Fake Bounty Hunters Claim to Have Been Duped

Three of the wannabe bounty hunters who allegedly stormed a home for the elderly looking for a fugitive said on Friday that they had been duped by the ringleaders of their outfit.

The five-person fugitive recovery agency, Wargod Inc., operated illegally — without certification by a court system or being employed by a bail bondsman — according to police.

Professional bondsmen, who post bail for defendants, must obtain their licenses from the state Insurance Department and register with their local district attorney. They also must maintain a phone number and operate an office in each county in which they work, according to Insurance Department regulations.

Wargod's alleged leaders, Lawrence Colon, 39, and Kelly Hefferon, 40, whose home on Route 715 in Jackson Township was the outfit's base of operations, purportedly convinced the rest of their team members — and one of their parents — that the firm was legitimate.

"They even told me they had all those papers from the court and the state," Lucienne Normil, mother of Wargod member Darryl Normil, 21, said Friday outside District Judge Debby York's office.

"Those three are innocent," she said, referring to her son and to Anthony Laino and James Farrell, both 35.

Normil waived his right to a preliminary hearing. He faces charges that he impersonated a public servant, which is a misdemeanor, and summary charges for improperly using emergency lights and signals on his Ford Focus. His bail was reduced from $100,000 to $10,000.

He also stands accused of a felony charge for possessing a firearm. Already convicted of a felony, he is barred from having weapons.

Normil had previously been sentenced to a year's probation for theft and receiving stolen property. About six months later, he pleaded guilty to using another person's credit card without authorization.

Wargod initially attracted police attention after Hefferon's neighbors complained repeatedly about shots being fired in her back yard and sirens sounding until after midnight.

Fake Bounty Hunters Captured

Four wannabe bounty hunters were charged Wednesday with impersonating public servants after they failed to collar a fugitive but succeeded in infuriating their neighbors and terrifying the elderly.

The self-styled bounty hunters told police they worked for a fugitive recovery agency called Wargod Inc.

On Friday, according to police, five members of Wargod searched for what one of them said later was a fugitive wanted for armed robbery. They wore black military fatigues, assault vests with empty holsters, and badges as they walked the streets of Stroudsburg that night, prompting emergency calls from concerned citizens.

At first, they were seen standing in front of a bar on Main Street in Stroudsburg, flashing cans of mace and handcuffs.

Then at about 9:45 p.m. Friday, the manager of West Gate apartments — a home for the elderly — dialed 911. The same five people were running up and down the halls trying to get inside one of West Gate's apartments, police said.

Meanwhile, state police — unaware of what was happening West Gate — arrived at Wargod's home base, a house occupied by Kelly Hefferon, 40, on Route 715 in Jackson Township. They were responding to the latest in a series of bitter complaints from neighbors about shots fired in the back yard and sirens sounding until after midnight.

Neighbors also told a reporter that they occasionally had seen the Wargod staffers armed, clad in black and marching in formation up and down Jackson View Road.

State police found Hefferon's two children and a friend there Friday night. One of them, a 16-year-old boy, was wearing a badge and an empty nylon holster. He and his friend said they also were fugitive recovery agents.

Just then, the five Wargod staffers, returning from their hunt at the home for the elderly, pulled into the driveway in a silver Ford Expedition, with a pistol-grip shotgun in the front seat, slugs rattling in the drink holder, and a red light on the dash.