The Professional Bondsmen of Texas- Blog

  Gov. Kathy Hochul doubled down on bail reform Monday, saying there is no evidence it has contributed to rising crime rates. Her remarks came on the day her Republican opponent, Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin, said reforms to solitary confinement rules led to an increase in attacks on corrections officers. Hochul was in Yonkers Monday for an official government event where she signed legislation. But during a question-and-answer session with reporters, she responded to new NYPD crime statistics that show the crime rate continues to move in the wrong direction. “Have you studied what’s happening in other cities across the nation?” Hochul asked. “Doesn’t make people feel real comfortable, but when you compare the number of cases per 100,000 — whether its different categories of crime, violent crime, shootings, homicides — we are still lower than major big cities.” According to the NYPD, overall crime was up more than 30% in New York City last month compared to the same period last year...

  Bronx business owners are demanding more be done to fight crime in their community and they’re turning up the heat on New York lawmakers over bail reform.  It eliminates case bail for most nonviolent crimes. The business owners blame the rise in crime on repeat offenders. They claim it’s making it nearly impossible to do business in their neighborhoods. "We need Albany to stop the nonsense that they’re doing, give Mayor Adams back up get some help out here," said small business owner Mario DeGiorgio. One example of the problem is seen in a security video released by the NYPD showing robbers targeting Rocco‘s Jewelry Store on Webster Avenue in the Bronx last week. The first man held the door open as the others ran inside. New York City Police say it took 30 seconds for the intruders to get away with $2 million worth of merchandise. This hurts business owner Mario DiGiorgio, who is also a member of the Fordham Road Business Improvement District.  "I’m disgusted with what...

  A bounty hunter was shot in the face Friday in El Cajon after looking for a wanted person in a vacant business, police said. Bail bond agents arrived at a vacant business at around 3:51 p.m. at the 300 block of West Lexington Avenue. They were looking for a wanted individual when they got into a confrontation with an unassociated person. The person then took out a handgun and the bail bond agents shot a taser at the person and tackled the person, when the bail bond agent said he was shot in the face, El Cajon Police (ECPD) said. The other bail agent shot his taser at the person again and both agents were able to leave the building. ECPD responded to the scene and rescued the agent who suffered non-life-threatening injuries after the bullet entered near his cheek and exited near his ear, ECPD said. Police established a perimeter around the building and two people, one of them determined to be the shooting suspect, exited the building and were detained without incident, ECPD said. ...

  Manchester police and local lawmakers won a big victory Wednesday as a House committee endorsed a bipartisan bill to deny a quick and easy pre-trial release to anyone who is arrested for a serious offense while already out on bail. The amended bill states that anyone out on bail who is arrested for a crime that carries jail time must see a judge before they can be released. Gov. Chris Sununu has supported the call for more bail reform from Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg because too many offenders have gotten out on no-cash bail and gone on to reoffend. "I think a judge will do a better job in getting them the appropriate bail or help they need; clearly the system is failing them," said Rep. Ross Berry (R-Manchester), chief sponsor of the bill (HB 1476). Berry agreed to offer an amendment with several changes to limit the maximum amount of time such an offender may be detained before that hearing to 36 hours. The bill also requires someone to go before a judge for a...

  A La Plata County judge who has garnered attention for granting low bail amounts in criminal cases has effectively been removed from setting bail in future felony-level cases. An administrative order issued Aug. 2 by 6th Judicial District Chief Judge Jeffrey Wilson reassigns felony-level advisement hearings to other judges and omits La Plata County Judge Anne Woods from overseeing those hearings. The administrative order was not widely circulated, and the The Durango Herald did not learn of the order until several months after it was issued. Before the order, it was common for initial advisement hearings to be heard in Woods’ courtroom. Bail is often set during advisement hearings, in which criminal defendants are advised of the possible charges and penalties they face. By reassigning felony advisement hearings to other judges, Woods no longer has the opportunity to set bail in serious criminal cases. Woods has not been bashful about her “progressive” jurisprudence. She tends to ...

  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 an...

Since the passing of New York’s Bail Reform laws, there’s been an increase in the number of people re-offending before having their day in court. "On most cases that we get right now that people are released, they catch a second charge." Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara is now fielding many calls from victims who are wondering how the offenders are back out on the street. Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol is getting the same calls. "Bail Reform has not made our community safer. It’s done just the opposite." The District Attorney says the criminals know they aren’t going to jail, and aren’t afraid to admit it. "Increased crime which means increased victimization, and making the community less safe, and right now you know it’s the wild, wild west we’re dealing with right now. I mean it’s like people are saying to the police: you can’t arrest me for this." The Sheriff spoke about a number of cases where there’s ...

