The Professional Bondsmen of Texas- Blog

At least 12 major U.S. cities have broken annual homicide records in 2021 -- and there's still three weeks to go in the year. Of the dozen cities that have already surpassed the grim milestones for killings, five topped records that were set or tied just last year. "It's terrible to every morning get up and have to go look at the numbers and then look at the news and see the stories. It's just crazy. It's just crazy and this needs to stop," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said after his city surpassed its annual homicide record of 500, which stood since 1990. Philadelphia, a city of roughly 1.5 million people, has had more homicides this year (521 as of Dec. 6) than the nation's two largest cities, New York (443 as of Dec. 5) and Los Angeles (352 as of Nov. 27). That's an increase of 13% from 2020, a year that nearly broke the 1990 record. Chicago, the nation's third-largest city, leads the nation with 739 homicides as of the end of November, up 3% f

  It didn’t take long after New York’s bail-reform laws took effect in January 2020 for crime to surge, yet at the time, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie claimed there wasn’t enough data to suspect a link. Now, after two years under those laws, crime has continued to soar. Heastie and those in his camp need to take another look at the damage those laws, along with lenient judges and other pro-crime measures, have done. Consider the horror stories from 2021 alone:   In June, 31-year-old Raymond Wilson was free in connection with a burglary case when he broke into a 10-year-old girl’s bedroom and molested her while she slept. He’d already been arrested for burglary more than a dozen times, but because of the new statute, judges couldn’t set bail. Isaac Rodriguez was nabbed almost 50 times this year alone but was released back on the streets because his petit-larceny and stolen-property charges didn’t qualify for bail. It wasn’t until Rodriguez was arrested for a June 7 assault on a 39-year-

The year 2021 brought a hefty serving of junk justice to the Big Apple. Between lenient judges and liberal state bail reform laws, a slew of violent criminals landed back on the streets — only to reoffend. The soft-on-crime statute, passed by state lawmakers in 2019 and tweaked in 2020, stripped judges of discretion by barring them from setting bail on nearly all misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. Other jurists simply went rogue by springing defendants in serious cases. Here’s a look back at some of the most stunning cases: Free to ‘kill’ Steven Mendez, 18, already had at least three busts on his record and was out on probation when he allegedly gunned down 21-year-old college student Saiko Koma in October. Bronx Judge Denis Boyle freed Mendez on five years’ probation in May after he pleaded guilty to a violent armed robbery in 2020, The Post previously reported. The troubled teen, whose rap sheet includes a bust for allegedly pulling a gun on his own mother, could’ve been kept beh

  Join Mark Henderson as he discusses the use of Charitable Bail Funds with PBT board member Ken W. Good.   Overview:  Charitable bail funds are at the center of a growing controversy.  These non-profit organizations came into existence to bail out individuals who have been arrested and charged with a crime, but are unable to come up with money to be freed.  Criminal justice advocates have long argued that it is fundamentally unfair for someone to be jailed purely because they are poor. In March, Travis Lang was charged in Indianapolis with murder in the shooting death of a 24-year-old man while he sat in his vehicle.  At the time of the incident, Lang was free on bail after being charged with cocaine possession.  He also had three pending cases for felony burglary, breaking and entering, and resisting law enforcement.  Lang’s bail had been paid for by The Bail Project and represented the second person charged with murder after this particular bail fund had paid for their release Recen

  Two Democrats who supported police reform in Philadelphia and Chicago were both carjacked at gunpoint within 24 hours of each other. Illinois state Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood) was targeted in suburban Chicago on Tuesday night, while Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) was carjacked Wednesday afternoon after an event in South Philadelphia. Lightford was driving with her husband, Eric McKennie, in Broadview at about 9:45 p.m. when three masked suspects in a Durango SUV hijacked the couple’s black Mercedes. Police said “multiple gunshots” were fired during the incident but Lightford and her husband weren’t physically hurt. The suspects fled in the Mercedes and Durango, according to police. Lightford, the state Senate majority leader, said in a statement that she was still trying to process the trauma. “First and foremost I am thankful that my husband and I are alive and physically unharmed. I am trying to process the trauma of what happened. I want to thank everyone who has o

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Professional Bondsmen of Texas. The Professional Bondsmen of Texas is a strong voice of the Texas Bail industry and a resource to elected officials across the state regarding bail matters.   We hope that 2022 is a better year for each of you.

Police officials and victims’ families called on lawmakers Thursday to stem violent crime by letting judges lock up dangerous defendants — with NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea saying those who don’t agree that bail reform needs to be fixed “are part of the problem.” Shea — an outspoken critic of the 2019 bail reform law that then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed to prevent judges from setting bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies — called the issue of surging lawlessness “a crisis that is staring each and every one of us in the face.” During a news conference in front of the state Capitol in Albany, Shea said New Yorkers were fed up with “random, senseless attacks” by gang members who’ve been busted with illegal guns but been put right back on the streets under recent bail reform laws. “If you are silent on this issue, you can be silent no longer,” he said. “If you are silent on this issue, as of today, you are part of the problem.” In exchange for empowering the judiciary, a propo

