Keep Bailing

San Bernardino, CA – After the Sheriff’s Department performed a two-year investigation back in 2003, of Boone’s Bail Bond Company, they found compelling evidence that Tidwells and company had paid inmates to promote their business. Six years later, 4 people, including a son of a sheriff,  plead guilty to performing inappropriate bail bond practices in San Bernardino County.

Both, Shirley Tidwell and her husband, Danial “Boone” Tidwell,  after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charges, were sentenced to three years probation and a fine. Shirley Tidwell pleaded guilty to three counts, while Danial Tidwell pleaded guilty to five, for him, resulting in 180 days of house arrest.

Deputy District Attorney, William Lee, explained that prosecutors Read more »

An Orange County bail bondsman was arrested Thursday on suspicion of conducting illegal business activities by a proposed referrals to attorneys and soliciting business via postcards to inmates. Under California Law, bail bondsmen are prohibited from referring clients to attorneys as well as soliciting bail bond clients. Potential clients must contact the bondsman requesting service.

The defendant, Ronald Lee Brockway is being charged with two felonies for violating regulations of bail licensing. Brockway, if convicted, will lose his bail license and serve time in a state prison for a maximum sentence of three years and eight months.

According to a news release, Brockman Read more »

This week, we read about the effects of a downturned economy on bail bondsmen in Imperial Valley and in San Bernardino. There’s no doubt this tough economy has played some part in our bail bond industry. Like any other business, bail bond customers now have less money and their homes are worth less as collateral than a couple of years ago. The jails are becoming overcrowded and I hear clients say: “With the economy the way it is, we’re going to let him stay in jail.”

As bondsmen, we’ve already been fighting a singular economic battle for some time, because we can’t compete based on price — we’re regulated by the Department of Insurance and are rates are set with them. In addition, our customers may not be very particular:  They often just want to deal with whoever can help them the fastest.

It used to be that good, honest service was the benchmark of a successful bail bond business.  Call me old fashioned, but I still believe this to be true and I really get steamed when I find myself up against bondsmen who break the law to earn a buck – and who then use bad economic times as their excuse.  So I’d like to dispel the belief that their practices have anything to do with a lousy economy.  I want to Read more »

It’s called capping — and it’s occurring at the Orange County Jail with alarming frequency.  Capping is the practice of one inmate getting kickbacks from a shady bail bond company once he signs up fellow inmates to use their services.

Here’s how it works:  The inmate connected to the bail bond company offers to make three-way calls for other inmates willing to use their services.  Anyone who isn’t interested is intimidated until he changes his mind.  As reported by the Orange County Register, no less than eight witnesses, all of them arrestees at the jail, recently testified about this illegal practice to both the OC Sheriff’s department and the OC Bail Agents Association.

Each witness was interviewed by private investigator Bill Hunt, a former Sheriff’s Lieutenant currently running for Orange County Sheriff.  Hunt’s subsequent report alleges that some prisoners have bullied others regarding the company they should use for posting their bail.  Hunt also discovered that someone who had access to booking information was passing telephone numbers on to these same bail companies, who then in turn called the prisoners’ family members to pay up.

One woman, 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 »

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 »

In the first address to Los Angeles bail bondsmen since his election to City Attorney, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich told a group assembled Sunday evening that the office he inherrited was “broken“. He added, “I was elected to clean up the office and I will.”

Trutanich gave only a brief prelude to what bondsmen would hear more about in the days to come at the Annual Meeting of the California Bail Agents Association (CBAA): “We are arresting bail agents for capping,” Trutanich told us.

Interestingly, he gave no real details to something of great importance to the California bail industry. Unethical bail agents operating illegally is a serious problem to those of us who run a clean business. I, for one, was very interested in the details.

He went on to Read more »

Oh, the ever weaving web of criminal ways in the jail system. Even honest bail bondsmen, who help people get out of jail and provide a necessary public service can’t seem to escape it. 

It seems there are inmates behind bars in Orange County, aptly called “shot callers.” These people are known associates of criminal gangs who are allegedly allowed by OC jail guards to run certain areas of the jail. They believed by some to be running an elaborate bail bonds scheme. 

Reportedly, these “shot callers,” tell defendants to go see certain ‘preferred’ bail bondsman for their bond. Once these defendants have been bailed out, the “shot callers” are in-turn, given ‘kickbacks;’ a percentage of the bail money from certain dishonest bail bondsmen.

However, there are three Orange County bail agencies who are not taking this illegal practice Read more »

Most every county jail has a website, including the Orange County Jail. The websites provide all kinds of information, including inmate information and can be used by anyone who has access to a computer. For Lake County, Sheriff’s are now delaying the posted information by 2 days. Their reasons for delaying the information is that they feel that bail bondsmen are obtaining information about recently booked inmates and heading to the jail to illegally solicit bail business, which is a misdemeanor offense.

Bail bondsmen are believed to be lying to the jailers, indicating Read more »

I don’t know how other industries see special investigations, but any news of bondsmen being potentially prosecuted is good news in my book. Too often, we “hear” there are issues in the bail industry, but proving the wrong-doings can be difficult at best.

Last month, we reported on one unethical bondsman and his magistrate son in Virginia who teamed up to allow the bondsman to write additional bail bonds. Now, a Virginia State Police Investigator has given the case to  the county’s Commonwealth Attorney Dennis Godfrey. Godfrey, noting that he works regularly with the office in question, plans to pass the case to an outside prosecutor.

Hats off, again, to investigative reporter Michael Owens with the Bristol Herald Courier for uncovering this bail fraud.