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| Author: | Yak [ Sat 08 Aug 2009 09:32 ] |
| Post subject: | Interesting ..... |
http://blogs.discovery.com/criminal_rep ... taubs.html Bounty Hunter William "Cobra" Staubs Wants His Freedom Back August 07, 2009 One of the people at the center of the Haleigh Cummings case is William Eugene Staubs, aka "Cobra," a bounty hunter from Fort Lauderdale, FL, who has been involved in several high profile cases over the years, including the O.J. Simpson case and the take-down of an alleged terrorist in Fort Campbell, KY. Despite an impressive record, which, by his count, includes the capture of over 8,000 fugitives – 199 of whom he says were child molesters – Staubs now finds himself at the center of his own criminal investigation – a case which he claims has been manufactured to silence him. According to Staubs, he got involved in the Haleigh case just weeks after the tot was reporting missing by her father, Ronald Cummings. "Pastor Richard Grund (father of Jesse Grund – Casey Anthony's former fiancé) got a call from a woman who was involved in the case, and she told him that there was something really wrong going on in this little girl's disappearance," Staubs said in an interview with Criminal Report Daily. "She said 'we need some type of investigator. These people are poor; they don't have any money.' So Pastor Grund contacted me, and we discussed it. I asked him what he thought and he said, 'I will tell you right now; it isn't going to be easy. It is going to be dangerous, so I suggest you prepare yourself.' So I called journalist Art Harris and asked him to come down to Satsuma to go behind the scenes with me, and I headed down there to get started." Staubs says that within his first week in Satsuma he was able to meet with Haleigh's family and local police, during which time he uncovered a lot of inside information in the case. In addition, he also claims to have actively searched wooded areas in an attempt to find Haleigh. "I worked an average of 20 to 22 hours a day every day," Staubs said. "Art Harris went with me, probably 5 to 7 days; in some cases, 16 hours a day. I conducted interviews and intense searches on land and in the swamps. I had to do stuff in the middle of the night because, you know, if you are walking around, somebody would shoot you. Also, I wanted to get into the underground, so I checked clients to see who is out on bond, and I got a list of names. I took that list, and I met with the sheriff, FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) and the assistant state prosecutor for Putnam County. I met with all these people, opened up all these files, laid them out and asked them if they had a problem if I go out for these folks right here. They asked me what I wanted them for, and I told them that some of them are wanted back by the bail bond agent and other ones I wanted to talk to and see where they are and, chances are, we might be revoking a few of them. They didn't have any problem whatsoever. Art Harris also filmed some of that and watched that interview go down." One of the people Staubs was zeroing in on was a man who was free on bail after being arrested for alleged sex abuse. The individual caught Staubs' attention because of his alleged crimes and his allegations that he had attempted to donate furniture to the Haleigh Bug Center, a place where search volunteers would meet up. According to Staubs, the man's visit to the center – where children are often present – was a direct violation of the individual's bond. Staubs says he contacted the agency that held the bond and then went to the man's house on March 20, to pick him up. "The insurance company that guaranteed the bond gave me the file," Staubs said. "I am a licensed agent with full arrest powers and everything, so I called the law to tell them I was going. When I got out there, I blew the horn and I heard a shotgun or something go off. I called the police and said 'There's a problem,' and the defendant started screaming at me, so now we are off to a real bad start." Moments after arriving on the scene, Staubs was joined by two police officers, who stood watch as he threw the man to the ground and handcuffed him (click here to view video of the event as shot by Art Harris) before putting him into his vehicle for transport to the county jail. It was during that trip that Staubs says he received a call from people at the insurance company, who, he claims, said they had changed their mind, and told him to release the man. Click here to continue reading this story > The company in question, Continental Heritage, has not returned calls to Criminal Report Daily regarding the case; however, in a May interview with artharris.com, they said they never gave Staubs permission to make the pick-up. "Cobra called me to say what he wanted to do, and I made clear [that] he in no way represented Chuck's Bail Bonds, C.E. Parish or Continental Insurance. As a private citizen, he can go talk to someone, but I told him, 'Do not represent yourself as an agent of the company," general agent Roger Capener told Harris, adding, "I just don't understand Cobra. He's made pickups before, even caught a terrorist with bombs. But after he called a friend of mine in the business to intercede for him on Snodgrass, I said, 'Where is this guy coming from?' Then he calls back and says, 'Don't worry, I got the guy handcuffed.' I said, 'Are you CRAZY? Are you nuts? Have you lost your mind?' You don't do things like that, even if you have permission from a company to go talk to a guy.' He's a loose cannon. Who would give permission to wrestle a guy to the ground and put handcuffs on him? That's an instant lawsuit in our business … What Cobra did was stupid." As a result of the incident, Staubs was arrested and charged with a single felony count of false imprisonment. He was placed in the county jail and held for a brief period of time before being released on a $5,000 bond. "They told me that what I done was illegal and I asked them to please look at the state statute - that I am equal to a police officer and that I have the right of arrest and I can detain