At a press conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea expressed his frustration over the decision to release Quaran Campbell without bail, after Campbell was seen on video and body camera knocking a police officer unconscious who later required eight staples to the head, fracturing the orbital bones of a lieutenant and punching NYPD Chief Terence Monahan during a unity march followed by a counter-protest on the Brooklyn Bridge on Wednesday. “There needs to be consequences for people that just have no regard for laws,” Shea said.  The Manhattan Assistant DA had requested that Campbell’s bail be set at $75,000, but the judge set the assailant free, leaning Monahan to tweet that “Judge Robert Rosenthal’s reckless decision to release Mr. Campbell WITHOUT BAIL endangers every New Yorker and the officers who risk it all to protect them.” Quran Campbell is captured on video for the nation to witness him viciously assault 3 cops in uniform — 1 who lost ...

The hotly contested changes to the state’s bail reform laws went into effect on Thursday.  These changes, however, did not go far enough for many Republican lawmakers who have been calling for a full repeal to this law.  Assemblyman Joe Giglio says he was never against making reforms, but believes many crucial points were never fixed.  “Criminal justice is just like everything else, it needs to evolve,” Assemblyman Giglio explained. “The first part of that is we’re not as the Republican conference against bail reform. We never said that. We just said, ‘let’s do this right.’ ” Republicans in both the Senate and Assembly held hearings around the state on ways to improve the current bail reform law. Assemblyman Giglio says what he heard the most from law enforcement was the need to restore judicial discretion.  “Our communities have the right to be safe, and all we were saying was, ‘let’s do this the right way,’ ” Giglio said. “No one wants lower level criminals in jail...

Alarming new statistics shows murders in Houston are up 37 percent this year. There have already been 178 homicides in 2020 compared to 140 in 2019. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said if the numbers continue on their current trend, it will be a five-year high. The number of murders spiked right after the 'Stay Home, Work Safe' order was issued. Murders classified as domestic violence are down, while Acevedo said drug-related homicides are up. The chief said there is concern specifically in southeast Houston because of gangs and drug trafficking. "In 2017, we had a significant reduction in murders, almost 11 percent," Acevedo told ABC13 on Wednesday. "In 2018, we were flat. In 2019, we had a slight uptick, and in 2020 we have a five-year high if we continue this way." He attributes the decrease in 2017 to the addition of the major assaults unit. "If someone was shot in our city, unless you died, detectives didn't roll, so we created a ma...

America is precariously perched at a tipping point in history in which strong-arm efforts to reform our criminal justice system seem to be rooted in change for its own sake — and damn the lamentable consequences. In our country’s early colonies, the concept of right and wrong was rooted in “common law,” based upon the history of previous decisions made by judges.  Over time, criminal laws became formally adopted by the various states, as well as the federal government. Over the past couple of years, the pitfalls of the arguments for change are becoming increasingly apparent, but overzealous reformers have been seemingly tone deaf to criticism or any attempt to measure results.  As this ill-fated ship steams ahead toward certain disaster, we are approaching the point at which we must ask whether the advocates for change even care about the results? Statesman and activist Frederick Douglass is quoted as saying “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”...

Authorities in one southeastern New Mexico community are frustrated with the state’s bail reforms, saying the justice system is now failing Lovington and residents, business owners and churches are being victimized by repeat offenders who are released from custody. Police officers tell the Lovington Daily Leader they know many offenders on a first-name basis because they have to arrest them over and over — often for the same charges but different victims. “We keep locking them up, but the bail bond laws have changed where they now get right out and commit crimes the next day, and sometimes the same day,” says Detective David Miranda. A constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2016 cleared the way for judges to detain defendants facing felony charges in jail pending trial if prosecutors prove by clear and convincing evidence that the individual is so dangerous that nothing other than detention will reasonably protect public safety. The change also was aimed at releasing low-risk d...

