Posted on Tue, Jul. 10, 2007
Killing of bondsman shows dangers of industry
BY DAVID OVALLE
The bail bondsmen community lost one of its own.
Jerry Anthony Dongo, 32, husband and father of three, was shot dead Monday night, police say, by a convicted felon who skipped a $16,000 bond on a charge of trying to steal a plasma-screen TV and an Xbox.
Dongo and five colleagues rushed in to arrest Christopher Walls, 35, outside his Northwest Miami-Dade apartment building. One held Walls at gunpoint and Dongo tried pulling him out of his car.
A brawl ensued. Walls, police say, pulled a pistol and shot Dongo, who was not wearing a bullet-proof vest. He was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital but doctors pronounced him dead.
The death rattled South Florida's bonds community, underscoring the danger bondsmen face daily when trying to recapture wayward clients.
''This business has always been a dangerous business,'' said Linda Braswell, president of the Professional Bail Agents of the United States, who also worked with Dongo. ``Bondsmen are in these situations every single day, all over the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.''
By Tuesday afternoon, fellow bondsmen in the competitive, rugged industry had donated over $12,000 for Dongo's family.
''All the bail bondsmen have to come together,'' said Dongo's partner, David Rodriguez, one of the men who tried arresting Walls. ``This is very hard on us.''
Walls is now charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. A murder charge could follow.
Walls sports tattoos that read ''Thug,'' ''No Fear'' and ''Hoodrat.'' Sometimes, he calls himself Kivin Balake.
His convictions include robbery with a deadly weapon, burglary, grand theft, criminal mischief. Miami-Dade police label him a ``career criminal.''
On May 18, a Miami-Dade police officer arrested him for allegedly breaking into an Opa-locka home to steal a flatscreen TV, an Xbox video game system, a jewelry box and $300 -- as the homeowner walked in.
Walls dropped the loot, police say. He escaped but was later arrested after fingerprints tied him to the scene.
On May 19, he posted bond of $16,000 -- the defendant pays 10 percent of that amount, while the bondsman and ultimately an insurance company is held liable if the suspect disappears.
Walls' bondsman was North Miami resident Dongo, in the career for eight years, of J.D. Bail Bonds in Pembroke Pines.
Walls' case, like many, proved high risk.
After Walls failed to appear in court, Judge Lawrence Schwartz on June 8 ordered that he be arrested. State rules say bondsmen have 60 days to bring in their clients or be held liable.
His family said Dongo conducted careful surveillances, took no unnecessary risks and carried a sidearm but prefered a Taser stun gun.
''He didn't want to use deadly force,'' said Howard Puig, his godfather and a fellow bondsman.
Dongo devoured true-life law enforcement shows, like Forensic Files and COPS. At Miami-Dade County jail, he met his best friend, Rodriguez, and together they made over 500 arrests in five years.
''We were always first through the door,'' Rodriguez said.
Dongo normally didn't wear a vest because he was the runner, chasing down fleeing suspects or cuffing them while Rodriguez held them at gunpoint.
On Monday, the team had tracked Wells to an apartment complex at 1020 NW 155th Ln. They were conducting surveillance and just before 8 p.m., moved to arrest Walls as he was getting into his car.
Bondsmen usually notify police if they are working in an area, although there is often friction between law enforcement and bondsmen.
The bondsmen did not call police Monday.
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