Bail Bond Agent Blog

It happened about twice a week between midnight and 2:00 a.m. A guy named Joe would call and with a bunch of slang talk, explain to me that he needed to bail out his girlfriend who had just been arrested. He never bothered to change his name or his accent. He just kept calling, and every time he called, he’d say, “Yeah, this is Joe. My girlfriend’s in jail.”
I didn’t have to be a seasoned veteran to know he was a pimp calling to bail out one of his prostitutes. I always declined to take the case. Prostitutes as a rule are a bad risk. They rarely appear in court. Most prostitutes face 30 to 90 days in jail, and most of them also have drug habits. They can’t last 30 to 90 days without drugs, so they simply don’t show up in court. The bail agent who lets them out is stuck having to pay the forfeited bond.
I imagine I wasn’t alone in refusing to bail out Joe’s “girlfriends.” That was why he kept calling. He probably went through a whole list of bondsmen until he found someone who would take his case. I never did.
I can’t say I’ve never bailed out a prostitute though. But when I did, I required collateral that was guaranteed to be worth more than the bail amount.
I remember receiving a call from the local jail. A woman was charged with prostitution for the fifth or sixth time. She was a high-risk case, and even her parents refused to cosign.
Her bail was $5,000, and she offered me her two-year-old Pontiac Grand Am for collateral. After investigating, I determined her car was worth $8,000 to $9,000. Because I knew she was a high-risk case, I refused to accept the pink slip or title transfer. I didn’t trust her. I wanted the car in my possession, so I could sell it quickly if she didn’t show up for court.
Her parents were willing to deliver the car and $500 for my fee. They met me at the jail, paid me, gave me the title and the keys to the car and we posted the bond. The woman was released. I had her sign all of the paperwork, including the title to her car. I allowed her to take her personal items out of the car, and then she and her parents went on their way.
I had brought my wife with me to drive home one of the cars, so she drove the defendant’s car, which of course had no gas. We stopped at a nearby gas station. When I walked over to the car, my wife had a frightened and disgusted look on her face. As I opened the car door, the handle on the inside fell off and out fell hypodermic needles and drug paraphernalia. To this day, my wife won’t drive any collateral cars.
I drove the car home from the gas station. It sat in our garage for four months until the defendant’s case was over. I was sure I was going to have to sell the car to pay off the bond, but to my amazement, the defendant completed all of her court requirements. Her case was closed and I returned the car to her.

Tags: Bail Bond Stories //