Bail-bond Measure Ignites Passions

The battle over Proposition 102, a measure on the November ballot that would affect how judges set bail in criminal cases, has focused on Larimer County in recent days.

On Monday, a vocal group of about 40 people gathered outside the administration building of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office to protest Sheriff Jim Alderden's opposition to Proposition 102.

Waving signs, American flags and chanting, the protesters called for the end to "criminal welfare," which is how they refer to county-administered pretrial services that allow defendants to stay out of jail through personal recognizance or cash-backed bonds.

Proposition 102 would prohibit judges from assigning defendants to pretrial services on unsecured bonds other than first-time offenders accused of nonviolent misdemeanor crimes. Other defendants could be assigned to pretrial-service supervision if they are released on surety bonds obtained through a bail-bond agency for a fee.

Ten counties across the state have pretrial services, with Larimer County having one of the largest programs. The county's program has taken decision-making about bail out of the hands of judges, said Robert Trucker, outreach director for Safe Streets Colorado, a campaign committee backing the proposal.

"I don't believe giving criminals a 'get out of jail free card' at taxpayer expense makes sense for anyone, including the criminal," he said.

Alderden and Sharon Winfree, who supervises the county's pretrial release program, were named in a complaint filed last week with the Secretary of State's Office claiming opponents of Proposition 102 violated state campaign finance law by not registering as a campaign committee.

Also named in the complaint by Sarah Millett of Centennial were Scott Storey, the district attorney in Jefferson County, state Attorney General John Suthers, and the Pretrial Justice Institute, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. All have publically spoken against Proposition 102.

Opponents have since registered as Citizens to Protect Colorado Communities. Spokesperson Stefanie Clarke - who was also named in the complaint - said the complaint is a "publicity stunt" aimed at distracting voters.


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Hacienda Heights Bail Bondsman, Former Police Officer Killed in Crash Hours Before he was Due in Court on Criminal Charges

A Hacienda Heights man was killed early Monday in a hit-and-run crash just hours before he was due in court on charges of illegally soliciting bail from prisoners while working as a bail bond agent, officials said.

Bail bondsman and former Los Angeles police officer Edwin Sunmin Lee, 39, was due in court at 8:30 a.m. Monday, according to Shiara Davila Morales of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Lee never made it after he was involved in a fatal two-vehicle crash at 2:47 a.m. on Garfield Avenue and the 105 Freeway in Paramount, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials said.

Three men were seen fleeing following the collision, said sheriff's Lt. Shane Robley.

"It was three male Hispanics, and two were helping the third," he said.

No arrests had been made as of Tuesday afternoon, and information regarding the crash was not immediately available, Robley said.

Lee was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

Authorities alleged earlier this year that Lee - while working as a licensed bail agent for Creative Bail Bonds in Van Nuys - solicited two arrestees to enter into bail agreements while at the Los Angeles Police Department's jail in Van Nuys.

Prosecutors also allege he failed to keep complete records of the bail transactions. Lee pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this year.

Lee's attorney Grant Beuchel said his client wasn't guilty of the solicitation charges. Lee's only mistake was failing to keep proper records, Beuchel said.

"He had nothing to fear from this case at all," Beuchel said. "He was looking forward to going to trial."

Lee leaves behind a wife and young child, Beuchel said.

Lee resigned from the Los Angeles Police Department after pleading no contest in April 2005 to a felony count of filing a false police report.

That charge was subsequently reduced to a misdemeanor and dismissed in February 2007, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.


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Lindsay Lohan Bondsman Says Putting Her in Jail was Unfair

Washington, Sep 28 (ANI): Lindsay Lohan’s bail bondsman David Perez has said that the judge’s decision to put the star behind bars was unfair.

Perez, who posted the 300,000-dollar bail to spring LiLo from behind bar, said that Judge Elden Fox’s decision to remand the actress in custody, without bail, was unprecedented.

“I think what Judge Fox did to her, putting her behind bars was unfair. It was a misdemeanor, and she was entitled to bail. I have never seen a judge deny someone bail because of a misdemeanor, ever,” RadarOnline.com quoted him as saying.

Perez said Lohan had no trouble coming up the whopping bail.

“There was absolutely no problem whatsoever in securing her bail, period.

“Lindsay has never had financial problems securing bail,” he added.


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Huntsville Police Arrest Local Bail Bondsman For Murder

HUNTSVILLE, AL - Huntsville Police have arrested a local business owner and charged him with murder. He's a bail bondsman. James Adell Baugh, 47, is the owner of One Hour Bail Bond.

