I am posting this because it just happened and I wanted to share the thought process, options and actions for discussion. I also thought that it would provoke the arm chair quarterbacks and give the newbies some incite.
I received a call from a prominent local bondsman; he has a skip that he must pay on Tuesday. They always wait to the last minute, don't they
I speak with the Indemnitor/wife and she tells me where he will be in the evening and where he will lay his head. I run his criminal history to see what I am dealing with; you guessed it, all crimes of violence, women police etc.
I ran the apartment buildings where he was supposed to be. All the information we had was the car that his niece was driving, and her apartment number. I used a confidential informant that knows the complex and people to give me some Intel.
The white girl in the Chevy Monte Carlo is pregnant by "One" of the black guys that lives there. There are always at least three black males there, but often times more, and none of them work.
I check in with the locals, they want to be on scene due to the area and the history in that apartment. In the back of my mind, I am thinking you just want into the apartment for probable cause for a warrant/seizure and everyone else there. (Previous history involved shootings, stabbings, drugs etc.) We wait for them to show and set up surveillance.
Our target is an early 40's white male, with thick curly hair. He has distinguishing tattoos so if he is uncooperative, we can positively ID him.
In December, he had neck surgery and has had previous back surgeries. We learn that the locals across the Potomac River in MD had trashed his house the night before, running him to his Niece's apartment in VA.
A dark Dodge Durango pulls up to the front of the building by the Monte Carlo and a guy gets out fitting the description of our guy, but it is pouring rain and you can't be sure. As the Durango leaves, the Sheriff pulls in. The potential target spins around like his head is an Owl's, and darts into the building. The buildings have an open pass through from the front to the back, so I exited my vehicle and ran to the back of the building in case he made it for the woods. My partners brief the Deputy, and observe him going into our target apartment. The apartment is on the third floor, making it one heck of a jump for our target. My partner discovers that the window is wide open, but the screen is in place, ripe for a panicked dive to freedom.
I make contact with the Indemnitor to ask what kind of car he drives, and she said he doesn't have one anymore. I asked what she drives, looking for the connection to the Durango, without letting her know that it was observed. Nothing there, but may have been his sister, mother of the Niece giving him shelter.
With the outside covered, we make a knock at the door. No response. It is now 4:30 am and we are the guests that wouldn't leave. Suffice it to say, the knocking was so loud and persistent, that we had the entire building awake. We had all kinds of assistance as well, all telling the Deputy about how she has all of these men in the apartment, nobody works, they have seen our target etc. They went so far as to calling friends to call them to get them to come to the door so they could get back to sleep.
No help, no answer. Decision time, kick the door or not? The Deputies, two now, are convinced as is our entire crew that they are in there. If he wasn't there, they would have come to the door.
What do I have? A pregnant girl, known drug activity, multiple adult males, a fugitive that is in panic mode, with significant medical history and an open 3rd floor window. The bond he jumped on? $5,000.00. He had Child Support Warrants as well as the CDS and Fleeing and Alluding charges.
Liability and mitigating it is our business. I make a call to the bondsman, if I am awake and dealing with this, so should he. I explain the entire situation, and he asks my opinion. I believe we should disengage; the potential liability eclipses the real liability of paying the bond. He agrees and we have the Deputies leave first, hoping that the public exit might flush him. We wait in the rain an additional 1 1/2 hours, sun is coming up. We have crew that has work requirements so staying isn't an option, we leave the scene.
Could things have been different? Absolutely, if we had been called when the bond forfeiture was received, allowing us more time. We could have done our surveillance and set him up, hopefully without incident. This bondsman used to be a Sheriff, so having the locals recover his skips has always been the order of the day. We get brought in when they go out of his realm of influence. He saves money that way. Prior to us, he has never hired BEA's. His thought process being that since he is a multi-millionaire, his potential liability is so high, he would rather pay the bond and sue the Indemnitor. In MD, you have 10 years for 100% refund upon petition, if the subject is re-arrested.
Thoughts?
Scott
