform.

Milton Tillman Jr., his son, Milton Tillman III, and Bernard Dixon are accused of conspiring to use the same properties to post bonds for multiple defendants. The Tillmans own 4 Aces Bail Bonds, and Dixon is one of the state-licensed bondsmen they employ.

The trial, which began yesterday and is expected to last several weeks, could reveal loopholes in the bail system that allow dangerous defendants to remain free while awaiting trial. Scheduled to testify are court commissioners who set bail and accept bonds, other bondsmen and possibly judges.

"You'll hear about a scheme that has been operating for years," Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth A. Ritter told jurors in her opening statement. The Tillmans' firm, she said, figured out "how to get people out of jail, legally and illegally."

Each defendant is charged with seven counts of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and could be sentenced to as much as 35 years in prison if convicted. Dixon and the younger Tillman also are charged with perjury, which carries an additional 10-year sentence.

Defense attorneys for the Tillmans and Dixon say the three are hardworking businessmen who have done nothing illegal. But then 4 Aces "started making more money than anyone else in the city," said A. Dwight Pettit, the elder Tillman's attorney.

"What happens when that happens?" Pettit asked during opening statements. "It's time to investigate. He's got to be doing something wrong because he's making too much money."

Pettit and defense attorneys for Dixon and Tillman's son said envious bondsmen reported false allegations to police and prosecutors eager to reform the system.

Pettit acknowledged problems with the bail bond industry, calling it "arbitrary and capricious."

"The thing about it is, there weren't any rules," he told jurors. The only abiding principle, he said, is that "you'll make money if you do things the right way."

Opening statements spanned about 90 minutes, and the testimony from the first witness, a District Court commissioner, was cluttered with objections - sometimes in unison - from the defense lawyers.

It was a preview of what promises to be a tangle of a trial in many ways. The defense attorneys - Pettit, Edward Smith Jr. and Steven A. Allen - have a century's worth of combined legal experience.

Ritter, a lawyer for 28 years, has studied the bail bond industry extensively, serving on a court-appointed task force in 2003 to investigate the issue at the root of the 4 Aces case she is prosecuting.

For that reason, the defense attorneys asked that she be dismissed from the case. Circuit Judge M. Brooke Murdock denied that motion. The judge also denied a motion that she recuse herself from the case because of her judicial colleagues' interest in bail reform.

The attorneys told jurors that they would need to learn the dull details of the bail system and warned of an onslaught of paper evidence, "more documents than you've ever seen before," Ritter said.

During opening statements and the District Court commissioner's testimony, jurors' heads were bobbing and brows were furrowing.

James Heard, a commissioner for 33 years, testified about how bails are set and how bonds are posted. He said state-licensed bondsmen are insured up to a certain dollar amount and can post up to that amount to have defendants released from jail as they await their trials.

These "corporate bonds" can be combined with property postings.

With the latter kind of bonds, a commissioner reviews a tax document to determine the value of a property. Up to 80 percent of the value can be posted, after subtracting the mortgage owed and any other liens and fees, Heard said.

Court documents show that prosecutors believe 4 Aces was sometimes using a fraudulent mix of corporate bonds and property bonds to get people out of jail.

Attorneys Smith and Allen said 4 Aces might not have used perfect business practices but that its employees did not consciously commit any crimes.

"You'll see boxes of evidence," Pettit said, "but you won't hear anything about Milton Tillman doing anything wrong."

The elder Tillman is a convicted felon, however. He was imprisoned for tax evasion in 1996 in a case that involved skimming profits from his business, and in 1993 he pleaded guilty to trying to bribe a city zoning board official in an attempt to keep open Odell's, a North Avenue nightclub that was known for fights and gunfire.

It is unclear whether jurors will hear anything about his past.

The 50-year-old, who has owned dozens of dilapidated properties, told a reporter after a pretrial hearing in May, referring to the charges he is now being tried on, "This will all be explained. I'm an honest businessman."

