Agents Bring Fugitives to Justice

Dale Kress never goes hunting without the necessary equipment: a gun, a flashlight, pepper spray and a bulletproof vest.
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Kress, 56, of Port Huron is what’s known as a fugitive-recovery specialist or a bail-enforcement officer. He said those names tend to give a more professional image than the popular term does.

“A lot of us don’t like to be called bounty hunters,” Kress said.

People familiar with A&E’s hit reality TV show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” understand the basic concept of the job: When someone skips bail, the bail bondsman stands to lose a large amount of money to the court and has the option of hiring somebody to find the fugitive. The bounty hunter gets an arrest warrant, a photo of the fugitive and some relevant information with which to start their search.

Read more at TheTimesHerald.com

Detective Details Confrontation with Detroit Mayor

DETROIT (AP) — A detective working a criminal case against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said coincidence led him to a house to try to deliver a subpoena.

Brian White wasn't prepared for what he said followed: a physical confrontation with the beefy mayor that involved a profanity-laced tirade by Kilpatrick and a possible hip fracture for the investigator.

After hearing the allegations Friday, a judge said Kilpatrick's behavior was "totally irrational." He changed the terms of the mayor's bond in the criminal case, ordering him to immediately post $7,500 and undergo random drug tests.

There is no suggestion that drugs played a role in Kilpatrick's behavior.

"I don't know what was going on in defendant Kilpatrick's life that he exploded, for want of a better term," Judge Ronald Giles said. "This is ridiculous."

The 38-year-old mayor and his former top aide, Christine Beatty, are charged with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice, all tied to their testimony in a civil trial last year. During the trial, they denied having a romantic relationship, but those claims are contradicted by text messages.

Kilpatrick declined comment as he walked out of court Friday. A bail bondsman assisted him in paying the $7,500, which represents 10 percent of his previous bond. The mayor hadn't been required to post any cash before the incident.

James Thomas, one of Kilpatrick's lawyers, said there was no pushing or shoving by the mayor. Another Kilpatrick attorney, Jim Parkman, argued there was a credibility problem because two investigators told different versions of the incident.

White, who works for the Wayne County sheriff's department, is a lead investigator in Kilpatrick's perjury case.

He testified at a hearing Friday that he and a colleague were delivering subpoenas for future court hearings a day earlier when he spotted a parked pickup truck with "Ferguson Construction" on the door. White believed it belonged to Bobby Ferguson, a Kilpatrick ally and possible witness who was to be subpoenaed.

White noticed the mayor's police bodyguards outside the house, which belongs to Kilpatrick's sister. He said he flashed his badge, got their OK to proceed and rang the doorbell.

White was told Ferguson wasn't there. Then the detective said he heard a loud voice inside the house.

"Don't tell those (expletive) anything," White quoted the mayor as saying. "I hear, `Get the (F-word) out of here.'"

Kilpatrick, a former college football lineman, "comes storming through the door ... grabs me and throws me into investigator Kinney," White said, referring to fellow investigator JoAnne Kinney.

"He continues to yell, `Get the (F-word) out of here, leave my family alone!' We composed ourselves and left the porch," White testified.

He said he had X-rays taken at a hospital and might have suffered a slight hip fracture.

Kinney, who is black, testified that the mayor criticized her for working with White, who is white.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," she quoted Kilpatrick as saying. "Why are you a part of this?"

Kinney said she had never met the mayor.

"We were just trying to find Bobby Ferguson," she testified. "I couldn't believe this was happening. ... He was irate, very mad, upset."

Michigan State Police are investigating the suspected assault for possible charges. After the hearing,

Thomas disputed that Kilpatrick used the F-word, but he declined to discuss it further. "We don't have to talk about the facts unless there's a charge," he said.

Under Kilpatrick's new bond conditions, personal travel outside Michigan is no longer permitted, nor can he travel on business outside the state without the court's approval. He can go on trips already approved by the court.

Earlier Friday, the judge postponed a ruling on whether to publicly release more of the text messages that led to the criminal charges against Kilpatrick and Beatty. The next hearing was set for Aug. 7.

Local Bailbondmen Find Fugitive Living in Camper

A Greene County man who had fled the state after failing to appear in General Sessions Court to face multiple charges in May was returned to Greene County on Thursday after being captured by a local bail bondsman in Michigan.

Kerry Emmett, of Express Bail Bonds, said he and two of his employees found Sammy W. Roark, 57, of 1294 Mt. Zion Road, living in a camper behind a detail shop in Port Huron, Mich., about 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

"It was about 7:30 p.m. when we got back to Greeneville," Emmett said. "It's a 660-mile drive one way."

Emmett said his firm had posted a $7,000 bond for Roark after he was arrested in March.

Bail Agent: 'Rambo Wannabes' Hurt Image

Bounty hunters in Michigan are not licensed by the state, but some carry badges similar to police badges and, sometimes, loaded weapons.

And they don't need a search warrant to enter a residence to catch a bail jumper.

That's because when a bonding agency posts bail for someone charged with a crime, the defendant signs a document essentially waiving their constitutional rights, local bounty hunter Shaun Lewis said.

Bounty Hunters Released

Two would-be bounty hunters roughed up by neighbors and arrested after trying to take a Ferndale woman to court against her will were released from jail Wednesday because they acted within the letter of the law, police said.

Christopher Hight, 52, of Bremen, Ga., was arraigned on a carrying a concealed weapons charge in the incident, but he and his 53-year-old brother from Blountville, Tenn., were both released. He must return for an Oct. 25 preliminary exam on the weapons charge.

Both men were arrested Tuesday after one lured the 48-year-old woman out of her Albany Street home on the pretext of having a cup of coffee and the other jumped from nearby bushes.

Police were called shortly after midnight on a report of the pair dragging the woman to their pickup truck. Neighbors armed with a golf club and baseball bat stopped them from placing her in the vehicle. Hight suffered a head wound in the resulting fracas.

"Everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do," said Lt. William J. Wilson. "The neighbors came to her defense. Someone called police. The police responded quickly and took them into custody.

"Only problem is, the two men were completely within their legal rights in grabbing her."

Inside the truck, police found two loaded .22-caliber handguns, duct tape and plastic "flex cuffs," which they planned to use to tie the woman up for the ride back to Georgia. She was scheduled to appear today in court on a drunken driving and drug possession charge, Wilson said.

This year, Hight, who is related to the woman's cousin, had put up $10,000 bond through a bail bondsman for her to be released and was concerned she did not plan to show up for court, forfeiting bond.

Under Michigan law, in all criminal cases in which people have provided bail and want to be relieved from the responsibility, they can -- with or without police assistance -- arrest or detain the accused and deliver him or her to any jail or to the sheriff of any county. "It's an outdated law, but it's on the books," said Wilson. "They decided to do it all themselves, which is also their right. But it could have had a tragic result."