Extraordinary cause / circumstance

This is a true account of a recent "hunt" I was asked to do for one of my clients.

My subject had failed to appear in a NC court where he was charged with felony drug charges.

My desk work led me to an apartment complex where the skip had been staying with his girlfriend. I knocked on the door (the back door was covered) and a male answered the door. I asked if my subject was there and was told that he had just left. After searching inside the apartment I was sure he wasn't there. I was also sure he would be tipped off the minute I left the apartment but I found a good place to keep an eye on the apartment and waited in hopes he would show up.

About an hour into my watch, I got a call telling me that in fact he was tipped off and was going to Greenville SC. I knew there was more than likely one place he would go, so I went to that address. I learned from another call that he was inside and the door was open.

Again, I had the back door covered and I went inside and was directed to a room to my right. As I entered the room, my subject was standing there. A small scuffle started as he wasn't planning on going anywhere with me. He opened a door inside the home and attempted to slam it shut on me. I put my hand against the door as he was trying to shut it and it came off at the hinges. (first door I ever broke and was proud of my record) Turns out the door was the entrance to a bedroom. I finally had him under control and about to put the cuffs on when I heard this threatening voice behind me. I turned to defend myself and my skip bolted out the back door. (there were two back doors and guess which one wasn't covered)

So now I'm chasing him as he is darting around cars and homes. All of a sudden in came an ambulance, fire trucks and police. turns out that my skip had hurt his ankle while running and broke into a house to hide. At this point I became a bystander. He was arrested cuffed placed in the ambulance and hauled away. He is now in the Greenville SC detention Center. I am told he is looking at 14 years for prior charges in SC and two charges he caught while running from me.

You'll notice, I am a little vague in some of the details here but under the circumstances I have to be. Most of you know why.

In my state, the only way my client is getting off this bond is to pay it and then file a motion to remit and hope the judge finds extraordinary cause.

Looking back, I made some big mistakes, but if not for our attempts to apprehend this guy, SC would still be looking for him, as they had been for a very long time and NC wouldn't have a clue as to his whereabouts. I don't think my client should be required to pay this forfeiture. I guess we'll see what the judge thinks.


You can find him on the Greenville SC Detention Center website. "Lewers"

Feel free to criticize my work on this case, Lord knows I have.

_________________
Bill Williams
Bail Agent
Eagle Bonding Services
Asheville NC 28804
828-777-8667
Lic # NC10013561
Lic # TN 2033018

Never be haughty to the humble
or humble to the haughty - Jefferson Davis

Firstly .. I am glad you are OK .. and were not injured in this incident. Secondly congrats on the capture although other's partook in the apprehension but none the less he was caught and thats the bottom line.. getting the guy into custody. Good Job..

Its funny that in all my apprehensions.. I always find that the females are the ones that cause the most problems with fighting and drama.. lol

Yesterday for a perfect example..

I have a female out on a small $1000 Bond for Cannabis Possession (20 Grams or Less). She missed her first scheduled court date last month and I contact her via phone to inform her of the now Active Bench Warrant. She explains to me that she went to the wrong court house and will have her Attorney re-set the court date .. I explain to her that her Attorney must also motion to set aside the Bench Warrant / and Bond Estreature as well so I am not on the hook to pay the Bond within 60 days of the Estreature..

I check the court docket the following week to see that the only thing done was a "Court Date Re-set" & "Motion to Set Aside the Bench Warrant" I expected to still see an "ACTIVE Bench Warrant" But apparently this particular judge cancels Bench Warrants with just a phone call of a new court date re-set ! WTF ! ! ! Anyways.. The new date set ..May 20th, 9:30am .. it appears that she did not have an Attorney and lied and Re-Set the date herself....my Deft. was notified by my office via mailed letter .. and voice mail left on her cell of her new court date. With No Response back from her and no further contact since her telling me her Attorney would "Handle" it.. I went to the Court Yesterday and sat in to see if she showed. Mind you now I have until May 29th to pay this Bond Estreature unless I can get off the bond May 20th.. so my Defendant FAILS TO APPEAR again.. not surprising to say the least..I have an Agent at the office call her.. she is like OH? I forgot and stated she was on her way to the court house.. I waited at the courthouse cause I was going to surrender her into custody and get off the bond. The Judge issued a B/W but it most likely would not be entered into the system until Monday.. but by her not getting in touch with me and returning my call and failing to show at her scheduled court appearances I do not need her to have an active warrant to surrender her.. just the BREACH of the Bail Bond Contract by failing to be in contact with the office weekly was grounds enough to wash my hands of this defendant. So I tell this fairly new Agent to wait for him at the Court House since he now needs her to Sign some paperwork for our Insurance Company since she missed twice at court.. Yes, She Fell for it .. She came right to me at the court house.. me and the other Agent walked her outside the doors of the Courthouse telling her the paperwork she needed to sign was in his car parked on the corner.. as we walked out the front doors .. I had motioned/signaled the other Agent .. to cuff her up .. this Thin Black Female started to Kicjk Scream and Flair her Arms refusing to be cuffed.. long story short.. She is in cuffs.. and now refuses to walk down the 10 or 15 steps.. so there she is Kicking and Invisible Bicycle Riding all the way down as we both had a grip of each of her arms and lifted & carried her down the stairs.. I informed her we will either drag her the 1 block around the corner to the Jail Entrance or she can walk like an Adult.. she decided to walk .. Booked her into Corrections.. and she informed me that she was not going to use me as her Bondsman anymore.. I then told her Thank You .. cause I would never bond you out anyways ever again .. and off I went back to the Bond Unit to Clock in the Surrender and Get the Bond Vacated & Discharged.. a Happy Ending to a almost $1000 Judgement.. although small they do add up if you pay alot of them...

