The bail amounts that magistrates and judges are setting these days are getting lower and lower, several local bail bondsmen say.
That makes it easier for defendants to get out of jail while awaiting trial, but has added to the industry's difficulties in making a buck. "They are absolutely getting lower," added Stephen L. Grobel, a Hampton bail bondsman.
"Because you have smaller bonds, you have to do more volume," said Jim Searcy, a local bondsman. "At the end of the day, it all balances out, but you find yourself doing a whole lot more work."
A second DUI offense that might have carried a $5,000 bond a few years back, Searcy said, now might be half that, or about $2,500. That cuts in half what the bondsmen makes on the deal, to $250 from the previous $500.
Read more here
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Rodanthe Movie House Sold to Bail Bondsman
The beachfront house featured in the movie "Nights in Rodanthe" will soon have a new home itself, thanks to a bail bondsman who fell in love with the surf-threatened house after his wife bought the movie for him as a Christmas present last year.
Ben Huss of Newton said Monday he hopes to close Jan. 4 on the house and have it moved and ready to rent by Easter weekend. Huss described himself as someone who saves everything and said "this is just on a bigger scale. We can't let this house go down. It's not a piece of history and it's not an antique, but it's a nostalgia piece and I'm a nostalgic guy."
The current owners, Michael and Susan Creasy of Champion, Pa., bought the house in 2003 and intended to keep it, Michael Creasy said Monday. But financial reasons kept them from moving the house, which Dare County had declared a public nuisance, he said. The Creasys had appealed that decision.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Charlie Sheen arrested on domestic charges; released on bail
It wasn't a very Merry Christmas for "Two and a Half Men" star and Emmy nominee, Charlie Sheen. The actor was arrested early Christmas morning after a domestic dispute in Aspen, Colorado. The charges filed against him included second degree assault, menacing and criminal mischief.
After spending nearly the whole holiday in Pitkin County Jail, Sheen was released on $8500 bond and is set up for a February 8th, 2010 court date.
Read more here
After spending nearly the whole holiday in Pitkin County Jail, Sheen was released on $8500 bond and is set up for a February 8th, 2010 court date.
Read more here
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Randy Quaid & Wife Post Bail and Pay Debts
Randy Quaid and his wife Evi decided to right their wrongdoings in time for the holiday. The couple — who was arrested in Texas on an outstanding warrant for failing to pay hotel expenses in Santa Barbara — appeared in court today and pleaded not guilty to charges dashing a $10,000 tab at a local resort earlier this year, E! Online reports.
The couple waited days after their arrest in their native state of Texas, eventually posting their bail which was set $40,000 a piece, according to E!.
The Christmas Vacation star and his wife finally decided to return to Calif. and to pay their dues.
The Judge sentenced the couple with misdemeanor charges of burglary, conspiracy and defrauding an innkeeper. They were permitted to leave after posting an additional $20,000 bail each.
Randy and his misses promised to return March 1 for a hearing.
Monday, December 21, 2009
'Dance Crew' judge charged
Shane Sparks, a judge on MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew" and a choreographer for Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance," was arrested in Los Angeles on Friday and booked on suspicion of child molestation, police said.
Sparks, 40, was charged with eight counts of molestation involving one underage girl. The molestation, according to TMZ.com, allegedly began in 1994 and continued for several years.
"We are going to fight this tooth and nail," Sparks' attorney Steve Meister, who claims his client is being extorted, said to E! News.
Sparks was being held on $590,000 bail, which was posted Saturday night.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Judges must use more caution in giving bail to alleged rapists
First-degree murder triggers a presumption against bail. In the public’s mind, child rape follows closely in terms of heinousness and impact on victims and their families. Yet some judges treat accused child rapists more like drug dealers or extortionists when assessing bail. Their actions undermine confidence in the framework of the legal system.
Read more here
Earlier this week, 26-year-old Joseph Gardner of Kingston was charged with raping a 3-year-old girl. At the time of the alleged attack, he was free on bail on an earlier charge of breaking into a Kingston house and raping a 5-year-old girl. The Plymouth district attorney requested $200,000 cash bail in the earlier case. But Judge Thomas Brownell saw fit to order just $10,000. And a Superior Court Judge upheld that choice. The judges put a cheap price tag on public safety. Gardner’s family put down the money, and he walked out the door.