Xue's Gone - Just Ask Lone Wolf

If anyone knows about hunting fugitives in Los Angeles, it is the bail bondsmen and bounty hunters in the street front offices stacked along Vignes St.

This is prime real estate for the men who make their living in this line of work - right outside the inner-city Twin Towers Correctional Facility.

The bondsmen stump up for the bail on an alleged felon, and take responsibility for them coming back to court. If they run, the bounty hunters go after them with 134-year-old legal rights to recoup their costs and then some.

They can't go after Nai Yin Xue - a fugitive from the New Zealand police and United States authorities - but did offer their opinion yesterday on the chances of him being caught: It's possible, but "good luck".

The Herald visited yesterday, disturbing men sleeping at their desks with baseball bats beside them or slurping extra-big Cokes in front of computer games. Garish signage, neon lights and an array of names starting with "A" did little to distinguish one from another.

At The Bail Hotline, Gustavo Contreres - a part-Mexican, part-Navajo Indian who goes by the family name "Lone Wolf" - offers the same advice to the authorities that his mentor offered him on entering the business 20 years ago.

"The best hunter is the one that has not lost his hunt already," he said.

Mr Contreres said the best chance for authorities lay with their access to public databases and "big brother" technology: while bounty hunters have some rights to certain information, they cannot get it all.

He said because Xue had no roots in the US, the trail would go cold, if it hadn't already.

But he said the American attitude in itself could be enough to catch Xue - be it from a public tipoff or simply a lawman's ego at having a fugitive slip his grasp.

"We are a cowboy country that believes in justice: people won't like him on the run," Mr Contreres said.

Bondsmen and bounty hunters fitted in with the American belief in justice, he said.

It gave the innocent the chance to fight their case on the outside, and took the rights from those who skipped bail by letting the common man track him down.

He proudly produced a tatty, laminated copy of the 1873 Taylor vs Taintor Supreme Court ruling that enshrines those rights with the words "arrest and surrender of principal by bondsman".

Bounty hunters have been banned in some states, and Mr. Contreres blamed the likes of Duane "Dog" Chapman, the star of reality television show Dog the Bounty Hunter, who is known to overstep his legal rights. "He has bought shame on the profession."

At Bert Potter's Bonds, Juan Ibarra also used the word "roots" as the best way to track a man - friends, family and associates. He said the resourceful and unattached Xue could be "anywhere on this planet".

Woman Charged With Acting as Bondsman

A High Point woman faces numerous charges for allegedly taking property from a man while presenting herself as a bail bondsman.

Tiffanie A. Brack, 25, of 1146 Wayside Drive, was arrested Monday and charged with obtaining two parcels of land, a 2006 Land Rover and estimated $34,000 from William A. Sapp, no age or address given, according to warrants filed at the Guilford County Magistrate’s office.

Warrants state Brack presented herself as a licensed bondsman, when in fact she has never been a licensed bondsman in North Carolina.

She is charged with four counts of obtaining property under a false pretense and is being held on a $150,000 bond.

Bounty Hunters Need Training

It's time for the Washington Legislature to revisit the issue of bounty hunters to ensure that they are properly trained.

The Legislature took a positive step in 2004 when the House and Senate unanimously passed House Bill 2313 to set minimal expectations for the bail bondsmen industry.

It's a tough job.

When a person is booked into jail, the defendant generally turns to a bail bond agency to post a bond to guarantee that the defendant will appear for future court dates. A friend or relative of the defendant usually pays a premium, generally 10 percent of the bond amount, for this service, as well as providing collateral such as a lien on a home. If the defendant does not show up as scheduled for court, the defendant is considered a fugitive from justice and the bail bond company is liable to pay the entire amount of the bond. A grace period is generally granted so the employees of the bonding agency — so-called bounty hunters — can try to track down the defendant and get that person back before a judge.

It's dangerous work because bounty hunters are searching for fugitives who don't want to go back to jail.

