Shots fired during attempted Lake Stevens bail bond arrest

by Herald Staff

LAKE STEVENS – Police are investigating reports of shots fired outside a market in Lake Stevens.

The gunfire began at about 3 p.m. when a bail bondsman attempted to arrest a woman wanted on misdemeanor warrants, Lake Stevens Police Chief Randy Celori said.

Early reports indicated the woman may have been trying to run down the bail bond agent with a pickup truck when he began firing outside a market in the 10000 block of Lundeen Parkway.

The agent fired several times at the truck.

Police were looking for the woman, whom they do not believe was struck by bullets, Celori said.

Read full story: edited by LuVonda to include full article so that page would flow
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Yep, this is a crappy one folks. The recovery agent is known for his unprofessional conduct and the shooting was entirely unnecessary, based on his own direct statement of events. It will surprise me if they don't press some sort of charges on the recovery agent. Hopefully he will loose his license. This is now the second recovery-related shooting in Washington in a month including the one where the defendant was killed. Does not look good for us over here at all. The industry is already suffering many issues on different levels that pose a threat to us and this will prob be a major set-back for the hard work some of us have been putting in. We shall see...

Hopefully it'll work itself out for you guys............for you good guys over there.
I would prepare myself for any possible law changes or implementations.
Like you said we'll see.
Good luck

_________________
If the world didn't suck we would all fall off. (Luvonda)
Nobody has power over you that you do not allow them to have. (Scott)
Be careful of the seeds you plant because one day they will be harvested.

Dave
Private Investigator
Licensed by the NYS DOS Division of Licensing

Yeah we've had law changes getting tighter and tighter for the last 3 years. Here's a more complete article on the incident:

By Jackson Holtz Herald Writer
The Everett Herald
updated 11:00 a.m. PT, Sat., June. 7, 2008
LOCAL NEWS - LAKE STEVENS -- A bail bond agent who opened fire while trying to pull a woman from her pickup Friday has a history of being disciplined by state regulators, and wasn't dressed to clearly identify himself as somebody who could make an arrest.

Lake Stevens police said Saturday they are investigating Nathan Hingson, co-owner of Bail Bond by Nate of Lynnwood. He fired as many as eight rounds during a melee outside a Lake Stevens convenience store.

No one apparently was injured during the mid-afternoon gunfire outside Norm's Market on Lundeen Parkway, Lake Stevens Police Chief Randy Celori said.

Hingson on Friday said he was trying to detain a Lake Stevens woman, 25, whom he knew was wanted on multiple misdemeanor warrants.

Hingson created a substantial risk when he opened fire, Celori said Saturday. There were children and several adults around the market and someone could have been badly injured.

According to the state Department of Licensing's Web site, Hingson's bail bonds license was suspended for eight years as of February 2007, with half the period suspended. The state alleged Hingson failed to keep adequate records, committed "material fraud" and failed to maintain a trust account.

Hingson said Saturday he has a valid bail bond recovery license that authorizes him to make arrests and collect bounties. He said his other license was suspended because he and his wife were victims of a Las Vegas-based business that set them up. He agreed to a settlement that required forfeiture of his bail bond agent�s license.

Christine Anthony, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Licensing, said there are two types of bail bond licenses: one that authorizes people to run the business, another to act as a bounty hunter.

The state will investigate Hingson's actions on Friday, standard procedure after firearms are used, Anthony said.

On Friday Hingson said he wasn't in Lake Stevens hunting the woman, he just spotted her. He said there was not time to call police.

Celori said he's not convinced.

"For him working in Lynnwood and just happening upon the individual, I don't believe that's accurate," Celori said.

Hingson was dressed in a white athletic outfit Friday, not in a uniform or clothing identifying him as a bail bond agent when he tried to make the arrest, the chief said.

Celori said he's not surprised that the woman resisted arrest by someone dressed in civilian clothes and not carrying a police badge.

"People don't like to give up their freedom," he said.

Taking a person into custody is one of the most high-risk police procedures, he said.

Had police been contacted prior to the arrest attempt, Celori said the gunfire may have been avoided.

"If the individual would have coordinated with us, this situation wouldn't have happened," he said.

While police do want to interview the woman about Friday's shooting, they aren't actively pursuing her.

"Her warrants don't necessitate the need for us to continue to look for her, but police want to talk to her," Celori said.

Hingson said he didn't have time to call police before moving in to make the arrest. He said he�s only required to wear a special uniform when making forced entry into a home, searching for a bail fugitive.

On Friday, the gunfire erupted about 3 p.m. Hingson told police he noticed the woman's pickup and approached her to take her into custody.

The woman tried to drive away. Hingson said he punched out the driver's window and tried to grab the truck keys. The bail bond agent said he began shooting when the woman allegedly dragged him a short distance in the parking lot with her truck, and then tried to run him over.

The woman was able to drive off, ditch her truck and escape. Police do not believe she was hurt. She remains at large.

Hingson said he suffered cuts and bruises.

According to the Bail Bond by Nate Web site, the business was started in April 2007 by Hingson's wife and a friend. On Friday, Hingson said he is a co-owner.

Bail bond agents operate under strict licensing rules in Washington. They are required to take special firearms training and are permitted to use firearms under Washington law.

Last month, bail bond agents fatally shot a man in Lakewood in Pierce County. They said the suspect tried to run them over. That incident remains under investigation.

Celori said Lake Stevens police will investigate the status of Hingson's bail bond license.

Detectives will share that information and other evidence from their investigation with Snohomish County prosecutors to determine what action, if any, should be taken, Celori said.

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.