The public needs to understand that bail is intended primarily to guarantee a court appearance, not to serve as a pre-trial form of punishment. There’s no price list for judges to consult when setting bail. The goal is simply to maximize the likelihood that the defendant, who is presumed innocent, will appear in court.
Jessica Simpson Goes to Jail -- To Bail Out Pal
Jessica Simpson paid a late-night visit to ... jail!
The singer, 29, stopped by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department in West Hollywood early Friday morning to try to bail out her friend, Usmagazine.com confirms.
Her pal and longtime makeup artist, Mary Phillips, was arrested at 1:40 a.m. for being drunk in public after police received a disturbing the peace call at the Sunset Tower Hotel, a law enforcement source tells Us.
Simpson, however, was turned away when she attempted to bail her friend, 30, out.
"She was arrested for being drunk in public, and she was not released to Jessica because you can't release someone who has not sobered up," Deputy Aura Sierra tells Us. "They're going to release her a little later when she's sobered up. I don't know what time that will be. It could be a minimum of 6 to probably 8 hours."
Monday, December 14, 2009
CSI: Miami news: Jonathan Togo (Ryan Wolfe) arrested, released on bail
Jonathan Togo (CSI: Miami's Ryan Wolfe) was arrested at his home in Hollywood Hills at around 2 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, December 12, on suspicion of domestic violence, according to ET Online, Boston Celebrity Headlines Examiner Maria Parece and other sources. According to TMZ his girlfriend did not need immediate medical attention. Togo was released at 10:30 a.m. that day on $50,000 bail.
Read more here
Read more here
Friday, December 11, 2009
Husband posts bail for ex-Scout leader charged in sex case; she's out of jail
The husband of former Boy Scout leader Wendy Rogers, who was charged with sexually assaulting a Scout in her troop, posted bail for her release Wednesday night.
Rogers was released from the St. Clair County Jail after her husband, Marcus Rogers, posted $10,000 cash -- 10 percent of her $100,000 bail -- at 5 p.m. Wednesday, said St. Clair County Sheriff's Capt. Steve Johnson.
Rogers, 39, of 1430 N. Smiley St. in O'Fallon, will remain free until her trial on charges of criminal sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy in her Boy Scout troop. There are no special conditions of her bond at this time, Johnson said.
Read more here
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Bondsman shoots attacking pit bull
An aggravated assault charge is pending against a man who turned his pit bull dog onto a bondsman trying to serve warrants on the man’s brothers Monday on Old Woodbury Highway, a sheriff’s deputy reported.
Bondsman Edward Lee Parker Jr. of Cumberland Bail Bonds said he shot the dog in self-defense, Deputy Trent Givens reported. He shot the dog through the jowl with the round passing through the dog’s bottom jaw. The owner put the dog on its chain.
When Givens arrived, he called Animal Control officers to check on the dog’s welfare.
Parker said when he arrived to serve the warrants, the brother cursed Parker and threatened to release the dog on him. The dog was chained in the back yard. The brother unchained the dog and antagonized the animal, encouraging it to attack Parker who warned he would shoot the dog.
“At this point, the dog ran full speed towards Mr. Parker,” Givens reported. “As the dog was running toward him, he was braking and acting very aggressively.”
Parker fired two rounds from his Glock handgun, striking the dog.
The bondsman indicated he would obtain arrest warrants against the brother to charge him with aggravated assault.
Read more here
Bondsman Edward Lee Parker Jr. of Cumberland Bail Bonds said he shot the dog in self-defense, Deputy Trent Givens reported. He shot the dog through the jowl with the round passing through the dog’s bottom jaw. The owner put the dog on its chain.
When Givens arrived, he called Animal Control officers to check on the dog’s welfare.
Parker said when he arrived to serve the warrants, the brother cursed Parker and threatened to release the dog on him. The dog was chained in the back yard. The brother unchained the dog and antagonized the animal, encouraging it to attack Parker who warned he would shoot the dog.
“At this point, the dog ran full speed towards Mr. Parker,” Givens reported. “As the dog was running toward him, he was braking and acting very aggressively.”
Parker fired two rounds from his Glock handgun, striking the dog.
