"He's there; go get-em Now!"

It is a foregone conclusion that most experienced BEAs have heard something along the lines of "He's there; go get-em Now!"

In my experience, getting excited and jumping up and running at the behest of a desparate bail bond company owner may not be the best of ideas.

In one case, somebody forgot to mention the gun and using a car to nearly run over a BEA or two.

In another case, someone neglected to tell me that the skip was a mandatory 7-unit minimum response whenever the local heat got word of the skip's whereabouts.

The point is that we have to weigh many things during the decision making process of when to go, and this decision should be left up to the BEA leading the arrest attempt and perhaps not the one whose business/livlihood is on the line.

This has to do with the instant cases where we don't really know anything versus the cases that have been well investigated and worked. In the latter example, we should have a pretty good idea of how to respond.

Frankly speaking, there is something different about going after a skip for client and going after a skip who jumped bail on me, so I'm rendering the above opinion from both sides

In any case, safety comes first, and I would rather hand over my livlihood than put anyone at risk, but I don't know that there are many bail bond company owners who think in this way.

Rex

I am not a bondsman, I am a full time 24/7 recovery agent. I too have been told that very thing.."he is there now, come get him"..I have also been told that by snitches..esp after circulating wanted poster's. There are many things to consider when someone sends you a "fugitive 911"...

1) Is this an ambush for you ? The snitch may have helped the fugitive to set you up to be killed. I recently encountered this possibility. I had a snitch call me to tell me where my fug. was right then. I was over an hr away, and of course it was midnight. Guess where the fug was ? In a mobile home trailer supposedly passed out. Now at this time of night I can't get any back up from anyone.

So I head over there, but before I do anything, I park out of sight of the target area, stealth up to the trailer and simply sit, watch, and listen before doing anything else. Eventually I determined as best as I could that this wasn't an ambush, so I proceeded to the front door, announced myself, walked in, and sure enough, there was my fugitive passed out just like the snitch said he was. I took him into custody and transported him without incident.

But, the fact remains that I was uncomfortable with this scenario, I was well aware of all of the different possibilities, and I was wound up like a coiled rattlesnake. So much so that afterwards I was sick to my stomach from the tension, fear, and stress of the danger I had just been in.

It was far from the ideal apprehension, but I truly had no other choice. It was 1 shot deal..so I gambled..and Praise God it went smoothly.

A take down inside a mobile home is one of the most deadliest scenarios there is. Too many "Kill zones", too many "blind spots". Truth be told, I hate them.

I agree with Rex. A well investigated, well planned apprehension is the best scenario in an ideal world. But we all know Mr. Murphy and how he does enjoy his little games he plays with us.

I always recon my target area, sometimes I even video tape it. Take it back to my office, show it to my team, id the players, all of the access/escape routes, what team member will be placed where, etc. We examine it and prepare for it just like any swat team or fug unit anywhere else.

Recon, plan, execute.

Take care and God Bless,

Ruffin.

_________________
River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

Outstanding analysis, Ruffin!

Normally, we get to choose when, where and how, but, every now and then, the situation described pops up.

Recently, I was notified that an X had information on a skip and wanted me to meet with her at an apartment complex for the details. She couldn't give me any information over the phone, and she insisted that I meet with her to draw me a map.

Like Ruffin, I was very weary. I posted one of my guys on a nearby corner before the meeting and walked in instead of driving in.

Long story short, her information was bad, but this was a case where I was not choosing when, where and how.

Rex

post script: I've made many arrests right off of sofas, and catching them asleep allows handcuff placement before they know what's happening

There is one other thing I always do on these types of cases. If the hair on the back of neck stands up I leave and come back another day. I have had instances where the skip was within reach or I should say sight and walked away because something did not feel right. No skip or payday is worth getting killed for and if something does not feel right... walk away and try again another day.

Robert!

Your point is well taken, and I should have thought to include such wisdom somewhere in the thread. Maybe I should break this fast and eat something.

For the record, like Robert, I too have called things off because something just didn't feel right, and, while perplexed, people I have worked with respected my position.

Rex