Keep Bailing

April 18 – 24, 2010

The team at KeepBailing and Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds wishes to recognize National Crime Victims Week. As bondsmen, we play a role in public safety and we take that responsibility to heart.

Each April since 1981, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has helped lead communities throughout the country in their annual observances of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) by Read more »

What’s up with the Hills and DUI’s? Last October, we reported on the DUI arrest of Jason Whaler. In the same month, Stephanie Pratt also made headlines with her Van Nuys DUI arrest.

 Jason Wahler former realty star was reportedly arrested a sixth time for drunk driving by the Newport Beach Police Department, last Friday evening. The reality star was stopped and handcuffed by police around 11:00 p.m. on March 20, 2010, but he was released without bail on his own recognizance (“O.R.”) hours later. While an “O.R.” is Read more »

Nonviolent inmates who are currently in a Los Angeles County jail could serve only 80% of their jail terms.  And, according to department officials, that number could be knocked down to them serving only 50% of their sentences.

So what’s happening here?  LA County Sheriff Lee Baca stated that these early release sentences for inmates may be the future of what’s “inevitable” as the county’s budget crisis continues. The Department currently faces a $128 million budget gap.

Department spokesman Read more »

Pre-trial Release is what some states call their “Own Recognizance” (OR) release program. Defendants are released without bail, without monitoring of a bondsman, without support of a friend or family member willing to help fulfill a promise to appear in court.

Proponents site savings in jail costs, but it’s a huge problem for public safety. Release on “OR” has a significant place in the legal system, but that place is not to relieve overcrowding.

Here’s a look at some of the problems. It’s five minutes, long by Internet standards. But, it’s a good five minute education.

Perhaps you heard the National Public Radio (NPR) series on bail. To say the least, they painted a skewed picture of bail bonds, bail bondsmen and “pre-trial release,” known in California as Release on Own Recognizance (OR).

This morning, I read a blog post correcting some of NPRs “facts”. Here’s an excerpt quoting Dennis Bartlett, of the American Bail Coalition:

“The NPR story is fallacious in that it gives the impression of a great mass of unfortunates stuck in jail, like some medieval black hole in Calcutta. This is far from the case. The cohort of 500,000 non-convicted defendants is not static. Over a year almost the entire cohort turns over by people coming into the system on new arrests and people exiting on bail, going back to freedom after case closure or getting on the Department of Corrections bus to head for the penitentiary after conviction.

Some will not get out on bail. Why? Some further facts Read more »

Edwin Sunmin Lee, 39, retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in April 2005 after he confessed to a felony charge for filing a false police report.  (Not sure how he got his bail license, because you’re supposed to have a clean record.)

Surprise! – now he is allegedly in trouble once more.  The Hacienda Heights area ex-cop-turned-bail-bondsman has plead not guilty to charges that he illegally solicited bail from inmates in local jails.  County District Attorney’s officials have accused Lee of no less than six felony counts.  The incidents that led to his arrest supposedly took place at the Van Nuys jail on or about July 27, 2008 and Feb. 10, 2009.

Ironically, Lee does not have to be bailed out of jail himself (good thing, because Read more »

Everything you always wanted to know about Orange County’s Police

Television’s “The O.C.” and “Real Housewives” may have put Orange County California on the media map, but Orange County Police Departments have an interesting history that dates back to the Wild West.  The county can trace its beginnings back to 1887, when silver was discovered in the Santa Ana Mountains, attracting settlers. As people came to California in droves, seeking their fortunes or just to settle and build a new life, the California Legislator was overwhelmed by the influx of these new arrivals. 

And so, they decided to divide Los Angeles County into two back in 1899, creating Orange County as a separate political entity. The county is supposedly named after –what else — oranges, but since they already had a town named Orange here, the county may have been named for this city.  Like many other places in the west, law enforcement was conducted by sheriffs and marshals until the needs of these settlements grew too big for just a few good men to handle.  And so, OC law enforcement also expanded and grew into more sophisticated, full fledged Police Departments.

Orange County also happens to be the smallest county in Southern California. But despite its size, it has many police departments and they Read more »

Fresno, CA – Budget cuts in Fresno County may lead to the early release of 500 inmates, according to Fresno County Sheriff, Margaret Mims.

The 100 inmates released on Tuesday were reportedly near the end of their sentences or awaiting sentancing. All of them were incarcerated for low-level crimes having to do with narcotics possession and theft.

On Feb. 8th, the layoff of 69 correctional officers has amounted to the shut down of three floors at the Fresno County Jail.

According to a federal consent decree, Read more »

Last week, the James A. Musick Jail, a 100-acre detention facility in Irvine better known as “The Farm”, shut down its East Compound.  According to the Orange County Register, Orange County authorities are hoping to save $1 million by doing so.  The move is yet another example of the economic challenges faced by the OC, a community that normally enjoys quite a reputation as the poster child for California affluence.

The OC Sheriff’s Department has had $20 million cut from its budget this year and more than $65 million is still expected to be slashed. “It is essential that we continue to evaluate our operation and identify potential cost savings.” Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said in a written statement.  She also promised the closure would not Read more »

Brian Malone touted himself as being a licensed bail bondsman with “20 years of experience.”  But he was not. He then so boldly created a big ad with a photo of himself and posted it directly inside of the Sacramento County Jail to lure unknowing customers… the inmates themselves.  And at least 5 of them took his bait and paid him for bail that did not get posted.

Besides the fact that he’s been operating as a bondsman without a license, this “bogus bail bondsman” is allegedly a criminal himself; having previously been charged with numerous felonies which include, altering or falsifying government documents.  (A bail bondsman in California must be licensed by the California Department of Insurance. Additionally, convicted felons are not eligible to be bail bondsmen.)

Malone perpetrated this right in the jail, directly under the watch of Read more »