The bondsman indicated he would obtain arrest warrants against the brother to charge him with aggravated assault.
Read more here
Monday, December 07, 2009
German Photographer on Bail After 2010 Bomb Scare
A 68-year-old German photographer was granted 5,000 rand (407 pounds) bail in a South African court on Monday after being arrested for making a hoax threat ahead of the draw for next year's soccer World Cup. Bernd Fischer, who said he worked as a freelance journalist for German news agencies, was one of two people arrested on Friday for separate false bomb threats ahead of the 2010 final draw in Cape Town.
Fischer, arrested after dropping a bag he said contained a bomb and fleeing, will have to report to police three times a week as part of the bail conditions. Police also kept his passport.
"Mr Fischer has paid his bail and was released," his lawyer Jan Hildebrand told Reuters. A 45-year-old South African man was also arrested on Friday after making two hoax calls about a bomb at Cape Town's international airport, but police were unable to say when he would appear in court.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
New Bail Bond Laws Keep Repeat Offenders Off the Streets
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) - Keeping our community safer by keeping repeat offenders off the streets. That's the goal of a new law that went into effect this week.
It requires people on probation and parole to see a district court judge before getting bond on new felony offenses.
Local prosecutors say it sends a tough message to repeat offenders.
There are more than 3,500 people on parole and probation in New Hanover County.
If one of them commits another crime, they'll have to stay in jail until they can get a court hearing to set their bail.
One bail bondsman tells us this will hurt his bottom line.
Anthony Newkirk hasn't been a bail bondsman very long, but he knows business is the slowest it's been in years.
This week, business got worse.
"Weekends and holidays, tremendously. It will tremendously affect our business," says Newkirk.
That's because under a new North Carolina law that went into effect December 1st, people who commit a felony while on probation or parole will have to go before a district court judge to get bail.
Prior to December 1st, they could just see a magistrate at the jail.
New Hanover and Pender Counties district attorney Ben David says, "This law makes it much tougher on career criminals in the criminal justice system to get out if they've committed another offense while they're on probation."
Read more here.
It requires people on probation and parole to see a district court judge before getting bond on new felony offenses.
Local prosecutors say it sends a tough message to repeat offenders.
There are more than 3,500 people on parole and probation in New Hanover County.
If one of them commits another crime, they'll have to stay in jail until they can get a court hearing to set their bail.
One bail bondsman tells us this will hurt his bottom line.
Anthony Newkirk hasn't been a bail bondsman very long, but he knows business is the slowest it's been in years.
This week, business got worse.
"Weekends and holidays, tremendously. It will tremendously affect our business," says Newkirk.
That's because under a new North Carolina law that went into effect December 1st, people who commit a felony while on probation or parole will have to go before a district court judge to get bail.
Prior to December 1st, they could just see a magistrate at the jail.
New Hanover and Pender Counties district attorney Ben David says, "This law makes it much tougher on career criminals in the criminal justice system to get out if they've committed another offense while they're on probation."
Read more here.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Pierce County judges defend Clemmons bail decisions
The idea is presumed innocence.
It’s the guiding principle in criminal cases, and it applied to suspected cop-killer Maurice Clemmons this summer and fall. It’s the reason he was able to bail out of jail on multiple charges of third-degree assault, malicious mischief and second-degree child rape.
Pierce County Superior Court judges, under fire for their decisions regarding Clemmons, say the bail decisions and amounts set for his release have been misstated in some media accounts, and in some cases misunderstood. Outside of capital cases, criminal defendants have the right to bail. That’s the way the law works.
“People want judges to follow the law,” said Bryan Chushcoff, the county’s presiding judge. “The state constitution says we have to set bail and we can’t set all cash. We have to set reasonable bail. We have to allow bonds until there’s been a conviction.”
Chushcoff said the judges were considering a general statement on the issue, but remained wary of violating codes of judicial conduct regarding discussion of active cases. As of Tuesday evening, no statement had been released.
Records of Clemmons’ spin through the courts reveal that he posted bail three times, for a total of $420,000 – in cash terms, that meant $42,000.
The first bond – $40,000 – was posted Sunday, May 10, by Aladdin Bail Bonds, after Clemmons had been arrested on multiple charges of third-degree assault and malicious mischief. During that incident, he punched a county sheriff’s deputy in the face.
