Keep Bailing

If you have never needed to secure bail, there are likely a number of points regarding the when, where, and how of bail bonds that remain fuzzy.   If you are actively seeking out the assistance of a California bail bondsman, you might wonder if the money you post to get your friend out of jail will be returned to you at the close of the case.  In this edition of Bail Bonds: Fact or Fiction, we address that question directly.

Fact or Fiction:  You get your money back from the bail bondsman when the case is over.

Fiction.  This misconception goes right to the heart of What Is A Bail Bond or How is Bail Different from Bail Bonds?

Simply put, bail is a security that’s paid to the court which allows a defendant to be released from jail while awaiting his or her trial date.  If a person’s bail has been set at $5,000 and a friend or family member chooses to post that amount in full with the jail or court using cash or cashier’s check, that’s certainly an option.  The court will then hold onto that money and, if a defendant fulfills all their legal and financial obligations pertaining to the case; the money will be returned to the individual who posted it when the case concludes. That process can, however, take several months or even years to resolve.  If the defendant “fails to appear” for any mandated court proceedings, the bail will be considered forfeited, meaning the court keeps the money, and a bench warrant will be issued for his or her immediate arrest.

This brings us to Bail Bonds: If you instead choose Read more »

Randy Quaid has officially found himself atop Dog the Bounty Hunter’s “it-list”. Quaid, who is perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon’s Vacation series, has been on the run with his wife, Evi, since 2010 after they were found squatting in a Santa Barbara home.

The two were charged with felony residential burglary and misdemeanor entering a non-commercial building without consent.  Although the Quaids were released on bail, they fled to Canada in hopes of avoiding further legal action.

Dog’s wife, Beth, has come out guns-a-blazing in a Sept. 19 blog post, warning “we are coming to get you.”

“Every time you hear Read more »

Our friends over at Collateral Magazine, conducted an interview with novelist Janet Evanovich about her thoughts on the upcoming big screen debut featuring her bounty hunter book series.  People constant ask us if there is much reality in the Stephanie Plum books and we wrote Bounty Hunters and Bail Bondsmen: Stephanie Plum vs. Reality.

Well, our jobs may not be as flashy as Stephanie’s, but Janet Evanovich sure makes it seem exciting. Evanovich, author of 16 novels including the signature series of “Stephanie Plum,” the bounty hunter, is hitting the big screen. Evanovich has a large following of fans and can write in a masterful way, always keeping readers on the edge of their seats and wanting more. She has reached the best sellers list numerous times, so much in fact, that there is a scheduled release date of June 3, 2011 for her One For The Money.

According to Collateral Magazine, Evanovich began writing about a bounty hunter character after being inspired Read more »

In Philadelphia, large numbers of fugitives are skipping bail and fleeing justice, angry District Attorney Seth Williams told the Senate at a subcommittee hearing, and this “broken” bail system is like a second assault on crime victims.

Williams said Philadelphia defendants defeat the system by failing to show up for court, wearing down witnesses and causing cases to collapse in large numbers. So far, Philadelphia has let almost 47,000 fugitives escape. Between 2007 and 2008 over 19,000 defendants have failed to show up for at least one hearing.  This means one out of every three defendants, making it the nation’s highest tally for failure-to-appear.

Philadelphia courts took over the bail bond process about 40 years ago, citing widespread corruption within the bail bond industry as their reason. Under the city’s bail system, defendants pay 10 percent of their bail up front to the court, with the other 90 percent due if they skip their court dates. But the city has never backed up the consequences for skipping by collecting that money.  Now fugitives owe Philly a grand total of $1 billion in forfeited bail.

Contrast this to private bail such as the system in California. Bail agents Read more »

Actor Randi Quaid and his wife, Evi, don’t seem to be very good at math.  Last summer, the Quaids were accused of not paying the bill for their stay at the exclusive San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif.  The couple allegedly tried to  use an invalid credit card to pay, then argued with the concierge and stormed off after their card was refused.  The hotel bill cost them $10,000.

But that hotel bill was nothing compared to what reportedly happened next.  Since the law-challenged couple failed to appear at a December 15 scheduled hearing in California, the judge immediately deemed them felony fugitives.  “The court forfeited the bail bonds that had been posted and issued new warrants for $40,000 each,” Lee Carter of the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office said.  “If the [bail bondsman] wants  his money, Read more »

First fraudulently obtaining bail bonds, now lying to the police and worse: J.C. Mullins, Jr., of Abingdon Bail Bonds, reportedly engaged four thugs, one of whom he had bailed out, to find one a “skip” — someone who failed to appear in court on a bail bond.

According to the Bristol Harold Currier, three people are charged with abduction, robbery, impersonating a law enforcement officer, conspiracy and sexual battery and a fourth is charged as an accessory after they posed as drug enforcement agents and pulled a woman from her car, hand-cuffed her, strip searched her and turned her over to Mullins. This is behavior that reputable bounty hunters wouldn’t engage in.

As we reported back in July, Mullins Read more »