In the News

Arrest statistics may be deemed subjective depending on the specifics of a given case.

For example, I can generally close an in-house case within 24-hours, including all the prep work. We're talking a case that is usually less than a week old.

After discovering a "material false statement" or some other factor that increases the risk of a bond, I can show up in court and surprise the client by surrendering the bond.

Revoking a bond on the request of an Indemnitor is pretty clear cut as well.

In-house work is not the same as Independent work. As an Independent, I don't normally get a case that has NOT been severely tainted by extensive investigation, faulty motions, and with a skip who has been actively evading other investigators for nearly a year.

In short, my in-house stats look way better than my Independent stats

Rex

Bail Agent Is Shot by Policeman
By Jill Leovy, Times Staff Writer

A bounty hunter seeking to take a fugitive into custody was shot and wounded by a police officer who mistook him for a criminal, authorities said.

Elvin Gilbert, 47, a bail recovery agent from the Sacramento area, was in stable condition Thursday at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood after the shooting involving Los Angeles Police Officers Dan Pearce, 28, and Harlan Taylor, 25, Wednesday evening.


Gilbert was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on an officer. Police said he continued to wield his gun after both officers ordered him to drop it, and, by some accounts, pointed it at them.

The fugitive, whom police did not identify, was held on an outstanding warrant.

According to police, the officers heard a commotion near the 2100 block of East 99th Place in South Los Angeles and saw two African American men confronting a Latino. Police said one of the black men held a gun to the head of the Latino, who called out that he was being robbed. When the officers ordered Gilbert to drop his gun and he didn't obey, they shot him, officials said.

Bystander Elvonzo Cromwell, 27, said that Gilbert and his unidentified partner were dressed all in black and that Gilbert looked like a robber. "I thought he was one of these street thugs from around here. He came off like that," he said.

Cromwell described a chaotic scene after the shooting — one witnessed by many bystanders. He said he didn't hear the police yell orders for Gilbert to drop his gun, but he said the man was holding a gun when he was shot. The police "came out of nowhere all of a sudden," he said. He said a shot went over his head.

Customarily, bounty hunters inform local police of their planned operations, but the officers in this case had not been notified, police said. They are investigating whether other LAPD officials had been notified.

My record to date is 3 felony arrests in one day. However, I avg maybe 1-3 /week, depending on a variety of variables.

So even 3/week would equal 156 arrests/year...seems his claims are indeed somewhat inflated.

_________________
River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

Hadley might have the exact number but I think we did around 90 captures this year.

_________________
Lance Allen Wilkinson
Recoveries by L.A.W.
Serving since 1984
“What is sought is found... what is overlooked escapes” (Oedipus Rex)

years not over yet - we should do between 95 and 100

Hadley, you would probably do better if you worked a jurisdiction surrounded by the planet's largest body of water.

NOT REALLY-THAN I WOULD HAVE TO COMPETE WITH THE WORLDS BEST BOUNTY HUNTER DOGGIE DU-DU-THAT MAKES ME QUAKE IN MY BOOTS AND SENDS A COLD SHIVER UP MY SPINE--OH I KNOW HOW TO COMPETE-I CAN LOSE SOME WEIGHT -HAVE ABOUT A DOZEN TEETH PULLED- GET HAIR EXTENSIONS-DRESS LIKE A CLOWN-LIVE WITH A LOUD MOUTH TRAILER QUEEN-COMMIT MURDER-DRESS FUNNY-SOME OTHER REDICULAS THINGS - THAN I TOO GET TO ARREST 6000 SKIPS A WEEK WONDERFUL SIGN ME UP-I AM ON MY WAY TO THE PROMISED LAND WHERE THE BEA GODS MAKE SKIPS DUMBER THAN DIRT-ITS ALWAYS WARM AND SUNNY AND THE PEOPLE GIVE ME AWARDS FOR BEING AN A--HOLE---ALOHA ALL I AM OFF TO PARADISE

OUR TEAM POPS APPROX 98 PERCENT IF YOU INCLUDE LOCATES--BIG PROBLEM IN MY AREA OF OPERATION IS ROR AND COURT SPONSERED BAIL-MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF THE BAIL IS ROR OR CASH IN THIS AREA--I REALLY ENJOY WORKING THIS AREA VERY DIVERSE-EVERY THING FROM LARGE MEGA CITIES TO THE MOST RURAL AND BACK COUNTRY TOWNS IN THE COUNTRY

NC Bail Bondsmen Raid Wrong House

Bondsmen raid wrong household
By J. Eric Eckard, Rocky Mount Telegram

12/03/2004

Edgecombe County deputies on Thursday charged three Raleigh bail bondsmen with snatching the wrong person from his home.

