Bail Blotter: Insurance Agency Offers Reward to Capture Fugitive
- September 21, 2012
- by AboutBail Staff
- In the News
Each week AboutBail combs the web for the latest and most interesting industry news stories to bring you the Weekly Bail Blotter.
Bondsman Speaks Out Against Suspension
FORT WORTH, TX – Bondsman Phil Guiles is protesting a suspension of his businesss - Mom's Wide-Awake Bail Bonds. The suspension was ordered by the Tarrant County Bail Bond Board and lasts until 2013. The Tarrant County Bail Bond Board has stated that the business has been closed because the Texas bondsman allegedly took part in dishonest business practices, including charging one client $750 for help with non-existent traffic tickets. Guiles has been in business for 15 years and has stated that he runs a good business. He also stated that the $750 charge was an overcharge that he thought he had repaid.
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Judge Considers New Bondsman Law
RALEIGH, NC -- Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens is considering whether to allow a new law which allows one group the only authority in the state to train North Carolina bondsmen. Under the law, the North Carolina Bail Agents Association is the only organization officially allowed to train bondsmen in the state in order for bondsmen to secure their licenses. A competing business offering bondsman training sued after the law was passed, alleging that the law is unfair to other businesses and is unconstitutional. Judge Stephens is considering both sides of the story.
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Bondsman in Trouble Over Recruitment
SANTA ANA, CA – James Everett Morris, a California bondsman, pleaded guilty to violating bail bond laws and was sentenced to six months in jail. Morris used inmates to recruit new clients, a practice that goes against the regulations of bail bonds in the state. Morris pleaded guilty to four felony charges related to the recruitment. Under California law, bondsmen are not allowed to work with any unlicensed individuals and with anyone who is in custody to find new clients. Bondsman Kenneth Lance Hendrick, who worked at the same company as Morris, still faces charges due to similar recruitment practices.
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Justice Policy Institute, Newspaper Raise Concerns About Bail Bond Industry
WASHINGTON, DC — According to a report by the Justice Policy Institute, For Better or For Profit: How the Bail Bonding Industry Stands in the Way of Fair and Effective Pre-Trial Justice, corruption is a problem in the bail bond industry. The Justice Policy Institute reports that the roughly 15,000 bail bondsmen across the US write about $14 billion in bonds each year, mostly from low income people.
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Bondsmen and Insurance Agency Offer Reward to Capture of Wheeldon
JACKSON, MI – Mason-based Leo’s Bail Bonds and the insurance company behind the bonds business, United Surety Agents Inc., are offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of Ricky Wheeldon. Wheeldon is a racketeer out on a $500,000 bond written by Leo’s Bail Bonds. To claim the reward, Wheeldon must be found before October 1, which is when the bond will go into forfeiture, meaning that the bail bond company will owe the county the $500,000 for not having Wheeldon in court to face his charges. The bail bond company has already devoted more than 8,000 hours to the search for the fugitive.
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Judge Quadruples Bail
WICHITA FALLS, TX – Businessman David Everett Stevens is accused of violating the terms of his bail bond agreement, prompting 89th District Court Judge Mark Price to quadruple the man’s bond to $10 million. Stevens faces charges after allegedly attempting to hire a man to kill his wife’s new partner. Although it is common for bail to be raised, quadrupling bail does not happen that often. In Stevens’ case, the move was made after Stevens allegedly attempted to contact a witness in the case.
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