Bail Bondsman Jailed on Drug Charges

A Shreveport bail bondsman faces multiple drug and weapons charges after an investigation by the Caddo-Shreveport Narcotics Unit.

Agents arrested Grayson Bailey, 38, after a traffic stop at the intersection of Interstate 49 and state highway 3132 Tuesday afternoon.

They seized 90 Lortab pills in various containers from Bailey after the stop, said Shreveport police Lt. Richard Childers.

Agents searched Bailey's office on Texas Street in downtown Shreveport and seized Adderall, a prescription medication used to treat attention deficit disorder; Soma, another prescription medication; steriods; Viagra; and more Lortab. Officers said Bailey didn't have a prescription for any of those drugs.

Bailey was charged with three counts of manufacturing-distribution of a Schedule III drug, one count of manufacturing-distribution of a Schedule II drug, one count of manufacturing-distribution of a Schedule IV drug, two counts of possessing firearms while possessing controlled dangerous substances and one count of possession of a legend drug without a prescription

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Free agent QB JaMarcus Russell No Longer on Jets' Radar After Arrest

JaMarcus Russell effectively eliminated himself from becoming a Jet any time this millennium with his latest bonehead move. The free agent quarterback was arrested at his Alabama home today for possession of a controlled substance during a police investigation.

The former Raiders signal caller was busted for codeine syrup, which can be mixed with soda to create “Purple Drank.” (Russell didn’t have a prescription for codeine).

He posted $2,500 bail and is due in court on July 20.

The Jets recently made an exploratory call to Russell’s agent after the former No. 1 overall pick was released by the Raiders. However, a league source told me last week that the chances of Russell signing with the Jets were less than 10 percent.

Not surprisingly, the Jets are no longer interested in the career underachiever, according to a source.

Russell, the poster boy for draft busts, won only seven of his 25 career starts with a career passer rating of 65.2. He was paid $36.4 million in his first three seasons.

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Suspects Indicted in LA for Celebrity Burglaries

LOS ANGELES — Five people accused of burglarizing celebrities' homes now face conspiracy charges after a grand jury issued an indictment against the group.

The indictment, unsealed Friday, details the research and planning that went into the break-ins at the homes of stars such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom and Megan Fox.

In the case of the break-in at Hilton's home, the indictment alleges group members prepared detailed floor plans, including the placement of security cameras and where the heiress stashed a key to the front door.

The group already faced a variety of charges, but prosecutors opted to present their case to grand jurors rather than having a judge evaluate the evidence during a preliminary hearing. Now, the group may go on trial by November.

They are accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of clothing, jewelry and other luxury items. Some of the property, including Hilton's jewelry, have been recovered. But prosecutor Sarika Kim said in court Friday that one of the defendants, Rachel Lee, may still have some of the goods.

An investigator previously told The Associated Press the value of the unrecovered property may be as much as $2 million.

The burglaries targeted young celebrities with homes in the Hollywood Hills between October 2008 and August 2009. Hilton's home was the first one burglarized; the indictment states planning started a month earlier.

The indicted include Nicholas Frank Prugo, who is charged with seven felony burglaries and has been described as a mastermind of the thefts. A 44-item summary of the alleged crimes states that Prugo often developed a "shopping list" of items to steal from the stars.

Also indicted were Lee, Courtney Lee Ames, Roy Lopez Jr. and Diana Tamayo.

The five pleaded not guilty Friday and agreed to return to court Aug. 12.

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Orange County bail bond agent accused of running illegal referral scheme

A bail bond agent was arrested Friday on suspicion of running an illegal bail bond referral scheme, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Ronald Lee Brockway, 50, of Seal Beach allegedly solicited attorney referrals and inmate business, according to the district attorney’s office, which charged him with two felony counts of violating bail license regulations.

Brockway is accused of violating a state law that prohibits bail bond employees from soliciting business from inmates or recommending any attorney to clients. Brockway allegedly sent e-mails to attorneys soliciting them to participate in the bail bond scheme with his company, Respect Bail Bond. He also allegedly mass mailed fliers to the Orange County Jail advertising his business.

He is being held on $50,000 bail. If convicted of all charges, Brockway faces a maximum sentence of three years and eight months in state prison.

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Cyprus Police Arrest Suspect in Alleged Russian Spy Ring

A man suspected of being the 11th member of a U.S. spy ring allegedly working for Russia was arrested and released on bail in Cyprus, AFP reported Tuesday.

Russia is now asking for access to the 11 people arrested.