Clemmons used a process called “booking bail,” which allowed him to post a bond on a weekend, without appearing before a judge.
The second bond was more complicated.
Following the May arrest, subsequent investigation led to a charge of second-degree child rape against Clemmons. The victim was a 12-year-old relative. Charging papers say that Clemmons touched the victim with his hands and mouth, and tried to have sex, but the victim refused. It was a special assault case, relatively common – the court typically has 400 to 500 in its pipeline at any given time.
Parole officials in Arkansas had learned of Clemmons’ arrest and the charges, and issued a fugitive warrant for his arrest, tied to earlier convictions for aggravated robbery and burglary in that state. The Arkansas warrant, issued May 29, contained a no-bail provision, meaning Clemmons could be held without bail pending extradition.
On July 1, Clemmons was arrested and booked into the Pierce County Jail. He was charged in three separate criminal cases: the assault case from May, the child rape case and the Arkansas fugitive case.
On July 2, Judge John McCarthy tackled all three matters. He ordered Clemmons held without bail on the fugitive warrant, and set new bail bond amounts for the other two cases: $40,000 for the assault and $150,000 for the child rape charge.
“The biggest misconception is that I set bail in the amount of $15,000, when in fact I ordered that he (Clemmons) be held without bail on the fugitive case,” McCarthy said Tuesday, citing erroneous accounts in the national media.
Prosecutors asked for $200,000 on the child rape case. McCarthy set bail at $150,000. The prosecutor’s office has since said that the bail amount was unusually high, given the underlying charges. McCarthy agrees.
“I think anybody who works in this court would tell you the bail that was set in this case based on the charges was high,” he said.
At that stage, the bail amounts were a moot point, because of the Arkansas warrant and the no-bail provision. The landscape changed later in July, when Arkansas parole officials decided to rescind their warrant. That nullified the no-bail provision. Prosecutors in Pierce County were forced to dismiss the fugitive case on July 23.
That meant Clemmons was eligible for bail. He posted it July 24, with the Seattle Bonding Co., and left the jail.
Clemmons was arrested again in August, this time on a warrant filed by the Washington Department of Corrections, which had inherited parole supervision from Arkansas. This time he stayed in jail for three months while prosecutors ordered a mental health examination related to his competency to stand trial.
His next bail hearing was Nov. 12, before Judge Thomas Felnagle. Again, prosecutors argued for a $200,000 bond. Felnagle’s decisions mirrored McCarthy’s. He set the same bail amounts: $40,000 for the assault case, and $150,000 for the child rape charge. (Felnagle did not respond to a request for comment.)
Read more here.
It’s the guiding principle in criminal cases, and it applied to suspected cop-killer Maurice Clemmons this summer and fall. It’s the reason he was able to bail out of jail on multiple charges of third-degree assault, malicious mischief and second-degree child rape.
Pierce County Superior Court judges, under fire for their decisions regarding Clemmons, say the bail decisions and amounts set for his release have been misstated in some media accounts, and in some cases misunderstood. Outside of capital cases, criminal defendants have the right to bail. That’s the way the law works.
“People want judges to follow the law,” said Bryan Chushcoff, the county’s presiding judge. “The state constitution says we have to set bail and we can’t set all cash. We have to set reasonable bail. We have to allow bonds until there’s been a conviction.”
Chushcoff said the judges were considering a general statement on the issue, but remained wary of violating codes of judicial conduct regarding discussion of active cases. As of Tuesday evening, no statement had been released.
Records of Clemmons’ spin through the courts reveal that he posted bail three times, for a total of $420,000 – in cash terms, that meant $42,000.
The first bond – $40,000 – was posted Sunday, May 10, by Aladdin Bail Bonds, after Clemmons had been arrested on multiple charges of third-degree assault and malicious mischief. During that incident, he punched a county sheriff’s deputy in the face.
Clemmons used a process called “booking bail,” which allowed him to post a bond on a weekend, without appearing before a judge.
The second bond was more complicated.
Following the May arrest, subsequent investigation led to a charge of second-degree child rape against Clemmons. The victim was a 12-year-old relative. Charging papers say that Clemmons touched the victim with his hands and mouth, and tried to have sex, but the victim refused. It was a special assault case, relatively common – the court typically has 400 to 500 in its pipeline at any given time.