Living in a city where it is not even safe to take your groceries from your car to your apartment. The Houston Police Department is asking for your help in identifying a man seen in surveillance video assaulting and robbing a mother while her young son stands closely by. The video released by the HPD Robbery Division shows the suspect run and punch the mother in the face, causing her to fall to the ground. The suspect then continues to assault her while she's on the ground. The man was one of two suspects who pulled up to the complex in a white four-door Nissan. After attacking the woman, the video shows the man grab the mother's purse and then run back into the Nissan, which then sped away. You can watch the full video above. Police say the attack happened while the mother was unloading groceries at an apartment complex near 7000 Renwick Dr. The suspect's face and vehicle are clearly visible in the video. Police say the white four-door Nissan is very recognizable; it's...

Las Vegas Review-Journal (June 28, 2020). Even the best ideas can be destructive when they’re taken too far. Consider bail reform. Around the country, there’s been a sustained and surprisingly successful push to change the cash bail system. There is an inevitable delay between an arrest and a trial. Judges have discretion, based on the nature of the crime and other circumstances, to allow the accused to remain free pending trial. But if defendants are deemed dangerous or flight risks, a judge may order them held until the conclusion of the legal proceedings. Bail has long been the compromise option. A defendant can leave jail but has to post bail. If a defendant returns at the assigned time, he gets his money back. If he doesn’t, he loses it. A bail bondsman serves as a middleman for those who can’t afford the full bail amount. The trade-off for not having to come up with the full amount is that the accused doesn’t get back the small portion of the bond he covers through the bail bonds...

A group advocating for criminal justice system reform is urging the Harris County Commissioners Court to dismiss “non-violent” felonies as a means to reduce both the jail population and a backlog of criminal cases in the county. “The criminal justice system is at a very dangerous point and requires immediate action by elected officials and justice system leaders,” said Eberly.  Eberly said his dire predictions were partially based on the jail population, which had been steadily increasing from a low of about 7,500 inmates in May, but could swell to 10,000 by Labor Day. He expressed alarm about the possible spread of coronavirus, and lamented that 87 percent of inmates were coming from district courts under pre-trial detention and had “not been convicted of any crime yet.” “Therein lies the problem with your criminal justice system, the district court is collapsing under the enormous volume.” They also suggested that in addition to a purge of older felony cases, the county should es...

A local police chief said he has never seen anything like the violent crime spree that occurred overnight in Brandon.  "I've been working here at the Brandon Police Department for 27 years and I have never been involved with something of this magnitude of what all occurred in less than 24 hours," Assistant Chief Chris Butts said Friday. "I don't know if I've ever even heard of that around here...so many sexual assaults, a shooting, a shootout in a gas station, stealing cars, it's crazy. It's mind-boggling." On Sunday, Vincent Ogiamien, 29, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor DUI by the Brandon Police Department and booked into the Rankin County Jail. He did not make bond and remained in jail. He tested positive for COVID-19 and was released on Wednesday.   By Thursday evening, police say Ogiamien would go on a crime spree that terrorized multiple women in the community.  According to Butts, a couple of hours after being released from jail, ...

Police arrested a man after a high-speed chase early Friday morning. Brandon Police Assistant Chief Chris Butts says the suspect, identified as Vincent Ogiamien, raped two people, stole several cars, and shot a woman overnight in Brandon. After these incidents, police were led on a chase into Jackson where Ogiamien crashed at I-20 and Terry Road. Police records indicate Ogiamien was released from the Rankin County Jail on Thursday afternoon after a DUI arrest. He has been booked seven times in Rankin County for crimes including motor vehicle theft, drugs, and fleeing police. Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said Ogiamien was released from jail because he tested positive for COVID-19. Butts says Ogiamien was released from jail around 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. is when he forced his way into a woman’s vehicle to try and sexually assault her. She eventually got out and Ogiamien drove off in her car, according to Butts. Later that night, police say he kicked in a door at an apartment and sexuall...

Kyle Horton of Corning was arrested after allegedly attacking a sleeping man with a sledgehammer and causing serious physical injury, according to Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker. The City of Corning Police Department says the 41-year-old male victim woke up to Horton hitting him in the head/face with a two-pound sledgehammer. The victim was able to stop Horton, who fled the scene and changed his appearance, according to police. Corning Police located Horton driving on Baker Street and conducted a traffic stop. Horton was taken into custody and told police he went to the victim’s home because he wanted to “settle a beef” with him. The victim was transported to Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre and his condition is unknown at this time. Baker says that Horton will be arraigned at 5:30 p.m. in CAP Court for first degree assault and that prosecutors will argue that Horton is a flight risk and, therefor, should not be released on the new bail reform law. Horton has been...