In the News

Bounty hunter's fatal act weighed by judge
Wednesday, November 30, 2005

By Jim McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A nonjury trial began yesterday for a fugitive recovery agent charged with homicide in the shotgun shooting death last year of a bail jumper he was trying to apprehend.

A key question to be answered at the trial is what authority, if any, the bounty hunter, Mark Smith, 38, had to use deadly force.

Mr. Smith, a fugitive recovery agent for Liberty Bail Bonds Inc., Downtown, and his partner, Anthony McKay, had been tracking their suspect, Michael P. Robinson, 38, for several days. They found him Dec. 23, 2004, hiding behind a couch in the 600 block of Rising Main Avenue, a North Side residence that had no lighting or heat.

Mr. Smith has told investigators that, in the darkened living room, he believed that Mr. Robinson, a convict with a history of violent behavior, wielded a weapon to prevent his arrest.

George W. Lee, president of Liberty Bail Bonds, testified yesterday that, under Pennsylvania's criminal procedure rules, a bond recovery agent with a proper court order or warrant has the right to use any force necessary to arrest a fugitive.

Under questioning by Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning, Mr. Lee said the National Institute of Bail Enforcement recommends that agents be armed with shotguns.

"When you're dealing with people like Mr. Robinson, they don't want to be caught," Mr. Lee testified. "Sometimes these people can be dangerous."

Mr. Robinson, according to Mr. Smith's defense attorney, Michael DeRiso, was a habitual criminal with at least 12 felony convictions, including a number that included violent crimes.

He was convicted in 1989 of raping another male inmate with whom he had been in prison.

Mr. Robinson had been free on $20,000 bond last December while awaiting prosecution on drug and stolen property charges. When he failed to appear in Butler County court for jury selection, an arrest warrant was issued.

His former employer was notified that he would have to pay the $20,000 bond forfeiture for Mr. Robinson's failure to appear in court.

Mr. Smith reported that he found Mr. Robinson hiding behind a chair in the darkened room, refusing to surrender. The agent said that Mr. Robinson swiped at the agent's leg with a shiny silver object.

Mr. Robinson then lunged at the agent, causing Mr. Smith to take a step back and fire, police said. The slug hit Mr. Robinson in the hip and severed an artery.

Though Mr. Smith's weapon was found to be loaded with three rubber pellets, the slug that killed Mr. Robinson was made of lead.

A day after the shooting, homicide detectives searched the residence and found a nail clipper they said may have been wielded by Mr. Robinson.

Testimony will resume today.

Mr. Smith remains free on $25,000 bond.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Jim McKinnon can be reached at jmckinnon@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1939.)

_________________
Lance Allen Wilkinson
Recoveries by L.A.W.
Serving since 1984
“What is sought is found... what is overlooked escapes” (Oedipus Rex)

Columbus
Bounty Hunter Shoots Suspect

It was like a scene out of a television show. A Columbus man was shot by a bounty hunter while trying to get away

At this point, police have very few details about why this all happened. But they say the suspect was wanted on a jump bond and the bounty hunter intended on bringing him in.

The suspect didn't get far He was only able to get to this wooded area before the bounty hunter took him down...shooting him in the shoulder.

"He tried to wait on back up, by the time back up pulled up and that's when Scott ran out the back door."said Maurice Mallory, neighbor.

Scott Goodman is wanted for jumping bail. The bounty hunter tracked him to this trailer park on Old Cusseta Road before asking neighbors for his exact location. Goodman lived here for the past three months.

"The injured person is being taken to the hospital and the case is under investigation at this time."said Lt. Vince Pasko, Columbus Police.

Police did say the bounty hunter asked Goodman to leave his trailer peacefully. But a scuffle broke out and the suspect ran. Police say at one point the bounty hunter thought Goodman was reaching for a gun so he shot him.

Police say bounty hunters have more enforcement powers in certain situations because they can cross jurisdictional lines. The bounty hunter in this case was from Russell County, Alabama.

Columbus Police took both the bounty hunter and Goodman's wife in for questioning...as for Goodman..

"He worked with us for a couple of months and other than that I thought he was a straight guy, but evidently not."said Mallory.

