Illegal Globally, Bail for Profit Remains in U.S.

Wayne Spath is a bail bondsman, which means he is an insurance salesman, a social worker, a lightly regulated law enforcement agent, a real estate appraiser — and a for-profit wing of the American justice system.

What he does, which is posting bail for people accused of crimes in exchange for a fee, is all but unknown in the rest of the world. In England, Canada and other countries, agreeing to pay a defendant’s bond in exchange for money is a crime akin to witness tampering or bribing a juror — a form of obstruction of justice.

Bondsman Catches Felon on Extended Lunch Break

A convicted drug dealer who fled during a lunch break of his trial for selling crack cocaine near a school has been returned to custody.

Aunrekki D. West, 23, of Kansas City, Kan., was apprehended by a bail bondsman on Wednesday, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said.

The bondsman turned West over to Platte County sheriff's deputies at about 9:45 p.m. He is being held in the Platte County Detention Center on $350,000 cash bond.

West was on trial in Platte County on Jan. 10 when he disappeared during a lunch break. The trial continued in his absence and West was found guilty of drug trafficking and selling drugs near Chinn Elementary School in the Park Hill School District.

West faces up to three life sentences in prison.

Bondsman Takes in Pantless Felon

Try to escape from bail bondsman Rico Reed and it could cost you your pants.

That's exactly what happened to Eric Lee Andrews in front of a crowd of people in downtown Winter Haven on Thursday evening. And as it turns out, Andrews isn't a boxer or briefs man - witnesses said he's a no underwear man.

Reed, a veteran bondsman, was bloodied in the mayhem that wrecked three cars about 5:20 p.m. Thursday.

Reed said he planned to take Andrews to jail on felony warrants, although he wasn't sure for what, and for jumping bail.

Acting on a tip, Reed said he found Andrews, 44, inside a building at 280 W. Central Ave. That's where the bedlam began.

Andrews, a big guy at 6 feet, 200 pounds, jumped through a window inside the building, but Reed said he caught him, handcuffed him behind his back, took him outside to his company's 2006 Dodge Durango, and secured him in a seat belt in the backseat of the truck.

He said he went around the vehicle to make sure the doors were locked and, that quick, Andrews slid the cuffs under his feet, undid the belt and jumped into the driver's seat. The keys were in the ignition.

The driver's window was down, so Reed tried to reach in to grab the keys.

"He punched the gas," Reed said. Reed ended up on the street with a gash on his head, which was later treated by paramedics.

Andrews then hit two cars, one of which had to be towed, according to reports. And then, just across the street from where he started the futile escape, Andrews crashed head-on into a tree, police said, ruining the front end of the truck. He then tried to run, police said.

By this point, Reed was not a happy bondsman. His head was bloody and his truck had been trashed. So Reed tackled the fleeing Andrews and, in the process, Andrews lost his pants.

When asked if the pants being separated from Andrews was deliberate, Reed grinned. "No," he said. "I just grabbed onto whatever I could." He held Andrews down until police quickly arrived.

"It was bizarre," said Kendall Reasoner, 21, who had a front-row seat, on a street-side bench.

"At first I was scared," she said. "But then you see this naked guy getting the crap beat out of him. In a strange way, it was kind of funny."

Winter Haven police Thursday night said Andrews is being charged with grand theft auto, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving and four outstanding felony warrants.

His ride to the Polk County Jail in a city police car was expected to go a little more according to plan.

Bail Bond Firm Can Get Back Money

A bail bond company will get another chance to get back the $50,000 bond it posted for a defendant in a Cumberland County drug case who eventually fled to Pakistan.

In an appeal decision released Tuesday, Allegheny Casualty Company, a surety company affiliated with AA Bail Bonds in Bridgeton, will get another chance to argue for return of the $50,000 forfeited to the state when Munir Faswala failed to appear in court.

The appeals ruling overturns an earlier Superior Court decision that denied the company's attempts to retrieve the money it posted in Faswala's name.
Faswala, 50, of Brigantine, was arrested in Cumberland County on Feb. 16, 2005, on multiple charges of obtaining controlled dangerous substances or prescription drugs by fraud, and for failure to report transactions of cash to proper government agencies, according to court records and the 6-page appeals opinion.

On the same day, AA Bail Bonds, which is located across from the county courthouse, posted Faswala's $50,000 bail in exchange for a $5,000 non-refundable payment from the defendant.

