News from Other States

AZ-Channel 5-KPHO of Phoenix, reported that bondsman Dana Schnell set up a successful sting operation to "con" a con man into custody after he failed to appear on the $70,000 bond posted by Schnell. The fugitive is accused of cheating more than 20 people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in a mortgage scam.

Schnell convinced fugitive, Jeffrey Herald, that he was an old family friend and was willing to loan Herald some much needed cash to go to Las Vegas. Schnell agreed to meet Herald at his daughter's apartment then drive to the bank to hand over the cash. When they stepped out of the car authorities moved in and arrested Herald. Scnell told reporters, "When we got out and detectives pulled up his face expression was unreal. I'm sure it is the same expression as other people he conned when they found out they were not getting money."

NC- WRAL, in Raleigh, North Carolina, hosted a segment in which viewers could ask questions of Mark Cartret, president of the North Carolina Bail Agents Association. Some of the submitted questions included: How do bonds work? Is your job really like on TV? Can you carry a gun? Read the full interview here.

FL-The Orlando Business Journal reports that Florida bondsmen are upset that about $3 billion of the $787 billion federal stimulus bill will be spent on expanding the pretrial release system. “You have a private industry in Florida that doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime, and you’re going to replace that with a government-run program using tax dollars?” said Mike Snapp, owner of Mike Snapp Bail Bonds in Orlando. Debbie Jallad, president of Orlando-based Accredited Surety & Casualty Co. Inc., said dedicating more funds to government pretrial release programs is a poor use of taxpayer dollars when the budgets of other programs are ­being cut.

MN-Two Minnesota bondsmen have been charged with felony burglary and four related misdemeanor offenses for entering a home and handcuffing the wrong person. According to a report from the Rochester Post-Bulletin, the two bondsmen knocked on the door and handcuffed the man after he opened the door. According to police, the bondsmen were looking for a 26-year-old black man; however, the man they handcuffed was a 57-year-old white man. The bondsmen released the man after neighbors confirmed that they had the wrong man and the man they were looking for had never lived in the apartment.

CO-News Channel 7, in Denver, reports that a bondsman was arrested for criminal trespass for kicking in the door of a reported bond co-signer. According to the report, police say the apartment is leased by a co-signer of a bond, but that co-signer doesn't live with the wanted parties and that co-signer was not home at the time of the incident.