Link to article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25024683/
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OUCH!!! Hopefully I'll still get to hang out on the forum even after we get shut down and all our licenses taken. Anybody need a recovery agent in their state?

Maybe because of the licensing requirements in WA is why LE and the DA takes the time to investigate. Here all that is required to be a BEA is to take a 16 hour class and be felony free for 15 years. No matter where we work, there will always be cowboys and idiots that give us a bad name. My personal opinion is that the more stringent the requirement, along with LE opinions makes the difference in how we are seen and treated.

It is impossible to second guess a person's thoughts or actions in a particular situation. I have been on location two times when "shots were fired." One was a shot in the air "warning the skip to stop while the BEA was tripping and falling down." The agent was arrested, but lucky enough to get off with seriously reduced charges. One thing that helped was that the defendant was caught crawling out "mom's" window while LEO's were at the front door and mom was telling them she hadn't seen him. His story supported the BEA's in that he got away because the agent fell down. The judge accepted that the firing of the gun was an accident, still gave probation, and a hefty fine. Yep, it's all about the money. The agent lost his gun, as part of the agreement was that it got destroyed. Yep, anything they can do to destroy guns. The first time I wasn't in view of what happened. The second, child locks were in place, and I saw what happened, but was useless to do anything.

The second experience relates to this case and the other one we have been discussing. The skip was in a vehicle with another person driving. When the skip realized who we were, he loudly told the driver to run the agent trying to stop them down. The agent fired a shot at the tire but missed. There was no intent to kill, only to protect. Another agent was hanging on the side of the vehicle trying to divert and/or stop them. Both agents were thwarted. A chase ensued, during which I was on the phone with 911 for much of it. The skip's vehicle driver finally stopped (she and the skip got injured, cuts and bruises, when the CI rammed their vehicle which we had nothing to do with), and we took the skip into custody. He still refused to release a knife until he "tossed" it at the primary BEA. Since the skip had been injured in the ramming, instead of going straight to the jail, we took him to the city PD. Pretty much everyone there, LEO's included, said that they would have blown the driver away, but the incident happened in the county. They referred us to the ER, and while we were there, SO showed up. They immediately took all of our weapons even those that had obviously not been fired. We were demanded to follow them (once they had taken custody of the skip) to their office, and were individually questioned for hours. They checked all weapons, did powder tests on all of us, and finally let us go in the wee hours. I tested totally clean, but the detective still didn't want to release my gun back to me and told me that he could keep it as long as he wanted, until I threatened to take it to court. It was released within a couple of days. I had only bought it a short time before, and it had never been fired. Despite that the detective had told me that he couldn't tell, the officer in evidence when I picked it up said that it was obvious. That was after I told him that I would be seriously pissed if they fired it before I got to. The BEA that fired his weapon got his gun back after a year of "behaving" himself.

Different LEO's, states, DA's, have different opinions, and ways of handling things. We all have to fight personal opinions and actions, no matter how right or wrong we may be. We want to get rid of the renegades that hurt us, but want to support the ones that do things right. That is why I rely on what I know of my state, and rely on others to provide info on theirs'.

I have learned to not rely on anybody but myself to keep my license and reputation. I ask for and get help from others, but when push comes to shove, I am the only one that I can completely rely on to keep ME out of trouble.

_________________
Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

Amen, Kathy

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)

Very well said Kathy, I never like to second guess the actions of LEO/BEA because they were there as it happens. However I do use event as a training tool for the what if's good or bad. The actions we take as LEO/BEA are always subject to review and could lead to criminal or civil charges. Therefore you must protect yourself so that you can protect others.

_________________
Domestic Security Investigations
P.O. Box 4462
Rockville, MD 20849
Tel: 1-800-387-0787
Anti-Moral Majority Club President
"Fear not the unknown, Fear the person who controls the unknown" Gene 7:14

While police do want to interview the woman about Friday's shooting, they aren't actively pursuing her.

"Her warrants don't necessitate the need for us to continue to look for her, but police want to talk to her," Celori said.

The woman was able to drive off, ditch her truck and escape.


So, the PD is waiting for her to come in?? ... Something smells here, BIG TIME .....

_________________
Yak .... H.B.I.C.
Riverside Enforcement
Hackensack NJ 07601
Ph. (201) 538 - 2947
Fax (201) 342 - 5405

Phill, I cannot figure out how to make this Topic the normal width of the page . . . HELPPPPPP

it was the URL . . .and the article was what was already posted . . .

_________________


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

Well more than likely they were driving offenses or something like that, but I will do a couple checks to see what the actual charges are and update soon. I'm sure they're hoping she's just stupid enough to show up so they can hook her.

The agent, in his own statement, said that he punched the window out with his hand and tried to grab the keys and when she tried to drive off, he stepped back and tried to stop the car by shooting the tires out. According to one of my guys, even in almost all the officer-involved similar incidents, they were sanctioned or got in some sort of trouble for shooting at a vehicle to stop it. If you fire your weapong, it better be to save your life or someone else's in that moment. Doesn't apply to just stop somebody from getting away.

This might be another nail in the coffin for the Washington Bail Bond industry. There are folks in legislation and state levels that have just been waiting for excuses to lock us down. And as Kathy was stating, we can only make sure we take care of ourselves and be accountable for our own choices and actions.

Hingson on Friday said he was trying to detain a Lake Stevens woman, 25, whom he knew was wanted on multiple misdemeanor warrants.


I went back and read all of the posts of the articles and it does not say anywhere that he wrote the bond. It appears that he does not hold a BBA Lic. So can people just driving down the street see someone that they know has a warrant, grab them, and go collect the bounty? There has got to be more to the story than what the papers has put out there.

_________________


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