But Faswala didn't report to the bail bond company as required by the company's agreement and, on March 15, 2005, Canadian border officials near Buffalo, N.Y., detained him as he tried to leave the United States.

Richard Sparano, an agent for the surety company, notified the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office of Faswala's apparent flight and asked a New Jersey Superior Court judge to vacate the bond and issue a warrant for the defendant's arrest, according to the appeal.

The Prosecutor's Office declined to stop Faswala from leaving the country, according to the appeal, a factor in the judge's decision to vacate the bond.

The judge also noted that Faswala had not yet missed a court date and that no warrant had previously been issued.

Canadian authorities released Faswala, and, on April 11, 2006, he failed to appear for a hearing in Superior Court in Bridgeton.

A bench warrant was issued and the $50,000 bond was seized from the surety company.

In a court hearing to stop the forfeiture of the $50,000, the surety company argued that the Prosecutor's Office failed to revoke the bail or take any action and as a result, border authorities released Faswala, the appeal said.

The release allowed Faswala to leave the United States and, ultimately, return to Pakistan, according to the appeals decision.

But the state argued that the surety company had not submitted certification of the prosecutor's actions in the case.

The state also said the company didn't appeal the original order of the judge who denied its motion to vacate bail and issue a warrant.

In an interview Tuesday, Richard Capone, the surety company's attorney who filed the original motion to revoke Faswala's bail said: "It was a matter of common sense that this defendant was going to flee."

County officials declined to comment and state court officials could not be reached for comment.

The appeals decision noted that the surety company should at least get another chance to establish that it did everything within its power to make sure Faswala would appear in court.

"If the Prosecutor's Office allowed border authorities to release Faswala by advising that it would not seek his return, such action could be construed as increasing the risk of Faswala's non-appearance," the six-page opinion said.

The opinion said information on the surety company's actions and the actions of the Prosecutor's Office need to be determined before a decision can be made on whether the bail will be returned to the company or retained by the state.

Sobriety Checkpoints Can Mean Ad Opportunities for Bail Bond Companies

Gov. Chris Gregoire soon will decide how much time and energy to spend trying to persuade lawmakers to back her on legalizing sobriety checkpoints.

Many of them flat out don't like an idea that now faces very dim prospects for success this session.

They cite legal history in this state against use of roadside stops. Then there's personal disgust among conservative and liberal lawmakers who consider the stops to be an excessive incursion of personal liberties.

At this point, you could pile all the openly supportive legislators into a minivan and seating might still be available.

A hearing is planned for Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee on the governor's proposal to let police randomly stop cars to find those who shouldn't be behind the wheel because they imbibed too much alcohol.

Gregoire will pay close attention to the hearing and then decide whether any effort can get the program approved in the session's remaining six weeks.

If the issue passes in the House, she still must get it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the chairman is opposed.

With such challenges, she and supporters must tweak their message.

They know lawmakers love to endorse programs that will assist small business and promote economic development. This one will do both.

And Democrats and Republicans line up behind anything that makes government more customer-oriented. This one does that, too.

These points haven't come out yet because, well, the focus is too much on law and order and safety.

It's time for a change in thinking.

It's time for the "Martini and a Map" plan.

The premise is simple: When you buy a drink, you get a free map laying out where the checkpoints are set up for the night and how long they'll be in place.

With this information, people may ponder how long and how much they will drink that evening.

In my native California, where roadside stops are a regular feature of Friday and Saturday nights, we all got the lowdown from the bartender. He reminded us where the cops would be, when they would be there and if we needed to use his phone to call a cab.

I tipped extra for such service.

Here, it's going to take a bit more ingenuity.

I imagine owners of bars and restaurants will recognize the money-making potential in keeping the customers informed.

They could provide a free map marking the spots of the roadside stops. To cover production costs, they sell ads to taxi companies, 24-hour restaurants, lawyers and bail bondsmen.

Government should partner with these businesses, too. Gregoire's proposed legislation requires the public receive advance notice of checkpoints.

What better way to comply than teaming with the establishments to get those maps into the hands of folks as they leave.

This might keep a few drinkers from driving.

Which is the whole point, isn't it?

Simpson Walks Free After Judge Rap

OJ Simpson again walked free from a Las Vegas jail hours after a judge blistered him for "arrogance or ignorance" for breaking bail terms in a robbery case.

