Stephanie Lazarus, 49, a 26 year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, is accused in 1986 of shooting and bludgeoning Sherri Rae Rasmussen.

Steven Lazarus, the brother of Stephanie, spoke to media last Friday after a pretrial saying that her bail needs to be lowered because it is an illogical price when compared to celebrity defendants, such as Robert Blake or Phil Spector who were only held on a $1 million bail during their trials.

In June of 2009, Lazarus was arrested after the evidence in the case was re-examined by cold case detectives as they matched a saliva sample from Lazarus to bite marks on the victim.

Lazarus’ bail was set at $10 million by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, Robert Perry, under the suspicion that she would flee if the bail amount was lower.

Lazarus’ attorney also felt the bail amount was set at an unfair amount. He said, “It’s ridiculous. Phil Spector gets $1 million bail? Robert Blake gets $1 million bail? They’ve got the money to go anywhere. Who has $10 million cash? It is basically preventative detention.”

If Lazarus is freed, she’d be able to access weapons which could be a risk to herself and others, according to Judge Perry. He said the case was “unusual” and says that there is imperative evidence that if able to, Lazarus would flee if she’s released on bail.

Is her bail too high as her brother claims? Bail amounts are set based on threat to society and likelihood of return to court. Judges have significant latitude in setting high bail. Apparently, this judge felt the bail is justified.

According to friends, family and colleagues at the preliminary hearing, they all stated Lazarus was deeply in love with John Ruetten, whom she had dated for a while before he married Rasmussen.

Lazarus pleaded not guilty to the capital murder in May of 2009, however she was arrested June 5, 2009 and has remained in custody ever since.

Lazarus is being held at the Lynwood Jail, also known as the the Century Regional Detention Facility, which is Los Angeles County’s women’s jail. She faces a life sentence is found guilty.

Last week, David Shamp’s wife and daughter were arrested and charged for solicitation of capital murder after Harris County Sherriff’s investigators uncovered their plot to hire a hit man to kill him.  Shamp, 43, clings to the hope his daughter, Ashley, 18, was negatively influenced by his wife.  But police say Ashley knew her mom wanted to kill her dad.  Like a scene ripped from the pages of some very hormonal, misunderstood teen’s diary, Ashley set up a meeting with her ex-boyfriend to persuade her ex to ‘do him up’.  

But the ex-boyfriend had no qualms  ‘spilling’ about ‘all the drama’, went to police and wore a wire to their meeting.  He claims Catherine Shamp told him that “she wanted [David] gone and she didn’t care how it was done”.  Mom offered $20,000 to have her hubby hacked  and then gleefully outlined her plan to lure Shamp away to the movies so the ex could pretend to burglarize their house and kill him upon their return. She even threw in a ‘bonus’ of beating her up to make it look real.

After her arrest, Catherine Shamp, 38, told investigators the plot was really an effort to lure the informant to the house so her husband could beat him up. (Oh Mom! You’re sooooo lame!)

The doting dad posted a $30,000 bail bond for his adopted baby girl and he has continued to support her innocence.  Catherine remains under lock and key.

Ashley Shamp’s next court date is December 29, 2009, a day after her mother’s.

these days, too many clients are asking for bail without the required collateral, such as a home or a car, diminishing bail bondsmen’s customer base. And not helping matters is a new policy by Marion County judges setting less expensive cash bonds for minor offenses…

Couple the economic situation with other “solutions” being offered in terms of bail. I hear talk of temporily lowering the bail schedule to allow more people in California to post bail. Huh? The bail schedule is set by judges based on public safety and flight risk. Lower it?  

Add to this jail overcrowding causing manditory releases, out of control pre-trial release (known as release on ”own recognizance” which is intended for the indigent) and so-called “cash bail” on your credit card. 

“We wanted to make sure we are not setting our bonds so high that we are overcrowding our jail,” said Marion Superior Court Judge Robert Altice Jr. of Indiana. How about public safety?

Last December, I spoke with Tony Castro of the Los Angeles Daily News. He asked me how the bail business has changed in the downturned economy. My answer today would be much the same as then: people still need bail bonds. However, the willingness to pay $1000 or $5000 is definately restricted. In better economic times, people had jobs that they needed to go to, so they would bail out. In better economic times, spending money is easier.