Bobby Glenn Judd Jr., 32, and Nicole Bernadette Bargas, 34, both of Raleigh, were arrested immediately after the incident. A third bondsman, Evan Lamont Judd, 22, of Greensboro, still is on the loose.

The bondsmen apparently were trying to arrest a suspected bail jumper shortly before 5 a.m. Thursday when they kicked in a door at the home of Tony Sessoms, 35, of Tarboro, authorities said.

The three bondsmen, with guns drawn, ordered Sessoms to the floor. Sessoms was handcuffed, authorities said, and they led him out to their vehicle and began driving.

They told Sessoms that he was in custody for failing to appear in court on drug charges in Carteret County. Sessoms told the trio that they had the wrong person, but the bondsmen continued driving for at least 2 miles before they discovered that they did indeed make a mistake, authorities said.

The trio were charged with first-degree burglary and felonious restraint. Bobby Judd, owner of Raleigh-based Access Bail Bonds, and Bargas were jailed under $25,000 bonds apiece.

Warrants for the same charges have been issued against Evan Judd.

The bondsmen apparently were looking for a different man named Tony Sessoms, one with the same middle initial as the Tarboro man. But the Carteret County absconder is eight years older than the victim in Thursday's incident.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Evan Judd can call the Twin County Crime Stoppers at 977-1111.

_________________
Lance Allen Wilkinson
Recoveries by L.A.W.
Serving since 1984
“What is sought is found... what is overlooked escapes” (Oedipus Rex)

Bounty hunter convicted of manslaughter

By David Conti
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, December 5, 2005

A bounty hunter from the North Side bowed his head and then shook it in disbelief today as an Allegheny County judge convicted him of involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of an unarmed fugitive last year.
Mark Smith, 37, who was hired by a local bail bond agency to track down Butler County fugitive Michael Robinson, faces 2{1/2} to 5 years in prison when Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning sentences him Feb. 27.

Manning used the occasion to take aim at the lack of a state law regulating bounty hunters -- who call themselves "fugitive recovery agents" -- saying the practice of enlisting unlicensed and untrained citizens to track down bail-jumpers has "left a sordid trail through American legal history."

The state House and Senate are considering two separate bills that would require lethal-weapon training and other regulations on bounty hunters. Manning lauded legislators for starting the reforms.

"There's an awesome amount of power and a lot of potential danger in this lack of regulation," said state Rep. Don Walko, D-North Side, who proposed the legislation in March.

Manning also said he will not sign any bail pieces -- the court orders that allow bail bondsmen to arrest bail-jumpers -- unless the bail agency can prove that whoever is going to arrest the fugitive has state training and certification to carry a deadly weapon.

Smith said nothing as he left court on his way to a probation office to have an electronic monitoring bracelet attached to his ankle. Manning placed Smith on house arrest pending his sentencing.

"He is in shock," said Smith's attorney, Michael DeRiso, who tried to convince Manning during a nonjury trial that his client killed Robinson in self-defense.

"I think Mr. Smith was justified in shooting first and asking questions later," DeRiso said.

Robinson, 38, a former Ross man who most recently lived in Zelienople, Butler County, was killed Dec. 23 by a shotgun blast to his pelvis in a house on Rising Main Street, North Side.

Smith and his partner, fellow bounty hunter Anthony McKay, had tracked Robinson to the house after being hired the day before by Liberty Bail Bonds. The company had posted a $20,000 bond for Robinson when he was arrested in October 2004 on receiving stolen property charges in Butler County. Robinson failed to show up for his trial.

Smith, who did not testify on his own behalf, told Pittsburgh police that he fired the shotgun when Robinson "lunged" at him with a shiny, silver object in his hand. Investigators said that object turned out to be a large fingernail clipper.

Smith also told police he had shot at Robinson with a less-lethal rubber bullet. But the coroner's office pulled a lead slug from Robinson's buttocks.

Manning said that because Smith thought he was using less-lethal ammunition -- and thought Robinson was attacking him -- he could not convict Smith of third-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter.

"But there's clearly recklessness and gross negligence here," Manning said while announcing his verdict.

_________________
Lance Allen Wilkinson
Recoveries by L.A.W.
Serving since 1984
“What is sought is found... what is overlooked escapes” (Oedipus Rex)