Bounty Hunting and its limitations

[Johnny_D]

Hello, I am currently in Texas and I have a FTA warrant because of a missed court date. I was bonded out for $2500 and have done research on the subject and have been getting mixed findings.


Firstly: I got it. Shouldnt have gotten myself in the situation. Moving on.

My court date was in May and it has been 8 months, and the research I did first lead me to believe that a misdemeanor will not lead me to be extridited in Texas by the police. It also lead me to feel that the relatively small amount wouldnt be worth the trouble. And also it lead me to a document showing that courts in various states give "time limits" that the bondsman has to get the skip into custody. I believe VA was 60-90 days. Maybe 180. This bondsman has contacted people i know and myself saying that people are on hold awaiting an order.


First: Is the timelimit for virginia correct?

Second: how likely is it that this person is over the timelimit and just telling me this to get me to pay?

Thank you in advance and have a great day.

 

[quincy]

Hello, I am currently in Texas and I have a FTA warrant because of a missed court date. I was bonded out for $2500 and have done research on the subject and have been getting mixed findings.


Firstly: I got it. Shouldnt have gotten myself in the situation. Moving on.

My court date was in May and it has been 8 months, and the research I did first lead me to believe that a misdemeanor will not lead me to be extridited in Texas by the police. It also lead me to feel that the relatively small amount wouldnt be worth the trouble. And also it lead me to a document showing that courts in various states give "time limits" that the bondsman has to get the skip into custody. I believe VA was 60-90 days. Maybe 180. This bondsman has contacted people i know and myself saying that people are on hold awaiting an order.


First: Is the timelimit for virginia correct?

Second: how likely is it that this person is over the timelimit and just telling me this to get me to pay?

Thank you in advance and have a great day.

Following is a link to the Virginia Code Title 19.2, Criminal Procedure, 2014. See Chapter 9, Bail and Recognizances.

http://law.justia.com/codes/virginia/2014//title-19.2

I believe there are some, or were some, House Bills pending on regulating fugitive recovery ... but I am not sure what the status of the bills are.

The warrant will not go away, by the way. You should take care of it.

 

[Johnny_D]

Thanks for the information youve provided.

So... again... like it has been said, I am tracking that the status of this warrant will not change and I cannot go back to Virginia.

What are the chances they will come for such a small amount? Am I correct that Texas will not extradite for a misdemeanor? Am I correct that there are time limits in either state as to when they can reclaim their bail money?


And look, if I am completely off base here, then please correct me. Thank you again in advancd.

 

[quincy]

Thanks for the information youve provided.

So... again... like it has been said, I am tracking that the status of this warrant will not change and I cannot go back to Virginia.

What are the chances they will come for such a small amount? Am I correct that Texas will not extradite for a misdemeanor? Am I correct that there are time limits in either state as to when they can reclaim their bail money?


And look, if I am completely off base here, then please correct me. Thank you again in advancd.

The Uniform Criminal Extradition Act (UCEA) allows for the arrest of a fugitive on a failure to appear warrant. States will not as a rule extradite a fugitive unless the fugitive is facing at least one year in jail for his crime.

I am not seeing where Virginia limits the amount of time a bail bondsman has to reclaim the bail money.

6VAC20-250.270: http://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title6/agency20/chapter250/section270/

VA Code §19.2-149: http://law.justia.com/codes/virginia/2014/title-19.2/section-19.2-149/

Again, I think it would be smart for you to take care of your warrant in Virginia.

 

[Johnny_D]

There are states that have laws against bail enforcement, and the bail bonds industry all together, and there are states with more restrictions on what bail enforcement can do and what they need to do it.

In texas they do not need a license, but are held to the requirements of their state. They PROHIBIT outside bail enforcement from apprehending. I understand that this just means they have to hire someone in the state of texas and that they could. But it also doesnt just stop at that extradition act and it seems to be clear that states have some ability to address this with some sort of discetion.


My question is, is there an amount too small to apprehend with all of the hurdles. Several bail enforcement manuals do suggest there is.


Im not saying youre wrong. Im just digging.

 

[quincy]

... Several bail enforcement manuals do suggest there is ...

Could you please quote for me what in the bail enforcement manuals you have read suggest such a limit? Thanks.

I am not saying you have not seen in the bail enforcement manuals what you say you have ... I just have not run across the same thing in my admittedly brief review.

 

[Johnny_D]

Oh that was a little less than a year ago. So no i cant find the material. There is standard fee of 10% plus expenses. So thats $250 starting. Theres another other issue here. This is nearly a year old.

So are you telling me that bail enforcement will apprehend an FTA skip out of state, over 2500 that has been obviously seized by the court, and the inciden is a little less than a year old?

 

[quincy]

... So are you telling me that bail enforcement will apprehend an FTA skip out of state, over 2500 that has been obviously seized by the court, and the inciden is a little less than a year old?

No. I am not saying that.

I am saying that I see nothing that precludes this.

But I haven't looked very hard.

Here is a link to what I believe is the relevant part of Virginia's Circuit Court Clerks' Manual, if you want to read what's there: http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/circuit/resources/manuals/cc_manual_criminal/chapter_04.pdf