As we said, Goodman was shot in the shoulder. His injuries are not life threatening. As for the bounty hunter, police are looking into whether this was a justified shooting.

In Columbus, Jon Kalahar, News Leader Nine.

BOUNTY HUNTERS tried to take man back to U.S. OVER $125 POT CHARGE
By GREG MCARTHUR
Wednesday, November 30, 2005

When two U.S. bounty hunters poked around a small Ontario town last year, sniffing out a wanted Canadian drifter and amateur country singer, it was just another day of knocking on doors and nabbing fugitives.
But that day might make international legal history if a provincial Crown attorney decides to order the bounty hunters, Bob Roberts, 62, and Reggie Bailey, 43, to be shipped back to Canada to answer to kidnapping charges.

On Nov. 14, 2004, the bounty hunters entered a home in Golden Lake, a village just east of Algonquin Park, and handcuffed Kenny Weckwerth, a 61-year-old grandfather who was wanted on drug-trafficking charges in Cleveland.

They put him in the back of a rental van and tried to haul him to Ohio, only to be thwarted by a wary U.S. border guard at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.

The Ontario Provincial Police launched an investigation and are set to charge the men, but only if Crown attorney Peter Barnes decides it's worth the time -- and money -- to have them extradited.
Depending on who you ask, or what side of the border you're sitting on, the bounty hunters are either heroes who helped clean up a country, or hired thugs who have no respect for Canada's sovereignty.

"You guys feel like we opened your refrigerator door without asking permission? Okay, you should be mad about that . . . but we tried to take away a bad apple," said Jeff Goldstein, the owner of ABC Bail Bonds, the company that hired Mr. Roberts (who later enlisted Mr. Bailey) to track down Mr. Weckwerth.

In the U.S., accused criminals get loans from private bail-bond companies. For a small fee, companies will loan thousands of dollars used to ensure bail. As long as the accused keeps going to court, the bail-bond company gets its money back and profits. If they flee like Mr. Weckwerth, the company loses thousands of dollars -- unless their bounty hunters track them down.

Bounty hunting is a legitimate and legal profession in many U.S. states. There's even a reality television show about the United States' most esteemed bounty hunter, a convicted murderer turned born-again Christian named Duane "Dog" Chapman.

Mr. Roberts declined to comment on the possible extradition, and his lawyer son, Bob Roberts Jr., would only say his father has "suffered greatly." The licensed bail bondsman spent more than three months in jail for lying to the U.S. border guard. He claimed that Mr. Weckwerth was a U.S. citizen and a friend who lost his identification at a Niagara Falls casino. Mr. Bailey is still in a Pennsylvania prison, serving time for the same offence.

But Mr. Weckwerth, a former car salesman who is known in the bars of the Upper Ottawa Valley for his country singing, insists he's the victim and says justice needs to be dished out on Canadian soil.
An Ohio judge sent him on his way after he pleaded guilty to the trafficking charge -- $125 worth of marijuana -- because of the time he served in Canada waiting to be extradited.

He remembers the arrest vividly: His girlfriend's dog started barking, and he looked out and saw the Ohio licence plates.
Before he knew it, he was in handcuffs, and his girlfriend was putting on his shoes for him.

In 1988, the U.S. and Canadian state departments signed a document, called A Memorandum of Understanding, that said it was an extraditable offence for "so-called" bounty hunters to enter either country and abduct citizens.

But Mr. Weckwerth acknowledges the ordeal wasn't so traumatic: The men eventually took the handcuffs off and even bought him a six-pack of Labatt Blue for the ride. He says he tried to warn them at the border that their plan wasn't going to work in a post-9/11 climate, but Mr. Roberts was undeterred. "I told him 'Just don't do it -- forget about it and drive back,' but he was an arrogant son of a bitch." "He said 'No, no, I can go to any country in the world. There's nowhere I can't go.' Who am I to argue? I'm in handcuffs and there's a 300-pound guy with him."