_________________
JEFF P.
Limited Surety Agent (FL) - License # P_2O8124_
Private Investigator (FL) - License # C_27OOO33_
NABBI Member



"Surprise Sex is the Best Thing to Wake up to, UNLESS, You are in Jail... "

Thanks Jeff. I came out unharnmed physically on this case but having to jump through flaming hoops getting my client off this bond. The School Board Attorney has offered him 50 percent off the total forfeiture but he's wants it all back and we have a good shot at getting it----I think.

Same here with female skips and the wives, girlfriends of male skips.

After reading your post I was reminded of a skip that had fled to Detroit. As I approached, he smiled and said something about my Mother and stated that it was unfortunate for us that only two of us had come to get him. This guy was 6"5" 300 + lbs but it was his girlfriend that that started fighting. My partner was slapped, kicked spat on and cursed for what seemed like an eternity. I had the skip so there wasn't much I could do to help him. She really didn't hurt him but it wasn't from lack of trying. I called him after reading your post and we both had a big laugh.

Take care

_________________
Bill Williams
Bail Agent
Eagle Bonding Services
Asheville NC 28804
828-777-8667
Lic # NC10013561
Lic # TN 2033018

Never be haughty to the humble
or humble to the haughty - Jefferson Davis

Does your State not have the ability to place a hold on the party?

A while back I had a fella that went missing . . . not really. Seems he was incarcerated in a State Facility in Kentucky due to not paying his CS. I was Show Caused and the current (at that time) In House Recovery Agent allegedly appeared and took care of the matter.
Needless to say he had other things that he was "taking care of" (and it did not entail doing his job). Forfeiture was entered and I found out (after he was no longer in the employ of the company) when I was informed by the company that Judgement had been entered and an "Order To Pay" issued.
I RE gathered all of my documents and got on the docket. I advised the Court where he was holding current residence and was issued another court date in order for the Prosecutor to confirm all of the docs that I had presented.
Bond exonerated and hold placed by the County per Court Order.
It should never have had to go to forfeiture and would not have gone to Judgement had someone done their job.
We only have 30 days after a Judgement is entered here to have it reversed and any expenses must be acknowledged prior to said Judgement.

_________________


Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

Bill
Can you submit a letter to the court detailing your investigation with accompanying receipts for gas, meals, or hotel indicating you were there and that it was your investigation that instigated his capture. You might add that with local warrants, they would not allow you to leave with him anyway. As a result of your work product, the defendant is in custody and you pray the bond exonerated as you did your job.

Scott

_________________
R.E. "Scott" MacLean III

"Leaders are like Eagles, you never see them in a flock, but one at a time"

Chesapeake Group Investigations, Inc.
Chesapeake Bail Bonds
877-574-0500
301-392-1100 (fax)
301-392-1900 (Office)

I'll answer this in depth a little later today once I've gotten a little rest but for now... Scott, your suggestion is exactly what we do when filing for extraordinary cause. That is a crap shoot in this state these days as it is up to the judge's discretion and I've been told numerous times that NC is broke and it's tough to win this way.

Luvonda, my state can and does put holds on skips but as far as getting off the bond because the defendant is incarcerated in another state with a hold will not, in almost all cases get you off the bond unless the defendant was incarcerated in another state on the day of his failure to appear in NC. I'm glad we are discussing this , this is a topic that may help a lot of us in the future,

Jeff made an excellent suggestion and one that my clients attorney has been pursuing for several weeks.

