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Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
http://fugitiverecovery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=10546		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  speezack [ Fri 23 Oct 2009 20:54 ]
Post subject:  Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
Would-be bounty hunters nab innocent woman in Bristol

Here is a link to a video: http://www2.tricities.com/tri/news/loca ... tol/34641/

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Story from the Bristol paper:
Please note the secondary story, in the print about "Abington Bail Bonds"; the bondsman and his son, a former magistrate.

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BRISTOL, Va. – A woman accused of skipping bond was handcuffed, sexually assaulted during a strip search and hauled off to jail Oct. 9. But the three who arrested her were only masquerading as drug task force agents.

On top of that, police said, the fake agents nabbed the wrong woman and passed her to a bail bondsman in the hopes of receiving a reward.

The bondsman then took the woman to the Bristol Virginia Jail, where she was immediately freed because jailers quickly discerned her true identity.

“She clearly had identification to clearly show she wasn’t the person in question,” Bristol Police Detective Sgt. Steven Crawford said Thursday.

Charges of abduction, robbery, impersonating a law enforcement officer, conspiracy and sexual battery were filed against the two men and a woman who staged the false arrest, Crawford said.

Officers arrested Donna Fitzwater, of Bristol, Tenn., and Dwayne Peters, of Greeneville, Tenn., on Thursday. They continue to search for Stacy Herndon, of Lebanon, Va.

A fourth person – Doug Roller, of Bristol, Va. – is being charged as an accessory, Crawford said, based on accusations that Roller lured the woman to Mumpower Park in Bristol, Va., so the trio could corral her.

“They ran out with badges in their hands and they’re screaming ... drug task force,” Crawford said.

The detective said the trio hoped to receive a reward from bail bondsman J.C. Mullins, of Abingdon Bail Bonds, after he had distributed a photo of a woman he’d bonded out of jail and who had skipped a court appearance.

Contacted late Thursday, Mullins said: “I’m not ready to talk about it right now.”

Mullins was the subject of several recent Bristol Herald Courier stories that detailed how his son, a former magistrate named John C. “Tiny” Mullins III, falsified bail bond documents to hide questionable dealings between the two.

The father is now under investigation by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, which licenses bail bondsmen and women.

The son, Tiny Mullins, was fired from the magistrate’s office and is under investigation by a special prosecutor.

Crawford said Fitzwater, Herndon and Peters set out to find the girl shown in the picture.

“This girl [who was abducted], to me, they don’t even look alike,” Crawford said.

The woman and her friend were pulled from their car and handcuffed in the park. Several hundred dollars were confiscated from the woman, who then was subjected to a full-body cavity search for hidden drugs.

Police said the friend who was let go, also a woman, has not complained of being sexually assaulted.
mowens@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2549

and the Richmond Times-Dispatch:


By AP

Published: October 23, 2009
BRISTOL — Three would-be bounty hunters face charges after they impersonated drug task force agents and nabbed the wrong woman, police said.
The innocent woman was mistaken for a suspect who had skipped bond. Bristol police say three people who hoped to collect a reward from a bail bondsman handcuffed the woman and sexually assaulted her during a strip search Oct. 9.
Sgt. Steven Crawford says the three face charges of abduction, robbery, impersonating a law enforcement officer, conspiracy and sexual battery.
Two of the suspects have been arrested, and police are searching for the third. A fourth person has been charged as an accessory.
The innocent woman caught by the suspects was taken to a lockup but let go when jailers quickly realized she wasn’t the person wanted for skipping bond.
Author:  tsuggs [ Sat 24 Oct 2009 11:05 ]
Post subject:  Re: Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
I can see a civil law suit coming. Hope the bondsman has some kind of liability insurance.
Author:  mouth [ Sun 25 Oct 2009 19:49 ]
Post subject:  Re: Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
It is scary to think of all the stupid people out there that do things like this and think it's ok. Hopefully they will receive an appropriate sentence for their actions. Glad to see the poor lady is ok- at least physically.
Author:  Mdbtyhtr [ Mon 26 Oct 2009 08:31 ]
Post subject:  Re: Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
It makes you think twice about wanted posters...ALWAYS state do not attempt to apprehend, reward is for information only etc or something to the same effect.

Scott
Author:  speezack [ Tue 27 Oct 2009 18:41 ]
Post subject:  Re: Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
Please view post that I bumped concerning "wanted posters".... I thought it might relate... I have never used them although they may work........... just not sure I want to do that.......
Author:  docmike [ Wed 28 Oct 2009 04:08 ]
Post subject:  Re: Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
Yah I stay away from wanted posters
Author:  abeaglepi [ Wed 28 Oct 2009 21:21 ]
Post subject:  Re: Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
I write bonds in Sullivan County on the Bristol, TN side, a couple of minutes away from Bristol, VA where this took place. These incidents blow my mind! What really gets me, is that the "bounty hunters" nabbed this woman (after another individual lured her to a park) and delivered her to the bondsman. The bondsman then took her to the jail. He (the bondsman) is now charged with obstruction of justice. One of the individuals involved in the "apprehension" is being charged with sexual battery. All individuals were charged however.
Author:  tsuggs [ Sat 20 Feb 2010 10:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
Prosecutors drop obstruction of justice charge against Abingdon bail bondsman
By Michael Owens | Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: February 19, 2010

BRISTOL, Va. – Prosecutors have dropped a misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge against a bail bondsman accused of hauling the wrong woman to jail Oct. 9.