All that said, is the bail industry going under? Well, I can only speak for this company and say, not yet! Treading water at times, maybe, but not going under. As an industry, however, bail agents need to stay aware of the climate. Bail is a right and bondsmen help maintain the system that is free to the taxpayers.

Such may have been the question of Allegra Fromby a former elementary school vice president was out on bail in San Bernardino County for $75K. She had been charged with two counts of felony drug possession. At her court appearance on 9/14, her bail was increased to $200K. She’s being detained at the West Valley Dentention Center until she can raise the $20,000 (10%) needed for a bail bond.

The case originated back when she arrived at a shooting scene of her husband. Allegedyly, the vehicle that she drove to the scene had marijuana in it. She was arrested for possessing of marijuana for sale and transporting marijuana and child endangerment. Fromby’s lawyer believes the bail was increased due to the complaints filed against the San Bernardino Police for false arrest, false imprisonment, and illegal search and seizure.

A 61-year-old Georgia man named Roger Stephens was held without bail yesterday for slapping a two-year old child at Walmart. Stephens was upset that the child was crying. He warned the mother, Sonya Matthews, that he would “shut that baby up” if Matthews couldn’t stop her daughter’s cries by herself.

When the child continued to cry, Stephens followed through on his threat. He slapped the 2-year-old Paige Matthews “across the face approximately four or five times,” according to the Gwinnett County Police Department report. Of course, the child screamed and cried even more after being assaulted, but Stephens said to the mother, “See, I told you I would shut her up.” He was arrested for felony cruelty to children and held without bond at the Gwinnett County Detention Center.

Ok, so as a parent and a member of society: What? Was this guy stoned or just stupid?! I cannot imagine any person repeatedly slapping a small child.

(As the mother of a former crying two year old: that was such a hard situation out in public with an inconsolable child, just trying to get through it without stares and comments…)

Now, as a bail bondsman, I fear that call from this guys’ relatives who say, “There must be a mistake. My brother would never behave that way…” You get the picture; yup, it comes with the territory. Then, spending 30 minutes or more explaining why there’s no bail.

Ok, really pushing my buttons: I hate Walmart. (It’s my mother’s favorite store, BTW.) Not that there’s anything innately wrong with Walmart, but I’d rather eat a bug than even have to navigate the parking lot. Then you get inside to cranky old people and cranky two year olds.

But still, will this guy have a psych eval?

Photocredit: © Mehmet Dilsiz – Fotolia.com

If you’re an attorney, it makes sense to develop a close relationship with a professional bail bondsman. Ok, so maybe you’re not an attorney. You still might want to know a good bondsman. Here’re a few reasons why:

• A quality bondsman can do many extra service items such as being present in court for bail hearings, 24 hour emergency service, signature bonds requiring no collateral, payment plans for the defendant, giving the defendant a ride home etc.
• Large bail bond approvals (those exceeding $250,000) can be difficult to get approved. An attorney should be working with a competent bail bondsman with the capacity & experience to efficiently finalize large bail bonds.
  Any business referral that is made by an attorney is a direct reflection of that attorney. For example, if a criminal defense attorney recommends a bail bondsman who does a sub-standard job, the arrestee will rightfully question that attorney’s judgment.
• Much like fire insurance, you hope you never need it. When you do need it, you’re relieved that you’re prepared.

Photocredit © A.Z. – Fotolia.com

Look around the bail industry and you will find an inordinate number of families in business together. Usually when we think of family business, we assume trust. Unfortunately, a family in Virginia decided to take their family bail business in a completely different direction and bring us our latest reported incidence of bail scams.

In Abingdon, VA, local magistrate, “Tiny” Mullin, was released from his job after using a coworkers electronic signature to set bail for clients of his father, J.C. Mullins, a local bail bondsman from an Abingdon bail bond company.

Because bail bond fees are determined by the bail amount, the magistrate was in determining his father’s income. The young Mr. Mullins had been specifically told by his supervisor that he was not allowed to set bail for his father’s clients and had signed an agreement of understanding.

The scheme was uncovered by a Bristol Harald Courier reporter who compared the public records of the bonding companies affiliated with a defendant’s release with the timesheets for public employees. They were able to determine that Mullins was working when the coworkers digital signature was used.

This isn’t the first incidence of bail scams using computers that we have reviewed. In California, numerous warnings float around the bail industry of computer hacking to illegally transact bail. Hats off to reporter Michael Owens who did the leg work on this one. Hopefully, someone around here will tip off the right reporter with enough to make a difference and put a few bad apples out of business.