In the 2004 legislation, lawmakers established a system of mandatory licensing for bounty hunters. The law requires prior notice to local law enforcement agencies including identifying clothing information when bail bond recovery agents make a planned forced entry to apprehend a fugitive.

The Legislature said bounty hunters must be at least 21 years of age and cannot have been convicted of a crime in the past 10 years. Bounty hunters must have 12 hours of training.

And with that minimal training, Washington's bounty hunters are using firearms, handcuffs, batons and stun guns to apprehend bail jumpers and bring them back to justice. Their training pales in comparison with that of law enforcement officers who use similar tools to apprehend criminals.

The state's oversight once a bounty hunter gets a license is minimal, and that's why legislative remedies are warranted.

For one thing, Sherri Lonsbery, manager of the state's bail bond licensing program, said the standards for what's an offense of a bail bond company are unclear. "We don't regulate bad behavior," Lonsbery said. "We don't regulate their actions once they're licensed, necessarily. If they break down the door to the wrong house, (state law) doesn't say they are responsible to replace that door."

Washington requires bounty hunters to receive training, but doesn't specify what most of it should entail or establish a certification process for trainers. And the state doesn't endorse trainers who teach bounty hunter skills.

Most other states that have licensing requirements, such as Virginia, also regulate the trainers of aspiring bounty hunters, said Mel Barth, executive director of the National Association of Bail Enforcement Agents.

Barth said he was surprised that Washington doesn't do so. "That's a little crazy, to be honest with you," he said. "I don't approve of that."

Prior to 2004, anyone could call themselves a bounty hunter and go after fugitives. The legislation that was passed that year helped bring bounty hunters under state control. It was only a start. It's time for the Legislature to set standards of acceptable behavior for bonding companies and to put licensing requirements for trainers in place.

Yo Quiero In!

In his upstart race against two-term District 1 incumbent Angel Gonzalez, Mike Suarez is definitely the underdog. He's got less money, fewer connections, and — judging from a stroll through the heart of Allapattah — a far smaller quantity of signage than his opponent. Gonzalez's smiling, stately (if somewhat vampiric) face dominates the neighborhood's restaurants, shops, and vacant lots.

Still, Suarez has at least one key constituency behind him that Gonzalez is unlikely to claim: bail bondsmen. At least two bondsmen's offices near the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Allapattah are sporting Suarez campaign signs; not one is for Gonzalez. It's not difficult to guess why; Suarez is himself a bondsman. He posts bond for recent arrestees — at Ace Bonding on 14th Street, in front of which a Suarez sign has been staked into the ground. A competitor, Dade County Bail Bonds, is also plugging the candidate: A campaign sign is posted proudly in the driveway, right in front of the company's "Bail Bus," which bears a painted cartoon of a jailed Chihuahua holding a sign that reads "Yo Quiero Out!"

Even the bondsmen who have chosen not to advertise Suarez's campaign favor him. "Oh yeah, I like him," says Martha Lopez, the owner of Lady Bond Bail Bonds. Christian Castillo of Castillo Bail Bonds also opted against hosting signs, but says Suarez is indeed his profession's candidate of choice. "Yeah, a lot of bondsmen have stickers," he says. "You know, he used to work here for a while. He's a good guy — I think he'd be good. You ever heard of Bounty Girls Miami? Now that's a story you should do."

Late Night Standoff In Orange County

The man accused of holding Orange County deputies at bay for hours in a standoff is expected to appear before a judge Monday.

Donny Hinds, 28, barricaded himself inside his home on Baronette Drive after shooting at five bail bondsmen that showed up at his house to take him into custody. Deputies were then called in.

Hinds eventually surrendered after the SWAT team used tear gas and stormed the home. He was wanted on fleeing and eluding, in addition to cocaine possession charges.

Man Indicted With Impersonating Bail Agent

Julian B. Stevens III, 41, of 489 Hayes Cemetery Road or 847 Marshall Ridge Road, both in Greensburg, was indicted on a charge of impersonating a peace officer.