Rising crime has put the nation under siege and former Tuscon, Ariz. police officer Brandon Tatum dished to Fox News Digital how some policies are desperate for reexamining. Following the attack in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where repeat offender Darrell Brooks Jr. plowed into Christmas parade attendees, bail reform has been a front-and-center concern in managing crime. Tatum agreed that bail reform has potential, but only if done right. "I think bail reform, if done with the right mindset or in good faith, could be a good idea because then you can look at it in a more thorough sense," he said. "But the way they're doing it is off of social justice correctness. These people should not be out. You don't rehabilitate a deranged criminal by letting them out." During his appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, Tatum positioned that criminal rehabilitation should be done in the home at a young age. For violent criminals with a thick record like Brooks Jr., letti

A woman carrying a pickaxe in broad daylight casually walked into a Los Angeles Rite Aid, stole merchandise and threatened store employees and customers, shocking video shows.  The bizarre footage captured the moment the unknown woman dragged a basket full of merchandise across the floor of the Rite Aid, in Venice, California, on Thursday morning.  She seems to be headed for the door, with basket and pickaxe in hand, before stopping by the counter and telling an employee she'll come back.  'I'm not f*****g around,' she says as an employee tries to ask her to stop as she makes a grab for beauty products.  'I don't want to smell like sh** when I'm knocking these b****** out,' she adds as she drops a spray into the basket.  Before leaving, she tells everyone at the store, 'Don't say sh**. Shut the f*** up. Be quiet and follow suit.'  Police said no one was injured during the incident and that they are still searching for the pickaxe-wielding sus

  During a Thursday appearance on FNC’s “Fox & Friends,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) sounded off on the growing crime rates as Democrats push for softer crime policies. Crenshaw said criminals “laugh in the back of a police car,” knowing they will be free the next day. He added that the liberal policies are “absolutely ruining America’s greatest cities.” “America’s most beautiful cities are indeed being ruined by liberal policies,” Crenshaw asserted. “There’s a direct line between death and decay and liberal policies. Now, those liberal policies include defunding the police. This is indeed what happened in Austin. There’s a police shortage, but it’s also the bail reform. There are prosecutors; there are judges funded, by the way, by people like George Soros. I know that makes the left really mad when they hear that. They’ll attack me on Twitter, but then we’ll just provide all the news stories that say exactly what I’m saying. They are deliberately doing this. They want prosecutors wh

  A woman, released on zero bail after being arrested for 120 alleged incidents involving thefts from the Target at Stonestown Galleria, was back in custody after a new arrest and for ignoring a court order to sign up for electronic monitoring, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. * * * * A San Francisco Superior Court judge let her out and ordered her to sign up for electronic monitoring. She apparently ignored his order. “Ms. Graves violated the court ordered terms of her release by committing a new theft, and by failing to sign up for electronic monitoring,” District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s office said in an email to KPIX 5.  * * * * * The suspect in this case has been a particularly brazen and prolific retail theft offender,” said Police Chief Bill Scott in a prepared statement at the time of the November arrest. “We hope this case — like many others on which we partner with our local prosecutors — sends a strong message to would-be shoplifters that their lawl

  The City of Oakland (California) is the latest politically liberal city to refund and rehire police as criminals are running amok due to left-leaning, feckless leadership in far too many cities around the country.  However, the problem is far greater than a lack of funding and cops in patrol cars. It’s also the inability to keep criminals in jail. From Los Angeles to New York and every major city in between, various “bail reform” movements have created a series of catastrophes. Law Officer covers these tragic scenarios daily–one career criminal after another committing a horrific offense when he should have been in custody due to past crimes. Harris County (Houston area) in Texas has literally experienced dozens of homicides committed by offenders out of custody with low bail or no bail regardless of violent priors. What do you say to the families of these predators, “Sorry, our bad”? To see more CLICK HERE .

  LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino Wednesday introduced a resolution to support the reinstitution of cash bail in Los Angeles County, which was suspended for low-level, non-violent felonies and misdemeanors. In a statement Wednesday, Buscaino said the suspension of cash bail has "created a free-for-all environment where criminals are charged one day and released the next." Los Angeles first suspended cash bail in June 2020 as a measure to prevent further spread of COVID-19 in county jails. When District Attorney George Gascón took office in January 2021, he directed deputy district attorneys not to seek money bail for "misdemeanor, non-violent and non-serious felony offenses." While the cash bail system was not eliminated for violent offenses, Buscaino's resolution cites a "substantial increase in violent crime and brazen robberies." Violent crime has increased in Los Angeles -- and across the United States -- during the COVID-19

  A homeless man in New York City who was charged with beating a man last year and subsequently set free on bail reform, allegedly beat two women in unprovoked attacks this month, only to be released yet again.  Darrell Johnson, 23, has more than a dozen arrests dating back to 2014, the New York Post reported citing sources. Last year, he was charged with assault and harassment after he allegedly beat a man "about the face with a closed fist multiple times" in a Harlem building and then "used his feet to kick and stomp" the victim, according to a court complaint.  He was released without bail, however, due to New York lawmakers passing sweeping changes to the state's bail laws in 2019 that restricts crimes where judges can set bail. Johnson then allegedly beat two women in unprovoked attacks last Thursday morning in Manhattan.  In one of the attacks, he allegedly left a 50-year-old woman with a "disfiguring laceration" to her face in a "violent, u