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After reading our Unscrupulous Bondsmen post, I had an email comment from a friend, Gary, complimenting us on the article. He also had this to say:

I am always curious who posts the big bonds $1mm - $10mm for the wealthy or notorious people that are of flight risk.  I guess Bernie Madoff posted his own bail for $10 mm (NY / Federal court lets you post property in lieu of cash ??).  

I assume that Unscrupulous + Bail = Madoff. The question got me thinking how much there really is to know about bail and how it can probably stir up a lot of questions for the professional and the lay person alike.

As to who posts those very large bail bonds of $1 million to $10 million: in some regards any bondsman can post a bond like that (some might say if they’re lucky). In reality, there are only a handful of bondsmen who will have the clientele and the expertise to put the bond together. Bonds of that size are going to be collateralized with real property (real estate) that has equity equally 150% of the bail. (Hard to get in this climate.)

Regarding property in lieu of cash, California also allows for property bail. The process is very similar to a real estate transaction and has the stress level and the paperwork involved in the sale of a home, needing appraisal and title searches for example. Again, there must be equity in the property or properties being pledged against the bond equaling 150% of the bail.

Gary’s question leads me to one other thought and that is about, what is called in California, a 1275 hearing. This hearing before a judge takes place after bail has been set and before bail can be posted. The purpose of a 1275 hearing is to find out where the funds being used to post bail were obtained, basically ensuring that it is “clean” money and not money obtained illegally or potentially illegally. I do wonder how Madoff could have passed that.

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How is Bail Set and Why is Bail Set So High?

When most people hear about a court imposing a bail amount of $1 million or more, they automatically assume the person must be charged with mass murder or some similarly heinous crime. Actually, defendants considered that dangerous rarely get bail at all.

Large bail amounts usually mean that the court thinks there’s a chance the person might not return for trial or the court believes the defendant is dangerous to society. Someone might be willing to lose $50,000 to stay out of jail, but $500,000 or more? That’s a powerful incentive to show up – hence the large bail amount.

Consider the circumstances of these two California cases:

• Jeffrey Gordon Butler just went on trial in Santa Ana. He’s charged with 874 felony counts for allegedly cheating 125 elderly people out of their life savings. He had been held in jail since 2006 in lieu of $10 million bail.
• A former Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy, Chu Vue, was released on a $500,000 bail, “10 times the usual amount for the weapons charge he faces.” Police believe that Vue may have also been involved in planning the murder of a prison guard who was having an affair with his wife, although he hasn’t been charged.

In both cases, the large bail amount reflects the fact that the defendants are facing serious charges. Uncertainty about the outcome could give the defendants a reason to avoid trial by leaving the court’s jurisdiction. When defendants are facing possible jail time, the risk of flight is greater.

That’s a big reason courts often increase – or even deny – bail. Judges also consider several other factors including:

• Risk to the community – if the defendant has a history of violent behavior, is a repeat offender, or other factors. Public safety is the first consideration in setting bail.
• Flight risk – if the defendant has a passport, assets or family in another country, or a history of jumping bail.
• Severity of the offense – if the defendant is facing huge fines and/or considerable jail time.

Although minimum bail amounts are predetermined by approved bail schedules in California, judges can impose larger amounts when they think the situation requires it. You’d think that bail bond companies would be eager for that business. After all, a 10% bail fee on a $10 million bond is a cool $1 million. That sounds like quite a windfall for a small business. Many bail bondsmen aren’t eager to attract those clients. Unless the bail bondsman is careful, that $1 million “windfall” could become a $10 million payment to the Court if the defendant doesn’t show up for trial.

With any bail there is significant time, work, and risk involved, but particularly with large bail amounts. The person signing the bail contract has to be able to pay the bail premium and have the resources to pay the whole amount if the defendant skips out on bail. There’s a lot of paperwork involved, and it takes time for the bondsman to verify assets and do background checks.

When you start looking at bail amount over $100,000, it can be difficult to find a solid indemnitor (the person paying the bond and taking responsibility for the defendant to return to court). The courts understand this and set bail accordingly. When an indemnitor has paid out the bond fee and is shouldering the risk of the full bail amount, they are inclined to keep close tabs on defendant and ensure appearance in court. That’s what bail is all about.

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