The former NFL star posted bond and was released from jail on Thursday just after 11pm local time. He walked out by himself and quickly got into a white Mercedes and was driven away without comment to the dozen members of the news media on hand.

Bond Fees Bring Thousands to Upshur County

Upshur County has collected more than $8,000 in felony bond forfeitures, according to District Attorney Billy Byrd.

The money came from people who had been arrested for felony offenses and made bond, but did not appear at their hearings, Byrd said.

Byrd said his office asked all bondsmen to appear in 115th District Court on Dec. 19, and he was able to settle some of the cases.

The court collected a total of $8,389 in seven cases, with the money turned over to the county, he said.

Some of the money will cover court costs and the rest will be placed in the general revenue fund, he said.

Unusual Cell Phone Problem For Bondsmen

How well do you remember phone numbers? Can you call a family member or friend from memory or do you rely on the numbers stored in your cell phone? If you're stuck in jail, it can mean the difference between getting out or spending time behind bars.

"Somebody has to pay for the bond, and most of the time we need an indemnitor, someone who is going to take financial responsibility for the full amount of the bond to make sure that this person is going to go to court," explained bail bondsman Wendy Zamutt.

You'd think all you have to do is grab your cell phone and call someone. But remember, when you're behind bars, you don't have your cell phone.

"We live in a time where everyone has a cell phone and nobody has any phone numbers memorized. Everything is on speed dial -- so nobody has any numbers that they can give me and that causes a huge problem," Wendy said.

No numbers means no financing and no quick chance of getting out of jail.

"If you don't have any phone numbers plan on hunkering down because you're gonna be here awhile," Wendy warned.

It's also good to remember that since calls from jail have to be collect, in most cases, you can't call a cell phone from behind bars. It has to be a landline.

Mom Works With Bondsmen To Have Son Arrested

John Darlington went to the county Tax Collector's Office Tuesday afternoon for the mundane task of registering a vehicle.

As he sat among the rows of lobby chairs with his mother, waiting for his number to flash, two men approached.

"John, you need to stand up," one of them told him, displaying a bail bondsman's badge. "You're under arrest."

But Darlington didn't just surrender his wrists to the handcuffs. He pushed and fought until he and the bondsmen fell to the floor. Then, according to bail bondsman David Lowman, Darlington reached into the waistband of his pants and pulled a gun.

Customers ran. Employees ducked behind their desks.

Darlington ended up handcuffed with a bloody face. New Port Richey police arrived and took him to jail.

But one person isn't pleased about the chosen setting for the confrontation.

Said Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Olson: "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that this could have been a tragic circumstance. You could be reporting that somebody got shot or killed."

Darlington, 45, of Holiday, is awaiting trial on a Pinellas County grand theft charge. He was released from jail in October after his mother put up 10 percent of his $15,000 bail.

Lowman, who owns Help Bail Bonds of Clearwater, said Darlington had checked in every week like he was supposed to since his release. But recently Nell Darlington told Lowman that her son wasn't keeping his bargain with her. He had left town in her truck, and she wanted it back.

She also wanted his bail revoked.

Nell Darlington decided to lure her son back by promising to transfer title of the truck to him, Lowman said. They agreed to meet at the tax office.

So about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Lowman and his brother Donald waited outside the office on U.S. 19. Darlington arrived but walked quickly into the building.

Lowman said he had no reason to think Darlington was armed.

"We didn't have him out on a gun charge," he said.

Lowman left his own gun in the car, he said, because he knows it's illegal to carry a weapon into a government office.

Lowman said Darlington "just, like, snapped." In the melee, Lowman said, Darlington pressed the gun into Lowman's stomach and cocked it. Then, inexplicably, Darlington started telling Lowman and the officers who arrived to shoot him.

Records show Darlington has a long arrest record, including an armed robbery in 1991.

Reached last night at Darlington's home, a woman who identified herself as his mother but would not confirm her name said Darlington "didn't really threaten the bondsmen. He asked them to shoot him so he wouldn't have to shoot himself."

She said Darlington had talked about killing himself "because he's in trouble." She said she agreed to work with the bondsmen because she wants her son to get help. She declined to say much more about the situation. "Nobody understands it," she said. "I can't."

Darlington was charged with aggravated assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm and grand theft.

Police say the gun, a .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun, was stolen out of Pasco County.