They're not the first bounty hunters to cause cross-border furor. Last month, three Las Vegas bounty hunters were arrested in El Salvador when they entered the country looking for an accused pedophile. Police say they impersonated FBI agents and the bounty hunters are still in jail.
Mr. Goldstein said Mr. Roberts and Mr. Bailey have been scarred by a man who doesn't deserve sympathy.

Mr. Weckwerth has been in and out of Canadian and U.S. jails on drug and fraud charges, and over the years has continued to sneak back into the U.S., even though he was deported in 1991. He has cost Mr. Goldstein about $40,000.

Mr. Roberts's lawyer says the men paid their debt, and that this shouldn't be about national pride.

"Do the people of Canada want retribution for this? Are they offended by this?" Larry Zukerman asked. "I bet if you took a poll, most people would applaud [Mr. Roberts] for what he did."

Phenix City
Charge Against Bounty Hunter Dismissed

Charges against a bounty hunter who shot a man this week have been dropped. Richard Ward shot Scott Goodman while trying to bring him in.

Richard Ward says he was just doing his job. And Ward says, despite what you see on t-v, bounty hunting is not glamorous at all. And can sometimes it can be life threatening.

Richard Ward has been a bounty hunter for five years. In that time, he's brought in several hundred people wanted by the courts...two hundred in this year alone. He thought Tuesday would be just like any other day. That was when he tried to arrest Scott Goodman.

<"He then jumped up and we started fighting from one end of the trailer to the other. Said he had an gun and I bailed out and called for back up."said Ward.

He says Goodman took that opportunity to run. Ward chased after him. And Ward believed Goodman was going to shoot him to get away.

"Never had to fire a shot and I've got this one altercation to where my life to me was on the line. It was everything, so I done what I had to do"said Ward

Ward says he knows his line of work is dangerous but for him it's all about putting the bad guys in here

And make no mistake, this bounty hunter says he makes a lot of money doing it. But he also gets a thrill finding a fugitive no one else can.

"I've gotten the reputation of being the "Dog" of the South. You see "Dog" on tv. I'm the "Dog" of this area. Because I get people, just like 1-2-3 Bail Bonds, they could not find Scott Goodman, I found him." said Ward.

The charges were dismissed against Richard Ward because Scott Goodman failed to show up as a witness in court today. You'll remember Goodman walked out of the medical center after being treated for the gun shot wound to the shoulder. He's still missing. And ward says if asked to find him again he probably would.

In Phenix City, Jon Kalahar, News leader Nine.

_________________
Lance Allen Wilkinson
Recoveries by L.A.W.
Serving since 1984
“What is sought is found... what is overlooked escapes” (Oedipus Rex)

His momma would be so proud of him being called the "Dog of the South".

Check the statement where he's brought in 200 fugitives in year 2005. Like I believe that! Yeah, he could definitely be another Chapman is he made such a claim.

_________________
Lance Allen Wilkinson
Recoveries by L.A.W.
Serving since 1984
“What is sought is found... what is overlooked escapes” (Oedipus Rex)

I can believe he has returned 200 Fugitives to Justice. Although this has been a VERY BAD year for me (only 186 re-arrests so far), 2001 was my BEST year to date - 215 re-arrests.

_________________
Steve Hedrick
Hedrick & Associates INVESTIGATIVE GROUP
Nederland, TX
TX PI LIC #A-09665
(409) 284-1895
http://360.yahoo.com/ftachaser357
"For every DEFENDANT that fails to appear in Court, there is a VICTIM seeking Justice"

Bringing in at least one every three days? I would still have to see the files to believe any of that.

_________________
Lance Allen Wilkinson
Recoveries by L.A.W.
Serving since 1984
“What is sought is found... what is overlooked escapes” (Oedipus Rex)

Actually Lance it would be one every 1.825 days according to my math, makes it look more unbelieveable. And to get 215 in a year it would come out to one every 1.70 days. Does not mean it has not been done just seems a little impossible.

I thought that I was doing pretty good with about 2 per week.

I don't care who tells me such numbers are true, I would have to see the records for myself.

_________________
Lance Allen Wilkinson
Recoveries by L.A.W.
Serving since 1984
“What is sought is found... what is overlooked escapes” (Oedipus Rex)