Bail Bond Agent Blog

They were our best clients ever – three brothers and two of their friends who were always in some sort of trouble. They would get into fights, have their driver’s licenses suspended, be arrested on minor drug charges, etc. Over the course of four years, we received calls just about every other week from someone in the group. They always kept their court dates, so we continued to post bail for them.

I can remember a time when one of the brothers called us and was speaking very quietly because he was hiding behind a car in his back yard and the police were walking around the house looking for him. He said if he didn’t call back in an hour or two to check the county jail for him.

At one point, a couple of them moved out of the area and the others were serving jail time, so the calls stopped coming in. It seemed almost strange not to hear from them. Finally we heard from one of the friends, and we posted bail for him. This time, he failed to appear in court. Finally we learned he had moved to North Carolina.

We called several times and asked him to come back to California to take care of his case, but finally he told us he wouldn’t do it. He then stopped taking our calls and avoided us altogether. The bond was $15,000, so it was worth taking a trip to North Carolina to bring him back to California to face his charges. I decided to go by myself and locate the fugitive, and then contact the appropriate authorities in North Carolina for assistance. The local sheriff in his area had already agreed to take him into custody when I found him, so I had everything set up.

I knew the fugitive was in construction, so I assumed he went to work early in the morning. I decided to go to the apartment where he was living and watch the front door from my rental car in the parking lot. I arrived at 4:30 a.m. At around 6:00 a.m., the door opened and out came the fugitive. He was on the second-floor landing in front of his door when he suddenly leaned over the rail and proceeded to throw up.

Because it was only 3:00 a.m. back in California, I knew I had another few hours to wait for the court to open, so I could get the necessary authority for the local sheriff to arrest him. So I followed him and his 21-year-old son to the job site and saw where he would likely be working all day.

At around noon, the fugitive and his son left the job site, stopped by McDonalds and then went home. It was just a matter of time before I got the authority I was waiting for. I followed them and then called the court back in California. They informed me they had made a mistake and didn’t issue the proper warrant that would have allowed the North Carolina sheriff to arrest him. I could have detained him myself and made an attempt to drive him across country. While this would have been completely legal, it would have been difficult and I was not prepared.

I spoke to the court and my attorneys about how long it would take them to issue the necessary paperwork the local sheriff needed to arrest the fugitive. They informed me it would take at least a week or two. At that point, I decided I was not going to wait around in North Carolina for that long. I had a business to run. I made reservations to fly home.

Before leaving, I decided I was going to have a little fun with the defendant. Throughout the day, he had no clue I was watching him. I never made my presence known, until I called the apartment and his 21-year-old son answered. I knew their voices pretty well by then. I asked him if his dad was there.

“No, he’s not.”

“I don’t believe you. Just let me talk to him.”

“He’s not here.”

“How is your dad feeling today?” I asked.

“Why?”

“I watched him throw up off the balcony at six o’clock this morning and noticed he came home from work early today after he stopped at McDonalds.”

I heard him slam down the receiver and within seconds, I saw the fugitive running toward the wooded area in back of the apartment building. I called back and left a message saying I was on my way back to California without him and that he was lucky I didn’t bring him back with me.

When I arrived home that night, I had a message on my voicemail saying he would be back to take care of his case the following week. Sure enough, he reappeared the following week and cleared up his warrant and my bond.

Tags: Bail Bond Stories //