Police arrested Baugh in connection with the shooting death of 19-year-old Danny Moore. The incident happened at 3414 Deerfield Road in Huntsville on Thursday night. Police responded around 11:30 p.m. and found Moore dead.

Police say Baugh and others had gone to the home to look for Moore, because Moore had failed to appear in court. Because Moore missed his court date, Baugh, the bail bondsman, was responsible for Moore's $60,000 bond. Police haven't commented on what happened that resulted in Moore being shot.

Baugh is in the Madison County Jail, awaiting bond. Police continue their investigation. They did recover a shotgun from the scene, but it's not known if it was used in the incident.

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Dog the Bounty Hunter on Call in Case Lindsay Lohan Jumps Bail

Dog the Bounty Hunter, the bail bondsman from Hawaii and sometimes Colorado has been put on high alert that his services may be needed in Los Angeles in case Lindsay Lohan decides to jump bail. Lohan is scheduled to appear in court later this week for a hearing to decide her fate after recently failing two drug tests."

If Ms. Lohan stays in town this time and shows up as scheduled, there will be no need to call Dog in on the matter," claims a spokesperson for A&E, the channel which airs the "Dog the Bounty Hunter" reality series.

"Normally, we wouldn't allow Dog to get caught up in such high profile cases as the Lindsay Lohan matter, but ever since he brought in Randy and Evi Quaid earlier this year when the Quaids failed to show for a scheduled court date, Dog has become the bail bondsman to the stars."

"When asked what he was going to do if he is asked to bring Lindsay Lohan to justice, Dog had this to say, "You know me, I'm the Dog. I know law enforcement. I've been on both sides. I know drugs, I've taken them and I haven't taken them.

Ask Beth, she'll tell ya just who we're talking about. This little lady is going to hell in a hand basket unless she gets with the program. Ask Beth, she'll tell ya. She'll tell Lindsay. She's the go to person for this, just ask her. She'll tell ya."

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Bail Bondsman Says he Lost Job Over Aid to Slain Officer

A veteran law enforcement officer turned bail bond solicitor says his attempts to aid a fatally wounded Jackson policeman last month cost him his job.

But the local bond agency he worked for says the man quit after a series of problems and is now in violation of a contract because he works for a competing agency.

Resolution of that dispute is now before a Hinds County chancery judge.

Mike Ivy, who also is a volunteer firefighter in Terry, says he was giving CPR to officer Glen Agee on the night of Aug. 6 while one of his bosses at David Moore

Bonding repeatedly called his cell phone. Agee was fatally wounded when he chased after and then tussled with escaped prisoner Latwan Smith in a ravine less than a mile from the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond. Smith had escaped from the patrol car en route to the jail.

When Ivy finally returned the missed calls, he got into a heated discussion with the supervisor which Ivy says led to his immediate termination.

"He told me I wasn't a cop any longer and when he calls I should answer the phone,"

Ivy said. "I told him if he thought I'd stop doing CPR on anybody, much less a police officer, and answer the phone he was wrong."

Ivy then went to work for American National Bail Bonding in Raymond but soon found himself in court after his former employer sought a restraining order.

David Moore, owner of David Moore Bonding in Ridgeland, testified Wednesday in a Hinds County Chancery Court hearing that Ivy began working for his agency in March. And while Ivy's years of experience in law enforcement made him an attractive hire, Moore said he began to notice trouble.

"Mike was not answering his phone when we tried to call him. He seemed to have a lot of absenteeism," Moore said. "At one point, he had indicated wanting to get back in law enforcement."

Moore also said one of his partners told Ivy he was fired the night of Aug. 6, but

Moore vetoed the firing and tried to work with Ivy to find a solution so he could remain at the agency.

However, Ivy quit, said Moore.

Now Moore contends Ivy's work for American National Bonding is in violation of a "non-compete" contract he signed that stipulates he cannot compete for bonds in a 120-mile radius of Jackson for at least two years.

The case is before Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas.


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Man Accused of Duping Bondsman Arrested, Again

A New London man accused of kidnapping and stabbing his estranged wife in Bridgeport has been arrested after posting bail using a fake letter from a dead lawyer, police said.

Eric Stiggle, 39, was released from prison on Monday after convincing a bondsman to put up the more than $1.3 million bail on Monday based on a bogus letter from a dead lawyer, the Connecticut Post reports.