I'll get back with more detailed info later today.

Take care

_________________
Bill Williams
Bail Agent
Eagle Bonding Services
Asheville NC 28804
828-777-8667
Lic # NC10013561
Lic # TN 2033018

Never be haughty to the humble
or humble to the haughty - Jefferson Davis

Yes

_________________


Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

Firstly, I want to thank you guys for responding to my post. There are times that we do all we can to apprehend our skip, even to the point of them being apprehended but our clients still have to pay the bond forfeiture.

In my case, my skip was wanted in SC prior to my getting this case. When the SC authorities showed up, there was nothing I could do because of the pending charges in SC. Having said that, it would seem that extraordinary cause in this case is a given....Not so.

I posted a few days ago concerning a case (not mine) that involved a Bailbondsman petitioning the court based on extraordinary cause due to the fact that the skip had been killed in a car accident and it would be impossible for the Agent to produce the defendant in court. He provided the death certificate. The veracity of the Agents claim was never in dispute, however the courts found that this case wasn't extraordinary. They found that diligent pursuit had not existed in this case. That's how they got around what was absolutely extraordinary cause IMHO.

The following is how our clients can get off the bond in NC after an order of forfeiture.
The defendant's failure to appear has been stricken by the court in which the defendant was required to appear and any order for arrest that was issued for the failure to appear was recalled.

All charges for which the defendant was bonded to appear have been finally disposed of by the court other than the State's taking voluntary dismissal with leave.

The defendant has been surrendered by a bail agent or surety to the sheriff of this state as provided by law.

The defendant has been served with an order for arrest for the failure to appear on the criminal charges in the case in question as evidenced by a copy of the official court record.

The defendant died before or the period between the forfeiture and the final judgement as demonstrated by the presentation of a death certificate.

The defendant was incarcerated in a unit of the North Carolina dept of correction and is serving a sentence or is in the Federal Bureau of Prisons located within the borders of the state at the time of the failure to appear as evidenced by a copy of the official court record or a copy of the document from the Dept of correction or the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The defendant was incarcerated in a local, state or federal Detention Center, jail or prison located anywhere within the borders of the United States at the time of the failure to appear and the district attorney for which the charges are pendind was notified of the defendants incarceration while the defendant was still incarcerated and the defendant remains incarcerated for a period of ten day's following the District Attorney's receipt of notice as evidenced by the copy of the written notice served on the district attorney via hand delivery or certified mail and written documentation of date upon which the defendant was released from incarceration if the defendant was released prior to the time the motion to set aside was filed.

The forfeiture will not be set aside for any other reason.

The only recourse if none of the above apply, is to file for extraordinary circumstance (hire an atty) and hope the judge see's it your way. Five or six years ago NC bondsman had a pretty good shot at Extraordinary Circumstance/Cause.....It isn't the case now days.

I appreciate your responses, Scott, you're on the money with your thoughts. That is exactly what is required in these cases, Luvonda, excellent suggestion and I'm giving some thought as to how this may be applied in some cases, Jeff, you're thoughts on another topic about the same subject is what my clients attorney is trying to do. It is creative and I'm not aware of it having been tried but you and the attorney seem to think it's worth a shot....This will require the DA wanting to help the atty however.... We'll see.

Our work is sometimes much more than apprehending the subject.....

You gotta love this stuff to stay in it.

If anyone else has any idea's please post them. I think this topic might be helpfull to others. Your responses were helpful to me.

Take care

_________________
Bill Williams
Bail Agent
Eagle Bonding Services
Asheville NC 28804
828-777-8667
Lic # NC10013561
Lic # TN 2033018

Never be haughty to the humble
or humble to the haughty - Jefferson Davis

Luvonda,

I saw where you had stated "yes". I'm assuming you were referring to getting off the bond by placing a hold if the skip is incarcerated in another state at the time of the fta. If that's the case, I misunderstood. At that point we get the proper documentation, serve written notice on the DA he places the hold(if he chooses) and we file the motion. Whether he chooses to place the hold matters not, as it pertains to getting off the bond.

Take care

_________________
Bill Williams
Bail Agent
Eagle Bonding Services
Asheville NC 28804
828-777-8667
Lic # NC10013561
Lic # TN 2033018

Never be haughty to the humble
or humble to the haughty - Jefferson Davis

Actually that should reasonably set aside the FTA if the person was verified incarcerated in another jurisdiction and in turn cause another court date to be issued.

If the defendant is located in another location / State (prior to Judgement) the surety is liable to the cost of the transportation back not to exceed the face value of the bond.

_________________


Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN