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Selling freedom isn't always easy Bail bondsman misses excitement of
his old job as bounty hunter
By Ricci Graham, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area - HAYWARD
REED McInroy sees himself as a freedom merchant.
It may sound fascinating, but it's definitely not for everyone.
McInroy's job is helping people get out of jail, if only temporarily,
and definitely at a cost.
"We are selling freedom," said McInroy, 34. "What I'm trying to do is
bring relief to family members who are concerned with loved ones
until the criminal order the person is accused of is over. Though the
ordeal may seem tragic, those who are able to understand consequences
are able to be given guidance."
McInroy is a bail bondsman who works in partnership with Lee Eakin,
the owner of Big LEE Bail Bonds, based in Santa Clara.
One of McInroy's main haunts is the Hayward Hall of Justice.
On any given day, McInroy or someone from his small company arrives
at the Hayward courthouse, usually at the urging of a defense
attorney, to assist someone who has run afoul of the law.
Frequently, the attorney who has summoned McInroy is hoping he can
work out an arrangement that will allow the client to remain free
while the case is being worked out.
McInroy hasn't always been a bail bondsman.
Before making the transition five years ago, he worked as a bounty
hunter for seven years. He was forced to get out of that business
after suffering a debilitating back injury in an industrial accident.
Being a bail bondsman, McInroy said, doesn't provide the adrenaline
rush that came with being a bounty hunter, a job he said he misses.
"I loved being a bounty hunter," he said. "But it's too dangerous. I
have a daughter now, and I want to be there for my daughter. Being a
bail bondsman is safer. Is there excitement? Sure. But 90 percent of
thejob is boredom, sitting around, sitting on the phone or sitting in
front of someone's house."
As a bounty hunter, McInroy used to scour the country in search of
fugitives on the run, putting himself in situations trained police
officers would avoid.
"I've been shot at," he said. "And I've been threatened with guns.
It's a very, very dangerous job."
If so, then why did he spend so many years doing it?
"Because, I loved it," he said.
Unable to do much fugitive hunting these days, McInroy leaves those
duties to people such as his protg, James Richards. Richards is
learning the tricks of the trade from McInroy — and is having the
time of his life in the process.
Richards, 31, said he has worked as a loss-recovery agent for years
and hopes to move into the bounty hunting field full-time. "I've been
in a similar field," he said. "I want to step up a little bit."
What impresses Richards most about McInroy is his innate sense of
whom to help and whom to avoid. "With Reed, he's pretty much solid at
picking his bonds," Richards said.
Said McInroy, "As a mom-and-pop organization, we do it by the book.
We just don't bail anybody in our company. We make sure we bail
people who can be well-managed."
As Richards makes his way into his new career, he should be wary of
the potential dangers that await. Though McInroy said he made
hundreds of arrests before being injured, he had a number of
dangerous encounters.
While searching for a man accused of various sex crimes in Orange
County, for example, McInroy was cornered by four attack dogs and was
forced to fight off one of the vicious animals.
"I literally thought I was going to die that night," he said.
Then there was the time he was cornered by a group of angry thugs in
East Palo Alto, who recognized him and immediately began to circle
McInroy's car, which had blown a tire and was stranded on a darkened,
dead-end street.
"One guy reached in his jacket," McInroy said. "I thought he had a
weapon. I pulled out my weapon, pointed it to the windshield and
yelled, 'Live or die, it's your choice.'"
Fortunately for McInroy and the group of toughs, the men backed away,
although they pelted his car with bricks and rocks. McInroy managed
to get away safely after calling local police for backup.
Working as a bounty hunter often requires creativity and
resourcefulness. McInroy said he has worked undercover, posing as a
priest, a homeless person and even a pizza delivery man — anything to
track down a fugitive.
"You'd be surprised what you have to do sometimes," he said.
But the thrilling days of being a bounty hunter are over, and now he
has to use a cane to get around as a result of his back injury. As a
bail bondsman, he can remain in the business while avoiding the
dangers of his former job.
"I became a bail bondsman because I loved the business so much,"
McInroy said. "I fell in love with it as a kid, and I can't think of
anything else I'd rather do."
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