Changing Indemnitors

Occasionally, I get a situation where either the defendant or the indemnitor on a bond, wants to get off the bond or change the indemnitor.

Most of the time it is because of a "drama" scenerio... as in... boyfriend/girlfriend or just a friend who either gets cold feet or "falls from grace, or out of love" with the other...

Let me say up front, I frown on frivolous relationships as indemnitors but sometimes that is all you have and you have to make the call... recently, I wrote a $10,000 on a young lady who happened to have a "no contact order" on her boyfriend, whom she had been having some physical confrontations with... I bonded her and the mother of the boyfriend signed on the bond... she was a homeowner and I explained the no contact deal and she said she would be vigilant and not allow her son to contact the girl... well, I knew this wasn't going to fly but what the hell... I explained that contact from either side would constitute a violation of conditions and although that would not necessarily violate my bond (appearance only was my condition)... it would violate the courts bond... so it could and probably would land either or both in jail and the current bond would be revoked...

well, guess what........... yep............ the girl walks out of the jail and gets in the car with her boyfriend and the boyfriends mother... they take her to her home, drop her off and the boyfriend and his mother then go to their house...

So, now they were in different towns and different houses and hopefully remain with no contact.... it lasted about 6 hours... the boyfriend text the girl and told her.... "if you don't come see me I am going to revoke your bond?"... well, the defendant called me and was hysterical... told me of the text... this is what I told her... "save the text, do not respond in any manner... do not answer his calls if he calls you..."

She ask if I could change indemnitors... I said yes, at a small cost but it can be done. We did just that, but of course the "no contact" was still in force, just that the boyfriend had no leverage on her now and I advised her to keep someone close as a witness that could verify that you did not have contact and were contacted by him and did not respond. I explained that without a physical witness, it would only be... "he said, she said" and you could both very likely end up back in jail.

I have heard nothing in several days from either, but I figure it will blossom shortly.

I do not allow myself to be influenced by this type of drama and even though I do not normally write bonds with these types of relationships... you sometimes, as mentioned, have to lower your standards if your gonna write, so it does occasionally come to pass.

How do you all handle these frivolous signers on bonds... ? this is my MO... if they have the premium and/or collateral or are financially solid as in homeowner, good job... these types of qualifications... I write the bond but get a lot of written conditions signed so it will not fall back on me. In this business, you have to be flexible or you will not last long...

I have said this from day one..................... "THE RULE OF THUMB IS......... THERE IS NO RULE OF THUMB"

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

amen

_________________


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

That happens a lot up here.....usually the female is the indem.
Unfortunately once the indem signs off the bond the def. goes back in.
The best thing for the def is to get new indems.

_________________
If the world didn't suck we would all fall off. (Luvonda)
Nobody has power over you that you do not allow them to have. (Scott)
Be careful of the seeds you plant because one day they will be harvested.

Dave
Private Investigator
Licensed by the NYS DOS Division of Licensing

I can not stand to pick up revocations. I just spoke with "one of ours" about this while we were on a trip to Florida. I was asking how he feels and deals with the girlfriend/indem that is angry with the boyfriend/defendant (for instance) becuse of the way they bother me. As the recovery guy, and not the bondsman, I see more liablity in these, for myself (I believe). Without a warrant and/or other document from the court, the LE that shows up may not be so nice as to allow me to leave without some new hardware on my wrists, once I put them on someone else. This has only happened once but that occasion still pops into my mind whenever I hear "REVOKE" and it gives me the creeps. What is worse is when the revoke is done but the person that came off the bond is the same one that comes back to pick them up from jail, a few days later. Then it is just a tool being used against one another.

I guess my point is, I hate to hear about one person using the bond against someone in this way. Hearing that the writer side has issues during these does help me to understand a little more. Thanks for that "inside track".

_________________
********************
Thomas SnoWolf
FRN# 1999
GAPB 20120726
NSIS ST0707
http://www.rocksolidrg.com
"The hero is not the man that acts without fear,
He is the man that acts inspite of fear"

I usually don't revoke a bond unless I have a notarized letter from the indem first. The letter must state the reasons for the revocation and I have them address it to the court of record also. That way, the court knows that the indem is the one revoking the bond, not me.

Thats usually stops most of the spur of the moment boy friend / girlfriend spats.

I require a 24 hour cooling off period and the payment of the full 10% that must be surrendered to the court with the defendant. They usually forget about it.

Scott

_________________
R.E. "Scott" MacLean III

"Leaders are like Eagles, you never see them in a flock, but one at a time"

Chesapeake Group Investigations, Inc.
Chesapeake Bail Bonds
877-574-0500
301-392-1100 (fax)
301-392-1900 (Office)

I do the same hear when the judge asks why......simply the Indem wants off the liability of the bond with a signed letter saying same.
The reasons are their own and as Scott stated make them pay for it....they'll be back to bail them out again for another fee of course.
Sure sometimes I feel bad on occasion, but ultimately it's not my fault and it puts bread on the table (for me as the BEA) and bread on the bondsman table (when they re-bail them out).
As for the cooling off period......it depends on the situation. IMHO If the case is serious or a high bond I wouldn't take the risk.
I say this because I find that most of the time......ALL OF THE TIME.....the Indem always says "I'm going to sign off the bond." and depending on the defendant, his/her mindset, case details, etc. it may cause the def to "disappear" at least for a little while, which turns into a long while missing that date. I've seen it happen many times.

_________________
If the world didn't suck we would all fall off. (Luvonda)
Nobody has power over you that you do not allow them to have. (Scott)
Be careful of the seeds you plant because one day they will be harvested.

Dave
Private Investigator
Licensed by the NYS DOS Division of Licensing