Bristol assistant commonwealth’s attorney Kimberly Mumpower on Thursday told a general district court judge there was not enough evidence to try J.C. Mullins Jr., of Abingdon Bail Bonds.

The decision comes following multiple court continuances, a new judge to hear the case, and nearly two months after Mullins lost his state license as a bail bondsman.

City police initially charged Mullins while investigating three people accused of posing as drug agents to nab a woman thought to have skipped a court hearing. A fourth person is accused of luring the woman to the false agents.

The wrong woman was grabbed, police said, and handed over to Mullins, even though he was said to have earlier passed around photos of a different woman.

Mullins, police said at the time, lied by claiming not to know any of the people charged with the alleged scheme. Court records show he had bonded one of the accused from jail in 2008.

In December, Mullins had his license canceled by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, which oversees the state’s bail bondsmen and women, the agency’s Web site shows.

On Thursday, moments before the hearing, Mullins and his defense attorney Louis Dene huddled up with Mumpower outside the courtroom and appeared to discuss the case.

Mumpower eventually handed Dene a document and left him alone in the hallway with Mullins. Minutes later, Mullins returned to the courtroom as Dene turned toward Mumpower and said: “He’s not going to agree to anything.”

During the hearing, Mumpower first tried convincing substitute Judge Larry Lewis to take the case under advisement for a year. Essentially, the charge would be dropped as long as Mullins avoided legal trouble until then.

Lewis balked at the request, saying that he couldn’t comply without more information.

Lewis, a Lee County judge, sat in Thursday for Bristol General District Judge Sage B. Johnson, who in December recused himself from the case because of professional and personal ties with Mullins and his son, former Abingdon-based Magistrate John C. “Tiny” Mullins III.

Mumpower, with her first request rejected, then said the charges would instead be dropped.

“After speaking with the commonwealth’s witnesses ... the commonwealth doesn’t feel we have enough to convict Mr. Mullins,” she said.

Outside the courtroom, both Mullins and Dene declined a request for comment.

Mumpower, saying she was late for a case in another courtroom, also declined to comment.

In October, police said they might have shaved days off their search for the reported false drug agents had Mullins cooperated.

Officers eventually arrested Donna Fitzwater, of Bristol, Tenn., Dwayne Peters, of Greeneville, Tenn., and Stacy Matthew Herndon, of Lebanon, Va.

Each is charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer, while Peters and Herndon also are charged with robbery and abduction. Herndon also is charged with object sexual penetration.

Russell County General District Court records show that Mullins bonded Herndon out of jail Dec. 30, 2008, over charges of driving under the influence, driving on a revoked or suspended license, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

The fourth person, Doug Roller, of Bristol, Va., has been charged with robbery in connection with the false arrest. He is accused of luring the woman at 2 a.m. to Mumpower Park in Bristol, Va., so the trio could arrest her.

Their preliminary hearing is set for March 29.

In recent months, Mullins has been the subject of several Bristol Herald Courier stories detailing how his son, “Tiny” Mullins, falsified bail bond documents to hide questionable dealings between the two.

The son, Tiny Mullins, was fired from the magistrate’s office and is under investigation by a special prosecutor.
Author:  Jayc4929 [ Sat 20 Feb 2010 18:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
i have used wanted posters but have very clearly printed on them that reward was for information only.
One thing i dont understand is how does the bondsman not recognise his own fugitive when the so called"bounty hunters" turned her in? or does he not realise that the jail is going to check her identity upon booking?
Yet another black mark on this profession of ours!! without a doubt due to certain television shows,everyone wants to be a bounty hunter nowadays.I say sit back and just be an informant,less dangerous and less work but still get paid!! lol
Author:  Kathy [ Sat 20 Feb 2010 18:26 ]
Post subject:  Re: Here we go again- "WOULD BE BOUNTY HUNTERS"
I have a couple of wanna-be's and other people in my area that keep asking if they can arrest my only skip if they find her. I tell each and every one of them NO!!!!!!! I repeatedly tell them not to touch her, that all they can legally do is call me or one of my "hired" agents to come and get her. She has screwed so many people over that most of the info I get is freely given, and I'm told they don't want a reward. All my posters did (before her family started taking them down) was make even more of her enemies start coming forward with info. So far none of it has gotten me to her, but every bit brings me closer.

The wanna-be's really scare me, cos the male walks around town with a badge, handcuffs, and ID that he seems to think means something. Everytime I see him with them I tell him that he looks like a F-ing idiot and that I will not hire him. Now he thinks that he can get a city business license and walk the streets arresting people as a security company. Neither he or his so-called wife are all there, and they scare me with what they might do or say. Maybe I need to notify my Sheriff and Police Chief that they are NOT associated with me BEFORE they do something really stupid and claim that they work for me...

I'm not negating that this bondsman took custody of the wrong person from these idiots, one of which was his prior client, and even took her to jail. That was wrong!! But, they may have been working on their own to catch her just for the reward without his approval.
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