Harboring a fugitive

Mindtracker,

Excellent advice and tactics. We have used many of those ourselves and find they work in the right circumstances.

On top of the 3 felonies you cited, we also use bond/insurance fraud. By co-signing on a bond, they are guaranteeing the full amount and saying that they can pay it. By law, we are required to tell them before signing that if they do not or cannot fulfill all liabilities it is bond fraud and since a bond is an insurance policy, it is insurance fraud. This is a felony 6 in CO. All of this is required to be printed on the paperwork and the defendant and/or cosigner given a copy.

Of course, around here, it is almost impossible to get the DA to press charges on any of these. Most of the people don't know the difficulty so it is still a good threat.

Posting people on 24/7 surveillance on a house works well too, especially if they are basically decent people and don't want the neighborhood to know what's going on. In those instances we are always fully uniformed so that people will see us and start questioning us about who we are, and who we are after. Many times the embarassment will do the trick.

We have everyone sign a privacy waiver that gives us the right to talk to virtually anyone if we have to track them. This way they can't say anything when we start talking to neighbors, employers, landlords, etc. It doesn't matter how many times they tell you they don't know where the person is, that little signature allows us to talk to people until they either give them up or pay the bond. It's amazing how many people will come through when it really starts to affect them personally. That's the key word, personally. As long as they think they can get away with hiding someone or playing dumb, or maybe even not knowing where they are, they won't give you anything. When it comes to them, their reputation, job, home, and the issue is continually forced, they tend to be more cooperative.

If you are looking for someone involved it drugs, and you suspect there might be some in the house, you can use the threat of bringing in LE to assist you in your search. Sometimes that works, often it doesn't, but when the cops start showing up with you, and other arrests are made, they start to get the message. Sometimes the local LE is just looking for an excuse to hit a house and backing you up is perfect for them. We get our person and they get credit for their arrests which makes them look good to their department.

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

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

all this info is great and all effective if done right--I beleive you said the indemnitor used the phone right after you left--if you know the number that the indemnitor called from and the call was either local toll or long distance you can get the phone records from that month thru many info dealers--if the number is local your screwed --another tactic i use is speak to the indemnitor and when you leave have someone stay behind with a parabolic mike aimed at the area of the phone hooked to a recorder if the indemnitor uses touch tone phones and calls the skip sometimes the mike will pick up the tones and record them for you to decipher later(easily done)--there are many other ways also but not for public discussion--remember do not record or listen to the phone conversation as that is illegal---I have gone as far as publishing wanted posters in the local newspaper -I have also used cable tv to get posters out any media source in cluding radio is an effective tool(more so on embarrassing the skips family and or the indemnitor into giving up the skip--i have once told a friend of the skip(he had a security clearence from the navy he worked on nuclear subs)that i would report to his commander he was haboring a fugitive from justice(it took him about 10 seconds to give his friend up) be inventive be creative listen to the indemnitor or family exploit any weak spots in their stories and use it against them--make their life a living hell show up at their work their friends their country clubs the boy and girl scout meeting-after they have taken all they can stand either they will try to kill you--in which case i hope you are better than they or you will get a call in middle of the night from a voice you never heard telling you where your skip is hiding--also know your states harrassment laws and do break them in nh harrassment does not apply to criminal investigations unless a court order is obtained against you

Update, we have putting alot of pressure on the 2 co-signers latley. Hopefully, at least one of them will finally snap and give up a location.

It just kills me that not only are they co-signers, but also have young babies from them recently.

There stories are always the same:

1) Have'nt seen him or heard him from him in blah,blah,blah.

2) I don't know what he drives.

3) I don't have his phone number, yet they say he calls about 1x a week, ( star 67 of course)

This also includes relatives( ??) Now I bet if there was a family reunion coming up he would be contacted pretty quick. OR if one of his girlfriends wanted to get some child support checks ($$$) He would be found pretty quick also.

Sorry about the rambling, just getting very flustered over this crap.Yes, I know, BEA work has it up and downs.

This is why I want to know about "How far can we use the Harboring a Fugitive " statue.

Anyfeed back is a big help

If they are co-signers can you not just file the paperwork to get them to pay the bond?

_________________
-The Solution-
Indiana Agency #: PI20700211
Indiana Notary Public - Exp: 12/20/13

"Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath."
- Kingdom of Heaven

Both could care less.

1) First girl was alrealdy sued for the bond, she on welfare. Maybe the taxpers are paying for it.

2) She says , she will deal with it when the time comes. In my opion, these girls are just as guilty as the punk criminals they bailed out.

Thats why I'm trying to research, how far can we go.

If you have a harboring or aiding and abetting statute and you can show that he is calling them regularly, you may have enough to get them charged. At that point they may lose their kids and their welfare ticket.

Those charges usually include some wording about "concealing".

_________________
-The Solution-
Indiana Agency #: PI20700211
Indiana Notary Public - Exp: 12/20/13

"Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath."
- Kingdom of Heaven

I deal with this all the time, to these people their signature means nothing, they own nothing, owe everyone and no one can make them pay because they have no job and nothing to take, they know this so threats of being sued is a joke to them, they also know in part thanks to TV that BEA's have zero authority to punish them for lieing or obstructing our investigation so our threats of having them charged with harboring or obstruction carry no weight.