On Tuesday, Stiggle, who is awating trial on the alleged incident involving his wife, missed his court date.

Officers say Stiggle stabbed his ex-wife in Bridgeport on May 30 and forced her into a car. The chase ended the following day, when he crashed his car in New York during a chase that started in Holyoke, Mass. The woman survived.




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Neptune Man Facing Assault, Weapons Charges After Bail Bondsman Turns Him In

ASBURY PARK — A 26-year-old man is facing weapons charges in the city after he was arrested by Ocean Township police for allegedly failing to pay fines, police said.

Just before 5 p.m. last Thursday, Lawrence Brown, of Neptune, was turned in at the Ocean Township police headquarters by his bail bonds company after he failed to pay a loitering fine from Feb. 20, according to Ocean Township Lt. Steven Peters.


"Brown was arrested for hindering his own apprehension when he gave a false name during a motor vehicle stop, but a judge amended the charge to loitering," Peters said. "He never paid the fine."

The Ocean Township warrant for his arrest was issued Aug. 25, according to Peters. On Thursday, he was held on $1,078 bail, which he was unable to pay.


Asbury Park police also had a warrant out for Brown's arrest. When they learned Brown was arrested in Ocean Township, they charged him with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.


On Aug. 26, at about 1:23 a.m., Brown approached a Saturn parked near 400 Ridge Ave. in Asbury Park, which had a 17-year-old girl inside, and smacked a handgun against the window of the car, according to city Detective Lt. Mary Bulsiewicz.


The girl, whose name is not being released because she is a minor, got scared and reversed the car into a tree before shifting into drive and speeding past Brown, Bulsiewicz said.


The girl flagged down a police officer, who was around the corner at Ridge and Washington avenues, and reported the incident, according to Bulsiewicz. She identified Brown by photographs.


Brown was taken to Monmouth County Jail, Freehold Township, where he is being held on bail set at $100,000.


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International Fidelity Fined $442,000 for Bail Bond Violations; Other Bail Bond Insurers Put on Notice

DENVER, Sept. 7 -- The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies' Division of Insurance issued the following news release:

Following an examination by the Division of Insurance, International Fidelity Insurance Company, a Colorado-regulated casualty company based in New Jersey, must pay a civil fine of $442,000 for numerous violations of insurance law related to Colorado bail bond business.

International Fidelity Insurance Company is licensed to provide a range of surety bonds in Colorado, but the recent market conduct examination focused solely on its bail bond business. Some issues addressed in the examination report include:

-Failure to handle funds in a fiduciary capacity,

-Failure to appropriately contract with all agents,

-Failure to require bail bond agents to complete required documentation,

-Failure to include all required information on documentation related to the issuance of bail bonds, and

-Failure to properly document deviations from filed rates.

"The Division's examination of International Fidelity Insurance Company is one of the first of several ongoing market conduct examinations we have conducted on bail bond insurers, but it will not be the last," said Insurance Commissioner Marcy Morrison. "The Division wants to send a clear message that the issues and the standards addressed in this exam will impact every bail bond insurer and its agents, as well as every cash and professional cash agent licensed in Colorado. There are other bail bond market conduct exams currently in progress and we expect to continue to call examinations on additional companies, both large and small."

Morrison pointed out that an agent accurately completing required bail bond paperwork is not optional; it is required in Colorado law. "The law's intent is to protect the consumer. Families and individuals who must use a bail bond agent can be in a vulnerable position and they depend on the bail bond agent to act appropriately to complete and file correct paperwork, which protects the consumer's interests," she said.

International Fidelity provided a remedial plan to correct the failures uncovered in the examination, which must now be implemented no later than December 31, 2010. The Division found that IFIC's remedial plan addressed the issues and violations set forth in the Final Agency Order. Morrison stated that over the next few months, the Division will expect and require all other bail bond insurers and agents in Colorado to reach the same level of compliance as seen in IFIC's plan .



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Bondsmen Charged with False Imprisonment

Richard Wayne Angle, 51, and Terry Lee Henderson, 44, representatives of AAA Freedom Bail Bonds, stand charged with false imprisonment, a serious misdemeanor after they allegedly held an individual for over 24 hours, handcuffed to a bed in a one-room garage with two dogs.
The two were arrested at 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, at the Clay County Jail.

According to the Clay County Sheriff's report, Angle and Henderson assisted an individual in bonding out of jail as representatives of AAA Freedom Bail Bonds.