Parole officials in Arkansas had learned of Clemmons’ arrest and the charges, and issued a fugitive warrant for his arrest, tied to earlier convictions for aggravated robbery and burglary in that state. The Arkansas warrant, issued May 29, contained a no-bail provision, meaning Clemmons could be held without bail pending extradition.
On July 1, Clemmons was arrested and booked into the Pierce County Jail. He was charged in three separate criminal cases: the assault case from May, the child rape case and the Arkansas fugitive case.
On July 2, Judge John McCarthy tackled all three matters. He ordered Clemmons held without bail on the fugitive warrant, and set new bail bond amounts for the other two cases: $40,000 for the assault and $150,000 for the child rape charge.
“The biggest misconception is that I set bail in the amount of $15,000, when in fact I ordered that he (Clemmons) be held without bail on the fugitive case,” McCarthy said Tuesday, citing erroneous accounts in the national media.
Prosecutors asked for $200,000 on the child rape case. McCarthy set bail at $150,000. The prosecutor’s office has since said that the bail amount was unusually high, given the underlying charges. McCarthy agrees.
“I think anybody who works in this court would tell you the bail that was set in this case based on the charges was high,” he said.
At that stage, the bail amounts were a moot point, because of the Arkansas warrant and the no-bail provision. The landscape changed later in July, when Arkansas parole officials decided to rescind their warrant. That nullified the no-bail provision. Prosecutors in Pierce County were forced to dismiss the fugitive case on July 23.
That meant Clemmons was eligible for bail. He posted it July 24, with the Seattle Bonding Co., and left the jail.
Clemmons was arrested again in August, this time on a warrant filed by the Washington Department of Corrections, which had inherited parole supervision from Arkansas. This time he stayed in jail for three months while prosecutors ordered a mental health examination related to his competency to stand trial.
His next bail hearing was Nov. 12, before Judge Thomas Felnagle. Again, prosecutors argued for a $200,000 bond. Felnagle’s decisions mirrored McCarthy’s. He set the same bail amounts: $40,000 for the assault case, and $150,000 for the child rape charge. (Felnagle did not respond to a request for comment.)
Read more here.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
SOOFEM.com Donates Caller ID Spoofing Services to Bail Bondsmen
Ericka Holman, Interim President of SPOOFEM.COM, will be donating SPOOFEM cards to licensed law enforcement, private investigators, and bail bondmen professionals to give them a feel for the Spoofing service for the month of December. Applicants can register online at www.SPOOFEM.com by clicking on the investigator icon located on the homepage.
"We want to give these professionals the experience of using our products and services. It is important for them to know how it works, and is it going to fit into their organization," says Holman. "We hope to give them the feedback and response they need when searching for people, to see if this may be a quick way for them to get information without going through the normal channels."
The main service these professionals will be able to benefit from is the Caller ID Spoofing service. Caller ID Spoofing is a service that allows you to dial any phone number and have any number you choose show up in the recipient's caller ID. Users are also able to change their voice to sound like that of a man or a woman, record the conversation, and have it emailed to them within seconds of hanging up the call. SPOOFEM.COM even allows you to send text messages and emails that appear to have come from someone else.
In addition to providing consumers with a caller ID spoofing service, SPOOFEM.COM also supplies spy products such as voice changers, detection kits, GPS tracking systems, and computer security software.
Read more here.
"We want to give these professionals the experience of using our products and services. It is important for them to know how it works, and is it going to fit into their organization," says Holman. "We hope to give them the feedback and response they need when searching for people, to see if this may be a quick way for them to get information without going through the normal channels."
The main service these professionals will be able to benefit from is the Caller ID Spoofing service. Caller ID Spoofing is a service that allows you to dial any phone number and have any number you choose show up in the recipient's caller ID. Users are also able to change their voice to sound like that of a man or a woman, record the conversation, and have it emailed to them within seconds of hanging up the call. SPOOFEM.COM even allows you to send text messages and emails that appear to have come from someone else.
In addition to providing consumers with a caller ID spoofing service, SPOOFEM.COM also supplies spy products such as voice changers, detection kits, GPS tracking systems, and computer security software.
Read more here.
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