According to Stevens' arrest citation, Campbellsville Police received a complaint that a person was being threatened at a home on Taylor Boulevard. After police arrived, the citation states, Stevens told police that a friend had been threatened by another person.

The citation states Stevens produced a badge and a pair of handcuffs and told the person he was a bail agent and would take that person into custody. Two badges and handcuffs were found in Stevens' possession, according to court records.

Bond was set at 10 percent of $20,000. If convicted, Stevens could be sentenced to as much as five years in prison.

Bounty Hunter Challenges Merimon Suspect to Lie Detector Test

The suspect in the disappearance of Peggy Merimon is now being called upon to take a lie detector test.

"I'm offering to foot the expenses of whatever it takes to get to the bottom of the truth and find out where Peggy Merimon is," said Gary Pringle, a bounty hunter heading up the search for Peggy Merimon.

Pringle issued that challenge Tuesday morning at the Lubbock County Courthouse. After searching for more than a year, he says it's time to bring Peggy home. Pringle says he'll pay for a polygraph, or anything else, that is needed to find Peggy.

"I've been advised that I'm wasting my time," Pringle says. "Everybody tells me that I should not be doing this, but I have observed what this had done to the family of Peggy Merimon. I have observed what this has done to Gearl, and to put it bluntly, I'm tired of it."

Merimon disappeared August 9, 2006 from the Lubbock State School, along with co-worker Kay Harrelson. Searchers found Harrelson's body near Shallowater days later, but Merimon is still missing.

A suspect in this case was recently terminated from the Lubbock State School, after spending more than a year on paid administrative leave.

If you know anything about the whereabouts of Peggy Merimon, give Crime Line a call at (806) 741-1000.

Another search will be held this Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m., and volunteers are needed.
If you can help, meet Pringle and his team at the Valero Fast Stop, at the corner of Clovis and Frankford.

Court Upholds Bondsmen's Right to Solicit Business

With phone in hand and dialing finger at the ready, bail bondsman Carl Pruett turned out to be a faster gun than the uniformed folks in reaching people with outstanding arrest warrants.

That got him in trouble not only with the law, but with his fellow bondsmen. Drumming up business by calling alleged criminals before they were picked up put the lives of officers in danger and gave the bad guys a reason to flee. And someone on the lam who is already carrying a bond could cost some other bondsman dearly.

Six years ago, the Harris County Bail Bond Board, which regulates the bond industry, told Pruett to stop calling. Officials said he was breaking a local rule that banned certain solicitations. And they threatened to suspend his license to do business.

Pruett fought back with a lawsuit against the board and Harris County and recently, after a protracted legal fight, a federal appeals court ruled he and fellow bondsman Scott Martin had a First Amendment right to consult public records, then solicit business by phone.

Calling times restrictedThe 5th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that state-imposed restrictions on "commercial speech" were unconstitutional, but agreed with the state law restricting solicitation calls between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.

Essentially, Pruett and Martin used public records to troll for people with outstanding warrants, and then called them to offer their services.

Constable offices, the county and other municipalities use those same records to mail thousands of letters every month to people with open warrants for bad checks, unreturned DVD rentals, unresolved traffic violations and other nonviolent criminal cases.

The 5th Circuit ruled that Pruett and Martin had the same rights to contact those people.
"The statute does not prevent attorneys, law enforcement officials or anyone else from alerting someone that he's the subject of an open warrant," the court said. "Harris County cannot give such notice itself and then claim that restricting notice by others is necessary to the safety of its officers and the public and the prevention of flight."

County Attorney Mike Stafford said the county didn't create or enforce the state law, but intervened to prevent bondsmen from "tipping off" alleged criminals. He said protecting officers from possible violence is a legitimate objection and the county will likely appeal the latest decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

David Furlow, who represents Pruett and Martin in the federal lawsuit, hailed the decision as a "vindication of First Amendment rights." But he said perhaps more importantly, the courts action sent a loud message to fellow bondsmen who saw Pruett and Martin as unscrupulous competitors.