Robert Christopher Metsos, 55, was arrested at Cyprus' Larnaca airport as he tried to leave the island for Budapest early Tuesday, police said.

A magistrate released Metsos on bail of $24,410 to reappear in court within 30 days, when an extradition hearing was due to start.

"Based on the (Interpol) red notice we received, he is wanted for money laundering and espionage," police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos told Reuters.

One of the 10 alleged Russian spies already arrested by the FBI had a fake British passport to help her to travel to and from Russia, it was alleged Tuesday.

A woman calling herself Tracey Lee Ann Foley and posing as a naturalized U.S. citizen traveled to Moscow on the passport forged for her by Russian intelligence services, it was claimed.

The woman was instructed in a coded internet message to pick up the passport in Vienna, sign it and “train yourself to be able to reproduce your signature when necessary."

The message from her handlers at the SVR, the Russian spy agency which succeeded the Soviet KGB, ends: “In the passport you’ll get a memo with recommendations. Pls, destroy the memo after reading. Be well.”

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Judge Denies Bail for Men in Synagogue Bomb Attempt

June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Bail was denied for three of four men accused of plotting to blow up New York synagogues and attack aircraft at a military base with heat-seeking missiles. The fourth wasn’t eligible for pretrial release because of his immigration status.

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in White Plains, New York, ruled on bail for James Cromitie, 44, David Williams, 28, and Onta Williams, 32.

“The court is also aware that the Government’s case may not be as ironclad as it appeared in the hours and days immediately after the defendants were arrested,” McMahon said in a ruling issued today. “Nonetheless, the court concludes that defendants Cromitie, Onta William and David Williams have failed to rebut the presumption and so they will remain on remand status.”

The three men and Laguerre Payen, 27, were arrested in May 2009 after planting the bombs in cars outside two synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, authorities said. Payen is Haitian and if released from jail would be turned over to immigration authorities.

Guided Missiles

The four men were indicted on charges that include conspiracy and attempted use of weapons of mass destruction in the U.S., conspiracy to use surface-to-air guided missiles to destroy and kill officers and employees at the New York Air National Guard Base located at Stewart International Airport in upstate New York. They face as much as life in prison.

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Dallas Man Accused of Threatening to Kill Presiden Obama is Denied Bail

DALLAS, June 24 (UPI) -- A Dallas man arrested for allegedly posting a death threat against President Obama on the Internet was denied bail at a detention hearing, court records show.

Brian Dean Miller, 43, was arrested March 25 after admitting to Secret Service agents he posted the threat on Craigslist on March 21, the day Congress passed the healthcare bill, The Dallas Morning News reported.

"It is time for Obama to die," the posting said. "I am dedicating my life to the death of Obama and every employee of the federal government."

Authorities traced Miller through the e-mail address used for the Internet posting.

At a detention hearing Wednesday, a prosecutor argued Miller's posting shows he is too dangerous to be freed on bail.

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Madoff Accomplice DiPascali Freed on Bail, Monitored at Home

June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Frank DiPascali Jr., who pleaded guilty to helping Bernard L. Madoff carry out history’s biggest Ponzi scheme, was released on bail on the conditions that he stay at home and wear a monitoring device.

DiPascali, 53, the former chief financial officer for Madoff’s company, had been in federal custody since pleading guilty on Aug. 11, 2009, and has cooperated with prosecutors in a bid for leniency at sentencing. Both he and his lawyer, Marc Mukasey, declined to comment yesterday as they left a federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Among the 11 conditions for bail U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan set in February were posting a $10 million bond secured by $2 million in cash or property, including $600,000 in equity in three New Jersey homes; 24-hour house arrest except under escort; and wearing an electronic monitoring device. DiPascali had been held at the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla, New York.

Sullivan’s order requires DiPascali to forfeit all of his family’s assets, except about $300,000. His release comes after Sullivan signed a $170 billion order of forfeiture for DiPascali on June 18.

DiPascali has turned over to the government his home in Bridgewater, New Jersey, a yacht, watches and jewelry, a Jet Ski, cars, two motorcycles, two minibikes, a scooter and a snowblower.

He pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. He admitted misleading thousands of clients at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, saying no securities trades took place in their accounts. Investors lost billions of dollars.

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Actor Chris Klein Arrested for DUI

Chris Klein may have had his dog along for the ride this morning, but his new best friend is a bail bondsman.

E! News spotted the American Pie star leaving Van Nuys Jail this afternoon along with the guy who helped Lindsay Lohan post bail after her recent SCRAM violation.

