Described as a “tough cop and a class act” by some of his colleagues, Capt. Snell has served in various departments within the LAPD, including traffic and vice, as well as working patrol for the Newton Community as a lieutenant. He worked as assistant to former Chief William Bratton for three and a half years and has also worked for the Inspector General. His last assignment was with the Criminal Gang Homicide Division.

Capt. Snell is a family man, being a father of four and grandfather to seven children. A graduate of Occidental College, Snell attended the same school as President Obama. Throughout his time as an officer of the LAPD, Snell has encountered many other notable people as well, such as Sir Elton John, John Walsh (America’s Most Wanted), Arsenio Hall, and Harry Morgan (MASH, Dragnet).

The new captain says he is enjoying his new role as captain, and that he loves the Van Nuys area he oversees. Having served in South LA, Snell has noted the differences between the two areas. The most significant difference being that the property crime rate versus violent crimes in the Sherman Oaks-Van Nuys community is much higher, whereas in South LA violent crimes outnumber property crime.

Capt. Snell feels that he has been embraced by the community and its groups. Meeting with members of the Sherman Oaks-Van Nuys community, there are questions of whether the Department is planning to pay more attention to the community than it has in the past.

Snell acknowledges that in the past, with only 6,000 officers on staff, the main focus was to get from one radio call to the next. Not much effort was put into community focus. It is hoped that now, with around 10,000 LAPD officers at hand, the long-standing goal of a partnership between the community and the LAPD will at last be fulfilled.

Chief Beck has made it a goal to move community policing to another level, now that the necessary time and resources are becoming available and Captain Paul Snell is looking forward to a strong partnership between the Van Nuys Division and the people of the community.

Source: ShermanOaksPatch

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 if he called around and bondsmen knew the charge, he might have a hard time getting out).  He has been released on his own recognizance and is due in Los Angeles Superior Court on Feb. 23 for a preliminary hearing, DA’s spokeswoman Shiara D vila-Morales confirmed.

“In essence, the defendant is accused of going to the Van Nuys jail and soliciting Korean-speaking arrestees to post their bail,” D vila-Morales elaborated. Edwin Lee has a current bail bond license, speaks fluent Korean and operates his business out of Koreatown, according to the article. It seems to me that the Department of Insurance ought to have that suspended by now.

The charges against the former LAPD police officer include two counts each of approaching prisoners to solicit bail, approaching prisoners to solicit bail inside a jail facility and failing to keep records of these solicitations.

Bail bond agents are legally forbidden to approach people to solicit bail. They can only do so if they have been contacted by the arrestee, a family member, friend or other interested party, first. It is also a separate felony to solicit bail in a jail facility, but since no records were kept of the alleged solicitations, Edwin Lee was not charged for this. 

Simply put, in the bail industry, a client must contact a bail agent. It is illegal for a bondsman to call and offer unrequested services. Calling a family member is perfectly legal if the defendant contacts the bail bondsman first and asks the bondsman to do so. 

If convicted, Lee could end up with a prison sentence that is about three years and eight months long. The case is now being investigated by the DA’s Justice System Integrity Division. (Good - get these unethical bondsmen out of our industry!)

According to a family member, he accidently tripped off a silent alarm in his own home which sent the Los Angeles Police Department to his location.

When the LAPD arrived on the scene, Cameron asked who they were. When they responded “who are you?” Cameron reached for his I.D.  That’s when officers reportedly tackled and arrested him believing he may be going for a gun.

In an interview with CNN, Cameron’s father Michael Reagan, (President Reagan’s son and a conservative commentator), asked, “Where is the American Civil Liberties Union when Cameron Reagan is tackled in his own driveway?” He also stated, “there was a lot of misunderstanding at 1 a.m.”

Cameron Reagan was released on $10,000 bail bond from the Van Nuys Jail.

Melvin Shane Sparks, the highly lauded choreographer on “So You Think You Can Dance,” and celebrity-reality  judge on MTV’s,  “America’s Best Dance Crew” was arrested on Dec. 18th for the alleged sexual assault of a minor. 

The minor, said to be  younger than 14-years of age at the time of the incident was a previous student at the well-known, Millennium Dance Complex in North Hollywood where Sparks taught dance lessons.