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News:
Saturday, October 27, 2007 6:36 AM US/Western
Sometimes 'risky business'
By MIKE JOHNSTON
senior write
Bail Bond Agent Stefanie Johnson works with her father, Wayne, to run Ellensburg's Easy Bail. Bail agents put up their own money for a fee in exchange for getting their clients released from jail. Photos by Joe Whiteside/Daily Record
ELLENSBURG — There was a time when Wayne Johnson did it all as a bail bondsman in Ellensburg.
That included going to the Kittitas County jail at all hours of the day or night to write a bond that would allow someone charged with a crime to be released on bail to Johnson with the sincere promise — backed up with a contract — that he or she will, indeed, appear in court at the appointed time.
Johnson had to size up the defendant quickly and determine what kind of collateral he can write the bond on: what the defendant has to fork over if he or she skips court dates.
He also had to determine if the defendant posed a risk of flight and may turn fugitive after giving Johnson 10 percent of the bail.
It also meant keeping track of who paid what and what defendant had a court date coming up and contacting a parent or a wife or a grandparent who may have to put up money for the bond after getting the painful news that their loved one was in jail.
When the defendants didn’t show up in court, which thankfully wasn’t often, Johnson had to turn detective and track them down and do his own bounty hunting — respectfully called fugitive recovery service — or risk having to pay the court the full amount of the bail.
“For a while I did it all; I was the only Ellensburg resident doing local bail bondsman work,” said Johnson last week who is now 59 and owner-operator of Easy Bail. “I did the recovery work, too. I should have known better, but I was young and ambitious.”
He shakes his head and chuckles while sitting in his cluttered office on Fifth Avenue directly across from the courthouse when he thinks about his past 24 years in the bail bondsman game. Those years include 21 operating his own business and raising a family.
“Now I’m too old for all that bounty hunting stuff. You know, I’ve had some pretty bad guys pull weapons on me. I usually now hire a recovery service to take care of it, but I help out when needed.
“But, you know, at times, it’s still risky business.”
Yet, he’s still in the game. Outside his office there’s a huge, black sign with big yellow letters facing the courthouse that simply says “BAIL,” with the words “Easy” and a phone number in small letters.
Next generation
Now Johnson has help. His 20-year-old daughter, Stefanie Johnson, has gone to the jail to write bonds since she was 18 and came on full time this year. She trades with him on responding to middle-of-the-night calls. His office help, Jackie Potts, also writes bonds.
“Stefanie could be the next generation of local bail bondsmen,” Johnson said proudly. “To my knowledge she could be the youngest bail bondsman in the nation. She’s a lot tougher than me on what she’ll take for collateral.”
They also travel to Ephrata at times to service Grant County defendants and have an employee at that office.
Johnson said there are other bail services based outside Kittitas County that send agents to Ellensburg when they are called.
Starting late last summer, a second Ellensburg-based bail business sprang up.
Former Easy Bail employees Mike Becker, 38, and his wife, Tracy, 37, in August 2007 started their own local service, Bail Bond Boy’Z. They have a good, cooperative relationship with Johnson, having learned the trade from him. They count he and his family as friends.
Mike, a former state corrections officer, said he’s not only a certified bondsman but also a certified recovery agent, the only one in Kittitas County. His wife takes care of all the bookwork and also writes bonds.
“It can be a real crazy job at times,” Mike said last week. “Sometimes it’s real busy and it seems you’re going 24 hours a day and into the middle of the night, but there’s also the times when things slow down.
“I like the flexibility the job gives us to still have a family life,” Mike said.
Likes the job
Kittitas County Corrections Lt. Bert Marx also likes the job the two local firms do. Marx helps run the county jail.
“We cooperate very well with them,” Marx said. “I, personally, think a bail bond is a great deal. Releasing someone on a bail bond allows the person accused to preserve their job, stay connected with their family or children and keep going in the community. It also keeps our jail population down but also keeps the accused accountable to go to court.
“It helps give us bed space for those who really need to be in jail.”
Marx said he can think of no concerns with the local bail and recovery services.
The local bail firms seem to be careful to keep a good reputation and treat people with respect, he said.
That respect, said Tracy Becker, is important. She sees bail bonds as not only a family business but helping people get back into the community after they have made a wrong choice and been arrested.
The couple often informs the defendant or their parents, grandparents, wives, husbands and other relatives on the bail laws and what they can expect and what their options are.
“I absolutely love this job,” Tracy said. “I can be at home and still be working. And there is an opportunity to have a good influence on people who are in a very hard position in life. You can encourage them to make better choices.”
Bread and butter
Wayne said the “bread and butter” of their business is writing bonds on bails that typically have been set by the court ranging from $500 to $1,500 and sometimes up to $3,000. The lowest fee they accept is $100.
He also said he sometimes gives his customers or their relatives a little advice on whether they should take the risk of putting up the fee for a bail bond.
“I try to be real fair with people,” Johnson said.
He acknowledges that his business, at times, has worked with some “pretty bad guys.” He said a fire destroyed his home in late July in an incident that is being investigated as a possible arson. He said the incident could be connected to his business.
As for Stefanie, she said for now she wants to stay with the bail bondsman job. She and her dad like the flexible hours, being your own boss and determining how much work you’ll take.
She also said their customers, those in jail wanting to get out, “are pleased with our product.”
“Everyone is always really happy to see us when we arrive at the jail,” Stefanie said.
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