O.J. Simpson’s Bondsman Lands Him in Jail

Miguel Pereira, O.J. Simpson's bail bondsman, tells TMZ he turned over the cell phone message that got O.J. thrown back in jail because he wasn't "going to get involved in illegal activity for him."

Pereira tells us he didn't listen to the voicemail right away -- he thought it was just another long O.J. message. Instead, he was tipped to its contents by an investigator who wouldn't identify himself.
When Pereira went to one of O.J.'s attorneys, Gabriel Grasso, to tell him about the voicemail, Pereira says he was told not to worry about it.

When the investigator contacted him a second time to tell him about photos he had of O.J. in the Bahamas over the holidays -- a violation of his bail -- it was then that Pereira listened to the voicemail carefully and contacted the D.A.

KVVU in Las Vegas shot video of Simpson and Pereira when they landed in Las Vegas. A judge will decide on Wednesday whether or not to revoke O.J.'s bail. If revoked, he could remain in jail until his trial starts on April 7.

Bail Bond Agents Provide an Option for Those Facing Criminal Charges

If you know Matt Maddock, you probably owe him money. Or he's gotten you out of jail. Or both. Maddock is president of A-1 Bail Bonds in Milford, which is one of nearly 30 certified businesses appearing on this year's bail bondsmen list recently approved by the Oakland County Circuit Court judges.

Jail Crowding a Key Concern For Everyone in the Justice System

There is no bigger issue facing the local criminal justice system than the aging and overcrowded Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, where a growing inmate population, more than half of whom are awaiting trial, languish within walls that are not set to expand anytime soon.

The same scenario is playing out in jails across the state, which leads the world with a per capital inmate population of 791 per 100,000 people.

On Dec. 1, the jail implemented its most controversial population management policy yet by releasing misdemeanor offenders on a court summons in lieu of bonds. It has been met by criticism from bondsmen and city court officials who are predicting increases in crime and surges in warrants for failure to appear in court. It is too early to tell if these fears are warranted.
LPCC Director Rob Reardon hopes the policy will reduce the inmate population by 75 to 100. This policy follows other pushes by the jail to free up space and lower the jail's $12 million a year operating cost. Those have included expansion or creation of numerous rehabilitative programs such as work release, day reporting and home detention.

But what none of these policies can do is limit the number of inmates who are awaiting trial.

The jail's capacity rate stands at 914. At any given time, about 550 inmates there are awaiting trials. This is bad news for a jail in need of space, especially when those inmates likely will remain there for long periods of time.

As of Dec. 27, the jail's inmate roster included 37 prisoners who had had been in jail for more than a year without a trial, eight who had been in for more than two years and six who had been there for more than three years. It also included about 230 others who had been in for more than 100 days but less than a year.

Some were because of the mental health of the prisoners or because the case involved a murder trial, which typically takes longer than any other trial. The others are because of packed dockets, court delays and continuances from both the state and defense.

Each of those cases involves individuals who could either not afford a bond or were not offered a bond because of the nature of their charges. So, while they are still innocent, their freedom is put on hold while they await their court dates.

District Attorney Mike Harson said it's not uncommon for a case to take nine months to move its way through the system.

Cases routinely get bumped off a docket based on their priority, which is because of the Simpson Decision, a case that Harson prosecuted back in the late 1980s.

Prior to this decision, prosecutors could pick what cases they wanted to pursue and put them on a docket. Defense attorneys argued that it was unfair.

The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that cases must be randomly set and that the district attorney's office had to prioritize which cases it was most interested in pursuing off any given docket. That list had to be sent to defense attorneys beforehand. This allowed them to know what cases they should be most prepared for. It also lets them know which cases do not stand a reasonable chance of going to trial.

Harson said he is allowed only 225 days of court each year, but when you take in thousands of cases each year there's no way to get through all of them in time. The hope is that those lesser cases will ultimately end in a pleas.

"People complain about plea bargains, but if we don't have them, this whole system comes to a halt," he said.

District Judge Marilyn Castle has said she realizes that there are flaws within the system.

"The reason our system isn't perfect is because it's made up by humans, and we're not perfect," District Judge Marilyn Castle said.

But she said she thinks the system moves pretty fast compared to others.

"Would I like to see the system to move faster? Of course I would," she said.

One way is to speed up misdemeanor cases, Reardon said. This would alleviate the reasons behind the jail's new policy, which still accepts domestic violence related misdemeanors and warrants.

