Can N.C. bondsmen enter another state?

Can N.C. bondsmen enter another state?
Pete DeLea - The Star of Cleveland County - Shelby, S.C.
April 13, 2007 - 6:15PM


SHELBY — South Carolina law enforcement officials say Mark Beaver and his employees at Beaver Bail Bonds shouldn’t have been operating in the state during an incident that led to assault and civil charges following a complaint from a Spartanburg man.

Beaver, along with bondsmen Walter Lee Currier and Benjamin Steve Philbeck, were each charged with a bail bondsmen and runners chapter violation in addition to weapons charges.

Beaver said during the attempt to pick up their fugitive, they contacted Spartanburg Public Safety.

“We asked them point blank is there was a problem with what we were doing and they said ‘no,’” said Beaver. “All they had to say is you can’t carry your weapons.”

Ann Roberson of the S.C. Department of Insurance, the agency that oversees bail bondsman licenses, said it’s illegal to operate as a bail bondsman in the state without a license.

No one can perform bail bondsman type duties in South Carolina unless they are licensed as bail bondsmen in the state, according to Chapter 53 of the S.C. Code. They can't be licensed in South Carolina unless they live in the state, Ms. Roberson said.

Beaver said the interpretation of the law can vary and a Supreme Court ruling backs up his authority to pursue a suspect into another state.

“We weren’t down there soliciting business. We were down there picking up a bond skip,” said Beaver.

Beaver said the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Taylor vs. Taintor gives him the right to cross the state line to nab a fugitive.

“They may pursue him into another state; may arrest him on the Sabbath; and if necessary, may break and enter his house for that purpose,” the ruling states.

Managing Editor Alan Jenkins contributed to this report.

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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

Bondsmen deny validity of charges
Pete DeLea The Star of Cleveland County - Shelby, S.C.

April 13, 2007 - 6:10PMSHELBY — Beaver Bail Bonds owner Mark Beaver and two of his bondsmen found themselves out of jail on bond after being arrested on several charges stemming from a February 2006 incident in Spartanburg.

Donald Carson claims, in both the incident report and a civil lawsuit filed April 10, that Beaver and his agents mistook him for a fugitive, entered his home on Feb. 2, 2006 with guns drawn and pinned him against the wall.

Beaver, Philbeck, and Walter Currier turned themselves in and subsequently were released on bond after warrants were filed against them by the S.C. Law Enforcement Division.

Beaver denies any wrongdoing in the case.

“He’s looking for money,” said Beaver. “These are charges brought in order to get a civil lawsuit. That’s the bottom line.”

Beaver, of Shelby, said he went to Spartanburg to pick up a Cleveland County man who failed to show up in court on cocaine trafficking charges. He said a relative of the man tipped him off that the suspect would be in a public housing unit.

He said he went to the home at South Forrest Street in the city. He said the woman who leased the home gave him permission to search the residence.

Carson said he went downstairs and was grabbed and attacked by the bail bondsmen.

Along with Beaver, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division charged Walter Lee Currier, of Lawndale, and Benjamin Steve Philbeck, of Fallston. Bondsman Keith Markham hasn’t been charged but is listed in the lawsuit.

Philbeck said Carson’s claims are bogus.

“They’re fabricated lies,” said Philbeck. “I didn’t point a gun at anyone. I haven’t assaulted anyone.”

The Spartanburg investigation

Spartanburg Public Safety Capt. Billy Norris said Carson filed a police report in 2006 after the incident but became uncooperative during the investigation.

“The very day that Carson brought his complaint to us a judge issued a warrant for simple assault,” said Norris. “After the initial report was taken we made numerous attempts to contact Mr. Carson and even went to his residence. After several attempts to meet with us, we made a decision to drop the warrant.”

Throughout the police report, both Carson and his attorney, Andrew Johnston, refer to a civil lawsuit against the bond company. After charges were dropped, the attorney attempted to get them re-filed.

“Mr. Johnston stated he and Mr. Carson were looking to sue Beaver Bail Bond and it would benefit their case if it had criminal charges to back it up,” an officer wrote in the report.
After Carson requested an investigation by the state’s attorney general, charges against the bail bondsmen were later filed by SLED this year.