"The largest bail bonding companies with large investments in Yellow Pages ads and large existing bases of criminal defendant clients, they wanted to restrict those and keep other bail bondsmen from contacting them," Furlow said.

Rules adopted in 2001Bail bond boards were created to provide local oversight of the bail bond industry. Members of those boards include the county sheriff, judges, court clerks — or their designees — and someone who issues bail bonds.

In 2001, the Harris County bond board adopted local rules to regulate bail-bond solicitation. The state enacted a similar law the same year, and charged the local board with enforcing it.
Both measures prohibit unsolicited contacts by bondsmen who don't have a prior relationship with an individual. They also ban solicitations by phone or in person within 24 hours of an arrest, and between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday.

The Professional Bondsmen of Texas went to the Legislature about a state law to help people whose "phone was literally ringing and ringing and ringing all night long," said Tillmin Welch, the group's legislative committee chairman.

Harris County has 76 licensed bail bonding companies.

Pruett, who is also a lawyer, and other bondsmen consulted public records in the Harris County Justice Information Management System, or JIMS, to find the names and addresses of people who are the subjects of arrest warrants. The county waits 48 hours to post information about outstanding warrants to allow officers to serve the alleged offenders, but several bondsmen said that they have colleagues who are accessing the information sooner.

Houston bondsman Glenn Strickland, who represents bondsmen on the bail bond board, said the practice amounted to nothing more than "ambulance chasing."

"There are certain people that will want to push the limits," he said. "Is the competition that fierce where you have to go do that?"

But Welch, who has been an Edinburg bondsman for three decades, said part of the law penalizes industrious businessmen.

"(These bondsmen) were in fact doing nothing more than the sheriff's office and some of the municipal courts were doing — only they were doing it faster."

Bond Set in Pickax Assault

Bond was set at $10,000 Wednesday for a Ballantine man accused of assaulting a bail bondsman with a pickax.

Peter Francis Dolan, 54, appeared in Justice Court by video from the county jail on a felony charge of assault with a weapon. Judge Larry Herman ordered Dolan to appear Friday for arraignment in District Court.

According to court records, Dolan was arrested Tuesday when Yellowstone County deputies responded to a disturbance at a residence in Ballantine. When they arrived, a man who identified himself as a bail bondsman said he was at the residence looking to arrest a man who had violated a bond agreement.

The bondsman said he approached Dolan and asked if he knew where to find his client. The bondsman said Dolan grabbed a pickax and swung it at him. The bondsman said he took out pepper spray he carries with him and threatened Dolan with the chemical if he did not put down the ax. Dolan put down the ax and the bondsman called law enforcement.

Suspect Surrenders Due to Bail Bondsman

A man suspected of being a member of the Hooded Safe Bandits is under arrest after turning himself in to police Wednesday night.

In an exclusive interview with Fox 31 News, the bail bondsman who arranged the surrender says they were looking for Manual Santistevan on an unrelated case.

He says they got in contact with Santistevan through his family and arranged the surrender.

The bail bondsman says Santistevan wanted witnesses because he was concerned police might hurt him. Santistevan is the third suspect arrested in the so-called Hooded Safe Bandits robberies.

Police earlier arrested his brother, Roman Santistevan, and Ishmael Mosely. The three are believed to be responsible for more than 20 armed robberies at metro area fast food restaurants and stores. Santistevan was also wanted in connection with a high speed chase last week.

The bail bondsman, who does not want his real name used says Santistevan told him that he was not involved in the robberies. And the bail bondsman says Santistevan told him that he sped away from an undercover officer because he did not realize it was the police.

According to search warrant documents, Mosley confessed to at least some of the robberies.

The arrest warrants in the Santistevan cases are sealed, but police say they have solid reasons to believe that both Santistevan brothers are involved.