Misdemeanor offenders usually account for upward of 60 percent of the jail's occupancy rate. Before this policy went into effect, a person arrested for a minor disturbance, such as a fight in a bar, could sit in jail for up to 45 days waiting for charges to be filed. It can be 60 days for a felony offense.

If no charges are filed, the person can be released. If charges are filed, then the person can sit and wait even longer. When this happens, a person theoretically can spend more time waiting in jail than he would have received for his sentence. This ultimately leads to a lot of credit for time served sentences.

Reardon has long pointed to places like Minnesota, which is where he came from, and its ability to clear the majority of its misdemeanor offenses within 24 hours of an arrest.

If he had a wish list, he said this would top it.

Various local officials have voiced their willingness to examine implementing such a procedure here.

But to do it would require serious systemic changes, from shortening how long it takes police reports to be processed and charges to be filed to the willingness of judges to sit in and take pleas a lot sooner than the normal time frames allot.

Chief Judge Glennon Everett called it a good idea and one that he would definitely consider. He said he realizes the need to speed up the system.

Cavallo Sentenced to Jail Time in Bail Scheme

A prominent defense attorney was sentenced Friday to six months in jail for paying a pair of bail bondsmen to steer business his way, marking the latest chapter in a broadening drama involving indicted Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona and his inner circle.

Joseph G. Cavallo, who gained notoriety representing the son of a former assistant sheriff in a sexual assault case, has until March to surrender. His license to practice law will be suspended as of Monday by the State Bar of California, which will ultimately determine whether he should be disbarred.

Cavallo, 52, could have been sentenced to more than three years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to three felonies in a kickback scheme in which he paid $50,000 to the Xtreme Bail Bonds agents for inmate referrals between June 2003 and August 2005.

Cavallo left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. His attorney, John D. Barnett, had argued his client should serve no time behind bars because he was less culpable than the bail agents -- Jorge Andres Castro and Alejandro de Jesus Cruz. The agents were each sentenced earlier this year to four-month terms.

But Orange County Superior Court Judge Carla M. Singer agreed with the sentence recommended by Deputy Dist. Atty. Ebrahim Baytieh. Although moved by letters from Cavallo's ex-wife and other supporters, she said Cavallo was the mastermind behind the conspiracy, and that corruption of the criminal-justice system was unsettling for everyone.

With the sentencing behind him and his law career up in the air, Cavallo remains a key figure in an ugly series of criminal and civil proceedings that have destroyed relationships between Carona and some of his once-closest political allies.

Cavallo first stepped into the public limelight with his aggressive defense of Gregory Haidl, son of former Orange County Assistant Sheriff Donald Haidl. The younger Haidl and two of his friends were accused of plying a 16-year-old girl with alcohol and sexually assaulting her in 2002 at his father's Corona del Mar home.

The attorney drew the ire of prosecutors and others with his courtroom attacks on the girl's credibility, starting with an opening statement in which he depicted her as a sex-crazed teen who sold drugs to children. After two sensational trials, Haidl and his co-defendants were convicted and are now serving six-year prison terms.

Cavallo later defended George Jaramillo, another former assistant sheriff and a onetime Carona confidant.

Jaramillo, once seen as Carona's eventual successor, was accused of using his position to help a Newport Beach businessman promote a laser device that would disable fleeing cars. Cavallo eventually took himself off the case, which ended with Jaramillo being sentenced to a year in jail. He was released last month after completing his sentence.

Cavallo now has a civil claim pending against the sheriff, accusing him of bullying and threatening him for representing Jaramillo.

Cavallo also has sued Haidl, alleging that the former assistant sheriff stiffed him on his legal fees in the son's sexual assault case.

Most recently, Cavallo, Haidl and Jaramillo have been cooperating with the federal government in a corruption case against Carona. The sheriff, his wife and his former mistress are targeted in a sweeping indictment that accuses Carona of engaging in a broad conspiracy to sell access to his office for tens of thousands of dollars and gifts. All three have pleaded not guilty and are free on bail.

One of the allegations in the indictment that has struck a chord of outrage among the rank and file is that the sheriff steered employees and their relatives to Cavallo as part of a kickback scheme that sources allege was hatched by the two men, the sheriff's mistress, Haidl and Jaramillo. Carona and the others allegedly agreed that Cavallo should kick back a share of proceeds from cases referred to him.

In one of these cases, Carona allegedly urged the wife of a deputy to hire Cavallo during a hospital visit as her husband lay dying.