Here’s what they face:

Criminal charges
Mark Beaver, of Shelby
Assault of high and aggravated nature
Unlawful carrying of a weapon
Bail bondsmen and runners chapter violation
Pointing and presenting firearms

Walter Currier, of Lawndale
Unlawful carrying of a weapon
Bail bondsmen and runners chapter violation
Pointing and presenting firearms

Steve Philbeck, of Fallston
Assault of high and aggravated nature
Unlawful carrying of a weapon
Bail bondsmen and runners chapter violation
Pointing and presenting firearms

Four causes of civil suit

These are the allegations listed in the civil suit against Beaver Bail Bonds and four bondsmen: Beaver, Philbeck, Currier and Keith Markham.

Donald Carson and Cassandra Lynch are the plaintiffs.

Alleged battery of Carson:
“…he has suffered extreme humiliation, mental and emotional shock. The acts of the bail agents were the proximate cause of severe emotional distress to Carson.”

Alleged assault of Lynch:
“The bail agents’ actions put Lynch in reasonable apprehension of a harmful or offensive touching and of actual physical injury or death.”

Intentional infliction of emotional distress:
“The bail agents’ conduct was extreme, outrageous and exceeded all bounds of decency, in addition to being atrocious and utterly intolerable.”

Vicarious liability:
“Bankers and the bail agents are jointly and severally liable for the acts of one or all of the bail agents…”

Managing Editor Alan Jenkins contributed to this report.

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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

Every body this needs to be watched
You can go to www.community.shelbystar.com/projects/beaverbail/

the original arrest / coplaint is availble for viewing as weel as copies of the bondsmans' warrants.

Taylor v Taintor is being brought into play

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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

I agree. There seems to be issues as to several "rights" on every side, but I read nothing that said that they actually caught the person they were after. That would be the real test of T v T.

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

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

That's why I never put my hands on anyone until A positive ID has been made.

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

OK MAYBE IAM NOT READING THIS WRIGHT BUT., IF SOMEONE JUMPS BAIL ARENT WE THE BEA ALLOWED TO GO FROM STATE TO STATE TO TRACK DOWN THE FUGITIVE AS LONG AS WE CHECK IN WITH THE PD IN THE AREA YOU WILL BE IN

NO !

Please attend a professional BEA school like Bob Burton's NIBE...or Mel Barth's NABEA....

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

To expand, you have to follow the laws of the state you are entering. Some do not recognize commercial bail and do not allow bail enforcement in their state. Some require that you contract with a local bondsman or BEA to work in the state. Some allow only the bondsman who wrote the bond to work in the state. Some allow an agent to work in their state as long they hold the same qualifications in their home state that the other state has. Some strictly adhere to TvT and allow anyone to work as long as they follow the law.

Beyond this, no state allows a person to impersonate LE, but some give specifics about clothing, badges, weapons, etc. There are also different requirements as to whether checking in with PD is required, extradition issues, and a multitude of others.

So, before you enter another state, make sure you have researched their statutes and requirements, and follow them to the letter. Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for major charges and major expense to plead your side. You can argue TvT all you want, but unless you have the funds to take your case all the way to the Supreme Court, don't push it past what the state allows. Even if you do have the funds and can get the Supreme Court to grant the writ to hear it, there is still no guarantee of success. A negative ruling could ruin our industry as a whole.

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

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

Don't try coming into CT..you need to go thru a licensed agent...check the state statues..
On the weapons thing...
I have pulled mine many times while searching a house, yard, etc with my partners...if someone comes at you with something that constitutes a weapon, what are you going to do???
It was mentioned in a earlier post..go to a BEA school and get some instruction...it it NOT like what you see on tv...
And yes Ruffin...this goes back to the Liquid Wrench story

Dog makes a mockery of the industry...Everyone is entitled to their own opinion..some people carry, some don't..quite frankly, I would not go without mine due to the types of fugitives we deal with. I have dealt with drug dealers, rapists..you name it. I am not commenting on this any more because its comments like this that will most likely get you hurt...or worse. Subject closed...