Klein's bail had been set at $25,000 following his arrest at 3:15 a.m. for alleged DUI. A rep for the California Highway Patrol told E! News that the actor's blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent when he failed a field sobriety test.

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Forget Tim Tebow, Florida Gators should erect statue of Bail Bondsman

It’s great that the Florida Gators will build bronze statues outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium that will honor Tim Tebow, Danny Wuerffel and Steve Spurrier, but aren’t the Gators forgetting somebody?

How about a statue for the two most important people in the program – the Unnamed Bail Bondsman and Huntley Johnson, the legendary local attorney who traditionally gets all of UF’s football players out of trouble when they get arrested?

The latest player to get arrested and suspended from all team activities is up-and-coming wide receiver Frankie Hammond, who was arrested for DUI last weekend when police said he was speeding, swerving and driving with two open bottles of Crown Royal whiskey in his car.

I know many college students drink and drive, but isn’t there a deeper problem when a guy is driving around with two open bottles of blended Canadian whiskey? If this is the type of binge drinking that UF football players do, it’s no wonder that former defensive end Carlos Dunlap became one of the biggest goats in UF athletic history when he fell asleep at a red light, was arrested for DUI and missed the SEC Championship Game last December.

It’s hard to keep track of all the arrests, but this is believed to be the the 28th football player to be charged with a crime since Florida coach Urban Meyer took over as coach in 2005. I know players from other programs also get arrested, but not at this rate.

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Bail Bondsman In Haleigh Cummings Case Under Indictment

South Florida bail bondsman William Staubs, also known as ‘Cobra’, was arrested last week on charges of false imprisonment.

Putnam County Lt. Johnny Greenwood said Cobra, 51, allegedly detained a 55-year-old man, William Snodgrass, who was free on bail after being arrested for sex abuse.

Cobra drove to Snodgrass’ home on Mar. 20, and turned on his siren. Snodgrass told Cobra his bond was revoked, but Cobra threw him to the ground, handcuffed him, and forced him into a vehicle.

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Bail Bondsman Angry with Lindsay Lohan

Bail bondsman David Perez tells X17online he was called by Lindsay Lohan's attorney Shawn Chapman Holley today to appear at the Beverly Hills Courthouse in response to today's emergency hearing for what has been deemed as a violation of probation.

After officials received no fewer than FIVE violations by Lindsay, as recorded by her SCRAM alcohol and drug monitoring ankle bracelet on Sunday night when the information was uploaded to the city's computers, Judge Marcia Revel had Lindsay's attorney appear at the Beverly Hills Courthouse to hear her decision on the situation which is ... a warrant issued for Lindsay's arrest AND a bail increase to $200,000 (from a previous $100,000 which is now forfeited due to her violation).

Perez tells us: "We don't even know what we're gonna do right now; we're just waiting."
He confirmed to X17 the $100K was now forfeited. He refused to answer questions about whether Lindsay has been a reliable, responsible client but when asked if he thinks Lindsay is a risk he said, "Sure, I do."

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Colorado Bail Agents Respond to Negative Press

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A recent story by 9News in Colorado alleged that bail agents are attempting to petition courts to get out of paying forfeitures. Many members of the Colorado bail community believe that the reporter was unfair to the majority of Colorado's bail agents who play by the rules. Mike Donovan, Director of Government Affairs from Bail USA, gave AboutBail.com his take on the article. Visit http://www.AboutBail.com to learn more.

Lax Bail System Helped Cop Killer

While he sat in the Pierce County Jail last year, Maurice Clemmons was obsessed with two things — getting bailed out, then killing as many cops as possible.

With more than a decade behind bars in Arkansas and having worked briefly for a bail-bond company himself, 37-year-old Clemmons knew how to manipulate the judicial system.

With incessant phone calls, he cajoled friends, family and bail agents to orchestrate his release — three times in seven months, making small down payments while offering shaky collateral.

Despite the customary 10 percent down, Clemmons got out one time on a $40,000 bond by making only a $1,700 payment. Another time, facing a $190,000 bond for a rash of felonies, including rape and assault, he won freedom with $8,000.

Six days later, he assassinated four Lakewood police officers at a Parkland coffee shop.

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Inside the Real World of a Bounty Hunter

WATERLOO – Imagine a job where you could work, at any time during the day or night, convince people to reappear after vanishing and get paid only when you bring them back.

When a bounty hunter tells someone what they do for a living, the images of movies and television, especially Dog The Bounty Hunter, often come to mind. Yet in media, the bounty hunters pull in the people who are missing before the credits roll.