After family members of the individual realized that their home had been used as collateral, the family representatives contacted the bonding company and advised them the bond would be revoked and asked the lien to be released immediately.

Upon receiving the information, the two bail bondsmen located the individual and brought him back to the Clay County Jail. Jail officials advised Triple AAA bondsmen that they could not take the individual as no paperwork was available and it would take several days to clear through the courthouse.

Upon leaving the courthouse, the two men allegedly took the individual to Everly and handcuffed him to a bed in a garage and placed two rottwieller dogs in the garage with him. They held him there for over 24 hours according to the sheriff's report, waiting the paperwork to clear, and then brought the individual to the jail.

The complaint, filed by Cindy Brokens of Scotch Grove, on Aug. 31, suggested the false imprisonment occurred over a four-day period of time. The complaint suggested that the individual should have been released on bond in accordance with state laws, and the individual had the right to be released.

According to the report, the bondsmen in the investigation admitted they would have to let him go, and didn't have a driver's license to drive around and locate him again.


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Vegas Police Defend Hilton's Quick Jail Release

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas police are defending Paris Hilton's quick release from jail after her Aug. 27 arrest on suspicion of cocaine possession, saying they wanted to avoid disruptions in the jail's operations.

Hilton was out of the jail in about three hours, roughly half the average time it takes to process people facing the same charge through the Clark County Detention Center, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief Jim Dixon, who runs the jail, acknowledged Hilton was pushed through the booking process to get her into a separate room and out of the jail as soon as possible.

He noted a crowd of about 100 people gathered outside the Wynn Las Vegas resort to snap photos and shoot video of Hilton while her boyfriend, Cy Waits, was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

"Yeah, she was treated differently so I don't have a disruption of my process here at the county jail," Dixon told the Review-Journal. "When you bring somebody in like that, everybody comes over and tries to look at them. I'd have officers attempting to keep inmates away from her. I'd have disruptions."

Because of overcrowding, Hilton presented a major problem for jailers, Dixon added.

"She was moved along out of the general area and put in isolation where nobody can actually get to her. ... As soon as (her release on her own recognizance) was pushed through, she was kicked out," he said.

Jessica Murray of Bob's Bail Bonds said she was bothered by Hilton's rapid release. Murray, whose clients are mostly "working girls" arrested for nonviolent soliciting or trespassing, said the average booking time on those charges is four to 12 hours, followed by another four to 12 hours until release.

"I could understand putting her in a separate room. But I don't understand putting her above everyone else," Murray said. "If you're alleged to commit a crime, you get treated like everybody else."

But Tony Collins of 911 Bail Bonds said he understood why Hilton was treated differently.

"If she had gotten out in 30 minutes, that would have been special treatment," he said.

Hilton, 29, was charged with one felony count of cocaine possession after authorities say she opened a purse in front of a police lieutenant and a small baggie of cocaine fell out. Hilton claims neither the purse nor the cocaine was hers.

She's scheduled to appear before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure on Oct. 27.



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No Charges Yet in Death of Bail Bondsman

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – The results of a month-long investigation into the shooting death of a bail bondsman are expected to be submitted to the District Attorney's office by the end of September, authorities said.

The investigation, conducted by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, centers on whether an 51-year-old man was justified at firing at Dean Patrick Maldonado when the bail bondsman entered the home of a Rancho Santa Margarita woman in July.

Investigators are awaiting laboratory results, said Dan Salcedo, investigator with the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Officials said the shooting occurred after a loud encounter outside the21300 block of Stonetower Drive, where a woman that Maldonado was dating lived.

Maldonado and the owner of the home had an on-and-off relationship, and another man was visiting her at the house when Maldonado arrived, Salcedo said.

Officials did not say why Maldonado, of Newport Beach, drove to the Rancho Santa Margarita home just before midnight, but an argument broke out as soon as he arrived.
Maldonado began screaming outside the home, prompting at least one neighbor to call 911, Salcedo said.

A second neighbor also called police, stating that Maldonado was screaming and standing in the backyard of the house.

Maldonado allegedly walked into the house through an unlocked sliding door and into an upstairs bedroom.

The woman's friend took a handgun that was being kept in a locked box, officials said.

Officials did not identify who, but either the woman or her friend dialed 911 to report the disturbance.

Maldonado then walked into the upstairs bedroom, where the 51-year-old man fired several times into his chest.

Officials have made no arrests and have declined to release the man's name, citing an ongoing investigation.


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