If the co-signer or girlfriend are on probation try to get the PO to put some pressure on them, if local PD really wants the skip try to get them to put some pressure on them.

I'm going to be a State Constable here in PA soon and as long as I have proof I intend to arrest anyone who I have probable cause to believe is harboring a fugitive I'm looking for, it's time that these people get the message that harboring or assisting a fugitive is a crime not a joke.

Trickery is often the best route.

I once had a skip who's girlfriend knew where he was but wasn't giving it up, I had a female assistant call her using caller ID spoofing and put in the PH# of a local strip club, when the girlfriend answered my assistant identified herself as FOXY and asked for the skip, the girlfriend said he aint here who are you, "FOXY" then told her that the skip was her man and that he gave her an STD she then said that it can take up to 6 months to show up so you better have him get tested and show you the results.

The next day I received a call from the girlfriend who told us everything we needed to know.

_________________
Chuck

Some states actually do have laws for obstructing that can be made by PI's or BEA's.

In Indiana it is:

IC 35-44-3-2 Assisting a criminal
Sec. 2. A person not standing in the relation of parent, child, or spouse to another person who has committed a crime or is a fugitive from justice who, with intent to hinder the apprehension or punishment of the other person, harbors, conceals, or otherwise assists the person commits assisting a criminal, a Class A misdemeanor. However, the offense is:
(1) a Class D felony if the person assisted has committed a Class B, Class C, or Class D felony; and
(2) a Class C felony if the person assisted has committed murder or a Class A felony, or if the assistance was providing a deadly weapon.

As added by Acts 1976, P.L.148, SEC.4. Amended by Acts 1977, P.L.340, SEC.60.


There is a seperate statute for obstructing law enforcement.

If there is a similiar law in your state you may be able to print it out and give it to them... then if they persist and you have evidence of their contact with your "fugitive from justice" then you swear out a complaint wtih the local prosecutor's office.

_________________
-The Solution-
Indiana Agency #: PI20700211
Indiana Notary Public - Exp: 12/20/13

"Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath."
- Kingdom of Heaven

This is Colorado's law pertaining to harboring. The problem here is that the DA won't press charges. We can threaten people all we want and most of them don't know or don't care, but when it comes right down to it, we're helpless in getting anything done.

The only time we got harboring charges filed was in Kentucky. We had faxed felony warrants from here to the sheriff there and after contacting the counties here to confirm they would extradite, they went to pick our guy up. The wife was home and told them the guy was at work and where he worked. By the time they got there, he was gone because she had called and warned him. When they caught him about a week later, they arrested her for harboring, aiding & abetting. She also had new felony charges here so they sent both of them back . We got screwed out of our pay because "we didn't make the arrest" and "the guy had already screwed them out of enough money, they shouldn't have to pay us, too." Oh well, at least we got the satisfaction of getting him back and in jail on bonds that he couldn't get out on.

18-8-105. Accessory to crime.
Statute text
(1) A person is an accessory to crime if, with intent to hinder, delay, or prevent the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for the commission of a crime, he renders assistance to such person.

(2) "Render assistance" means to:

(a) Harbor or conceal the other; or

(a.5) Harbor or conceal the victim or a witness to the crime; or

(b) Warn such person of impending discovery or apprehension; except that this does not apply to a warning given in an effort to bring such person into compliance with the law; or

(c) Provide such person with money, transportation, weapon, disguise, or other thing to be used in avoiding discovery or apprehension; or

(d) By force, intimidation, or deception, obstruct anyone in the performance of any act which might aid in the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of such person; or

(e) Conceal, destroy, or alter any physical or testimonial evidence that might aid in the discovery, detection, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of such person.

(3) Being an accessory to crime is a class 4 felony if the offender knows that the person being assisted has committed, or has been convicted of, or is charged by pending information, indictment, or complaint with a crime, and if that crime is designated by this code as a class 1 or class 2 felony.

(4) Being an accessory to crime is a class 5 felony if the offender knows that the person being assisted is suspected of or wanted for a crime, and if that crime is designated by this code as a class 1 or class 2 felony.

(5) Being an accessory to crime is a class 5 felony if the offender knows that the person being assisted has committed, or has been convicted of, or is charged by pending information, indictment, or complaint with a crime, or is suspected of or wanted for a crime, and if that crime is designated by this code as a felony other than a class 1 or class 2 felony; except that being an accessory to a class 6 felony is a class 6 felony.

(6) Being an accessory to crime is a class 1 petty offense if the offender knows that the person being assisted has committed, or has been convicted of, or is charged by pending information, indictment, or complaint with a crime, or is suspected of or wanted for a crime, and if that crime is designated by this code as a misdemeanor of any class.

History
Source: L. 71: R&RE, p. 454, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 40-8-105. L. 91: (5) amended, p. 406, § 13, effective June 6. L. 97: (2)(a.5) added and (2)(e) amended, p. 1547, § 20, effective July 1.

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

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

I have a question.

Should FRN have a closed to the public forum where verified BEAs can hold sensitive discussions such as what we have here on this thread, or are you all okay with the way things are?

Rex