The team of Waterloo-based bounty hunters we followed on May 12th are part private investigators, part gentle interrogator and part sales professional.

“We’ve had guys get beat up, guns pulled on them,” admits David Lederman, owner of Lederman Bail Bonds in Waterloo, located across the street from the Black Hawk County Jail. This is his family’s business and has been since 1965.

Lederman said when a person calls their office to try and arrange for a bond to get released, the process starts. He said most of the bonds they write are for $1,000 or $2,000. The bail bonds company puts up that amount and Lederman collects 10 percent of the amount from a defendant’s co-signor — $100 or $200 for this example.

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TSA Agent on Bail After Stealing Cash

A Transportation Security Administration agent surrendered to authorities on Tuesday and was charged with stealing almost $500 from a wheelchair-bound woman passing through a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The TSA has suspended agent Leroy Ray, 44 of Newark, adding yet another incident to a growing list of troubling cases involving agency workers. Officials said 23 TSA agents have been removed or fired since 2007 for stealing items at security checkpoints or from checked baggage.
TSA surveillance cameras caught Ray taking money from a woman's purse after the bag passed through an X-ray machine Feb. 3, according to court documents. Ray allegedly took the bag to another table to search it and removed an envelope containing $300 and then $195 in cash from inside a zipper pocket.

The woman return minutes later to tell agents that she was missing the money. Ray walked into a nearby office when the woman returned to the checkpoint and placed what appeared to be the envelope in a lost and found tray, court documents said.

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Audit shows that Bail bonds were not deposited

Toldeo, Ia. — At least $6,500 paid by accused criminals in Tama County as bail bonds was not deposited, according to a special investigation released by the state auditor Monday.

At least three bond payments between Feb. 23 and June 5 of 2009 were initially received by the Tama County sheriff's office and should have been remitted to the clerk's office for deposit, according to the audit. However, those deposits were not recorded on a receipt log, the audit concluded.

The audit was unable to determine whether the cash payments were received by the clerk and not deposited or whether the sheriff's office did not properly send the payment to the clerk's office.

The report was sent to the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa attorney general's office and the Tama County attorney.

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Judge Cuts Teens Bail After NAACP Protests

A district court judge in Redford Township ordered $25,000 cash bail amounts reduced Tuesday for all but one of 16 teenagers arrested late last month on charges of disturbing the peace near Thurston High School.

The decision by 17th District Judge Karen Khalil came after protesters organized by the NAACP Western Wayne Branch marched outside the court prior to the scheduled hearing with signs reading: "No justice, no peace."

Most of the teens, who are from Inkster, Dearborn Heights and Redford Township, had been held since their arrest on misdemeanor charges April 30. Defense attorney Nabih Ayad, who has called the situation racial profiling because the teens are African American, said the youths were unable to afford the $25,000.

On Tuesday, Khalil reduced bail to amounts ranging from personal recognizance to $500. However, a request to withdraw guilty pleas to disturbing the peace entered earlier by some of the teens was rejected by the judge.

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Man Who Blackmailed Lettermen Arrested

A US television producer has been sentenced to six months in jail for blackmailing the American chat show host David Letterman for his sexual affairs. Robert Halderman was a former CBS employee. He pleaded guilty in March and was given 1,000 hours of community service.

Halderman had demanded $2m from Letterman last year for not exposing sexual relationship he had with female members of the staff. David Letterman has admitted the alleged affairs. He had tried to extort the $2m payment from Letterman after reading about his ex-girlfriend’s diary.

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Grand Jury Indicts N.M. Bounty Hunter

Carlsbad, N.M., bounty hunter Jarrod Neal Flaming, 41, was indicted for murder Thursday.

Flaming, 41, also was indicted by a Hale County grand jury for execution of capias or arrest warrant and unauthorized contract with bail bond surety.

His partner, Morgan E. Moore, 41, also of Carlsbad, was indicted for execution of capias or arrest warrant and unauthorized contract with bail bond surety.

Police said on Feb. 9, 2010, Moore, an employee of Bad Dog Bail Bonds Inc., of which Flaming is president and CEO, knocked on the door of an apartment at Central Apartments, 910 W. 28th, just before 8:30 p.m. and was allowed in by the resident.

When Moore attempted to take 31-year-old Derek Graves into custody, he reportedly jumped out the kitchen window where Flaming was waiting, police said. Graves then fled on 29th Street and into the backyard of a residence at 1111 W. 29th where he was found by officers with one gunshot wound from a 9mm handgun.

Graves, who was living in Amarillo but temporarily staying in Plainview with family, was wanted on a Potter County warrant of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

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