  A bail bondsman faces two felony and two misdemeanor charges on suspicion of shooting a Durango fugitive Sept. 30 in Cortez. Clint Simmons was not arrested at the scene, but after reviewing the case, the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced it plans to charge the bail bondsman with felony assault, felony menacing, misdemeanor prohibited use of a weapon and misdemeanor reckless endangerment. The Journal  reached out to Cortez Police Chief Vernon Knuckles for comment, but he has not responded. Simmons is scheduled for a return filing of charges, arraignment and preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. Jan. 6 at Montezuma County Combined Courts. Simmons, 61, told police he accidentally shot Freedom Anderson, 26, with a .40-caliber Glock at 510 E. Arbecam Ave., about a block northwest of Kemper Elementary School in Cortez. Police found Anderson lying on the driveway of the home screaming in pain with a gunshot wound to his left arm. Simmons involved Cortez police officers and two of

  A recent video of an auto-burglary on a busy San Francisco street shows just how commonplace it is and how residents have become inured to the situation. Tourist hot spots are popular places for car burglars. A recent smash-and-grab on Grant Avenue near Jackson Street in Chinatown took place within feet of bystanders. A driver gets into his car across the street, as the thief peers into the victim’s car. Security video shows a pedestrian walking down the sidewalk and a woman trying to get inside a building, as the burglar looks around. The thief smashes the back window, steals two bags and then goes back for more – all while people nearby carry on. “It’s out of control. We have people that are doing this – are breaking into cars in Nob Hill, then they go down to Fisherman’s Wharf, then they come out here. Then they go to another part of the city and the police can’t chase the cars, it’s considered a misdemeanor,” said Alan Byard, a San Francisco Patrol Special Police Officer. As a pa

Megyn Kelly discusses Rising Crime with her guest Bari Weiss.  You can see the full episode by CLICKING HERE .

  Spurred by a recent run of large-scale smash-and-grab  robberies , prosecutors and retailers are pushing back on assertions by  California's  governor and attorney general that they have enough tools to combat  retail  theft in the wake of a voter-approved easing of related laws "We cannot function as a society where we have told people over and over again that there is no consequence for stealing other people’s property," said Vern Pierson, immediate past president of the California District Attorneys Association and El Dorado County's district attorney. The complaints came as authorities on Friday announced what they said was "one of the largest retail theft busts in California history," a haul of $8 million worth of merchandise stolen from San Francisco Bay Area retailers including CVS, Target and Walgreens, along with $85,000 in cash and nearly $1.9 million from various bank accounts. While shoplifting has been a growing problem, recent large-scale the

  Usually at this time of year, San Francisco’s luxury stores are decked with holiday garlands. Instead, they’re boarded up after widespread “flash mob” looting turned Union Square — the city’s most fashionable shopping district — into an area resembling a blighted neighborhood in Detroit.  “It’s a ghost town,” said Michelle Tandler, a San Francisco native and high-tech entrepreneur, whose photos of the stores barricaded in plywood went viral on social media this week. “Every store has a security guard. People are going to lose their jobs. And these things have a ripple effect.” Two weeks ago, San Francisco was the first of several progressive cities hit by smash-and-grab mobs of thieves, sometimes as many as 80 in a group. Video from the San Francisco looting of Louis Vuitton shows criminals walking casually out of the store, goods in hand. Other cities hit include Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis.  “This is traumatizing for our associates and is unacceptable,” said Best Buy CEO C

  On Friday, December 3rd, LAPD detective Jamie McBride appeared on “ Fox & Friends ” and blasted the liberal “zero bail” policy that puts offenders right back on the street. He said: “I blame the [American Civil Liberties Union]. I think they sold everybody a bag of goods with this zero bail policy as we see. Our chief came out yesterday and said that 14 of these people that were arrested did not stay in jail. They got released and some of them were arrested and out on release from a prior smash-and-grab robbery.” McBride, director of the L.A. Police Protective League, said there are no ramifications for the rash of thefts happening in California. He added: “Most people’s holidays start in December. Here in California and especially Los Angeles, it’s every day. It’s Christmas every day here for the criminals. Why wait until the holidays? You can go out and get whatever you want any time you want and there are no ramifications.” Los Angeles is cracking down on crime by ramping up t

  Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday in no uncertain terms that he thinks shoplifters should be prosecuted under existing California laws, as he called out local officials whom he said have been reluctant to do so. He was responding to a recent run of large-scale thefts in California and across the nation in which groups of individuals shoplift en masse from stores or smash and grab from display cases. Single operators have also been a growing problems for retailers who say the thieves face little consequence. Newsom, a Democrat who has boasted of his criminal justice reform efforts, promised that the proposed budget he sends to state lawmakers next month will “significantly increase our efforts to go after these retail rings.” Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Newsom appointee who has touted his own progressive reforms, separately made similar get-tough comments Wednesday. Both defended Proposition 47, a ballot measure approved by California voters in 2014 that reduced certain theft and dru