Just Picked my first skip

Although it took me a little more over 5 weeks, I just coaxed my first skip out of hiding. Relatively speaking, this was an easy case for me.
The dozens of phone calls to references yielded me no information that I did not already have and same thing for the door-knocks that I did. All I got was "no, she doesnt live here anymore", and "no, I dont know where she is now".
This particular skip was allowed to be her own co-signer by the previous owner of this company. Not a practice that I employ commonly. I should probably include that her charge was Possesion of Alchohol by a Minor which indicated to me that she wasnt running from justice, but for some reason, just missed her court date and was then guilty of not picking up the phone and calling her original agent. Given that info, I told every friend/relative that if she would pick up the phone and call me, I would be willing to file a petition to reinstate her bond( I dont even know if I can since my company was under diiferent ownership and writes for a different insurance compnay now).

This skip is truly a sad (not hard but sad) case. Life has been kicking her where it hurts and she has no other criminal record other than the achohol charge and is putting herself though school now( ironicly she is a criminal justice major ). I felt like shit picking her up but its part of my job description.

It took me a few weeks of sweet talking before I ratcheted up the pressure. She finally contacted me 2 weeks into the hunt and told me about her situation and told me that she wanted to get her court process over with. We came to terms as to handling her surrender. Ever the cagey street-smart 20 yr old, she wouldn't give me her current address ( she has been living like an inner city gypsy). Well, she went ghost on me until last night( 1/26/2012). I recieved a call from her and was told, by her, that she had her affairs in order and would be ready for me to pick her up around noon today. Still being cagey, she would only give me the block of the street that she was staying at.
That brings me to noon today. I arranged for a cop buddy to meet me a few blocks down the street from her place and tried to call her...she went ghost again. Having no indemnitor to press really sucks(as does having only cell phone numbers to go off of so expensive to get get that billing info) I called both numbers that I had contact with her on on and nobody would giver up and one of the numbers stopped anwering. I changed my "nice" tone and convinced a roomate of hers that I knew the addess, knew that was her primary address and would be back and with plenty of help and that my skip would not have a prayer of getting her original bond reinstated and also let her know that I was particularly angry at being made to look like a fool for pulling all of the strings that I pulled ( those were mostly lies ).
My skip had her roommate call me about 2 hours later and she was finally ready to be picked up. I went to the address in street clothes, level III vest under my shirt, glock in my holster, and mace in my pocket ( it is a rough area on the near east side of Indianapolis. and had a cop buddy down the street. She was there, with family and rough looking friends, ready to go. I shot breeze with them for about 5 minutes and we were on our way.
A few pieces of golden advice that I have gleened from this eliminated my liablilty as far as transporting a female on a solo job. I called the sheriffs department in the county that I was transporting her to asked them to log the the time that I called, her address, and my odometer. And lastly, I velcro'd a small digital camera to my dash at an angle that covered the passenger side of my truck and most of my right side so that if any accusation were made about me doing anything that I should not be doing, I have proof that I did no such thing. I'm gonna start calling all of you seasoned guys and gals that dole out endless good advice the "Jedi Counsel"

_________________
Bryan Westerfield - Bail Agent
Angie Mardis Bail Bonds
Franklin, Indiana
Cell- 317-640-0724

Congratulations on your first Recovery !

Please remember, once charged, we are Guilty in a Court of Law until proven Innocent

_________________


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

Congratulations on your first.... hopefully it will be a learning experience and from there you can move forward...

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

Congrats, you never forget your first apprehension. Now, i challenge you to critique yourself...What would you do differently?
What would you never do again? Lastly, What did you learn from your case?

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)

Congratulations...

_________________
River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

Mdbtyhtr... I love that question. Every operation gets an AAR (After Action Review).
Things i would do differently:
1. Though I took proper precautions, instead of transporting a female by myself, I think it would be wise to make specific arrangements for tranporting female prisoners.
2. Bring at least one fellow bail agent or BEA, who is experienced, on every capture regardless of circumstances.
I can't think of a third thing at the moment but I am sure that there are a few more things that I would have changed( having item 2 on hand would yield more ideas ). As well as learning from good advice, most of what I know was learned though numerous mistakes.

Things I am going to sustain:
1. Listening to folks who have been where I am going.
2. Maintain constant and vigilant situational awareness. That was seared into my mind in Sadr City. My mind goes thru a checklist even when I enter a Chuckie Cheese's.
3. Keeping a level head and having realistic expectations.
4. I know this may sound silly, but standing with a strong and confident posture goes a long way.
5. Having a plan set in place for a "tactical retreat". Things can get overwhelming and I don't want to be caught short in this area.

Never again: It's hard to find something that I will never do again on a capture after my first went so smoothly. #'s 1 and 2 under "differently" most closely fit the bill..especially item 1.

What did I learn:
I learned that my military training and experience indeed served me very well under these types of circumstances. Spending 6 hour shifts on a roof top with binoculars pulling security taught me patience. Patience, in my opinion is one hell of an asset to any BEA. It applies to every facet of the job leading up to the capture, gotta give things time to fall into place.
Be Nice..Fewer people respond to courtesy with violence.

I am sure there are things that I am failing to cover that would surely come to light during a conversation, but this is my first solo AAR and I am not accustomed to in depth self critques unless I have had too much to drink and dry heaving my colon up and as a result.

_________________
Bryan Westerfield - Bail Agent
Angie Mardis Bail Bonds
Franklin, Indiana
Cell- 317-640-0724

Congrats Bryan!!

_________________
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

Bryan, your internal sit reps are your own. The point is to get in the practice of doing this to develop your skill sets, and not to repeate potential failures. In time, this will make you much more efficient.

Women can kill you just as dead, having a female agent with you to conduct a frisk and to monitor the transport is worth it's weight in gold should allegations arise.

You will go far Pilgrim!

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)

Howdy Pard!
I have yet to do a solo apprehension, and am content to learn with my mentor for a long spell before I attempt one on my own.

But in reading your story, I wondered about having a female agent to assist in the field. Then Scott offered that wise advice when he beat me to the draw. It is a wise piece of advice worth considering. When the person you're after is a female, having one assist you can keep troubles at bay.

That being said, your use of a camera was a reasonable alternative, as was logging the call and mileage with the SO.

Overall, I think you did pretty darn good for the first time. Take that with a grain of salt, considering I haven't made my first solo yet, but you got the job done and without fuss. That's a clean pick in my book.

Good on you sir, and may all your picks go just as well.
Mel

_________________
Mel Edington, Fugitive Recovery Agent
CDOI 2011-117
Colorado Private Investigator,
DORA PI10000052
Athame Investigations,
division of Colorado Bounty Hunter LLC
Aurora, Colorado
303-343-7111 Office
303-319-1077 Cell
303-366-3189 Fax

Available for Fugitive Recovery, Process Service, Investigation and Legal Courier Service.