him for as long as I need to," Staubs said. "It doesn't say in the statute that if, at any time, the insurance company starts arguing with the pickup guy, that you can charge him with false arrest or false imprisonment. You can't. They violated me … What it's come down to is the insurance company is trying to protect their assets and everything. They say we never authorized him, so now I am in a fight … They are charging me with one statute and another statute says I am innocent." Staubs believes that the entire ordeal came about, in part, due to information he uncovered in the Haleigh case – information that he says made certain people uncomfortable. "I tried to help them in any way I could," he said. "Me being a bondsman and a private investigator, I can work real good. [If] they didn't want me there, they should have had the nerve [to tell me] just like they told Geraldo [Rivera] to leave [and] Tim [Miller] from EquuSearch to leave. They should have told me, 'Hey Cobra, we got this. I appreciate everything you tried to do, but we got this and you're kinda making some folks nervous.'" According to Staubs, prosecutors have offered him a deal in exchange for admitting he was wrong; however, he claims to have turned it down. "They offered a deal. They tried to give me a PTI [pre trial intervention]. Well a PTI is 18 months, but the problem is there is a clause in there that I have to admit that I did wrong. If I did that - being an officer of the county - my testimony would no longer be reliable." If convicted of the charge against him, Staubs faces a 5 year prison term and the possible revocation of his bondsman license. Neither option is very appealing to him; however, he says the possibility that he might miss his daughter's upcoming wedding weighs on him even more. "It isn't right," Staubs said. "I missed my momma's birthday [and] now my daughter is getting married [in Canada] on the 22nd. I am supposed to take my momma to Canada. I got her passport and everything ready, but I am now $35,000 dollars in the negative trying to fight this. I am already running a deficit. I mean I was way bad in [debt] but now they have took away my ability to earn a living because, right now, I can't throw anybody on the ground. I can't kick in nobody's doors … I am on the verge of mental crisis here, from going just flat out teary-eyed, to can't get your thoughts together, to rage, like how could they do this to somebody? This is America, for God sakes." In addition to his fears, Staubs also has regrets and wonders now whether he should have ever gotten involved in the Haleigh Cummings case. "I probably shouldn't have [gone] up in there trying to help nobody, I reckon, because a good deed was punished for sure. I just want to get my freedom back. I don't care if I have to move to Belize or something. [They should] leave me alone. Let me figure out how to get my life back [and] get my money back so I can get to my daughter's wedding. I ain't no dadgum zero. I am a hero." Neither the bail bond agency involved in the case nor the Putnam County Sheriff's Office returned calls for comment. Online Surveys & Market Research |
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| Author: | tsuggs [ Sat 08 Aug 2009 14:49 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Interesting ..... |
What a EGO! Geez. "I can't throw anybody on the ground or kick in a door." "I'm equal to a police officer." "I ain't no dadgum zero. I am a hero." Sounds like he has lost it. |
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| Author: | Yak [ Sat 08 Aug 2009 18:37 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Interesting ..... |
I'm with you on this Tony. When he boasts over 8000 arrests, I assume that he's related to to the HI Mullet. ... Another one ... LOL .... |
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| Author: | DSI [ Mon 10 Aug 2009 16:33 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Interesting ..... |
WTF !!!, this guy sounds as if he is very bad for any type of business, less more this line of work. |
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| Author: | KARMA [ Mon 10 Aug 2009 17:05 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Interesting ..... |
Gene . . . you know it is all the 'glam' |
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| Author: | AndyL [ Tue 11 Aug 2009 00:32 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Interesting ..... |
Once again, here I am playing the devils advocate. Yeah, it sounds like he is cracking up. But who wouldnt be? I know if my income source was suddenly cut off, I would be in panic mode as well. I have bills and mortgages to pay too. I dont know that we are getting the whole story here. Everyone here knows as well as I do that general agents can and do change their minds. I dont know what happened. Ive said this before. I hired Cobra on a job and he did fantastic. He has done other good things that are much higher profile than what he did for me. I dont know about the 8k comment, that sounds a bit extreme? But something sounds fishy here. I didnt watch the videos here. I dont know, and neither do you, all the facts. If he was wrong, he needs to face the music. But if he did have the file from the bonding company, doesnt that lead you to believe they most likely approved him revoking the bond? Keep in mind Im not totally familiar with FL law. Isnt it possible that hes telling the truth? He went to revoke the bond, with the paperwork, LE on the scene, after things turned ugly and he ended up taking the guy down hard, a family member or friend on the scene called the bondsman raising hell and threatening a lawsuit? The bondsman decided the best course of action was to throw Cobra under the buss to save their own azz? Im just playing what if. I thought somebody should since all Im hearing is negative on this. I konw that I wouldnt have a problem using him again. He did me right and saved me money. |
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| Author: | speezack [ Thu 13 Aug 2009 19:04 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Interesting ..... |
My only thought is in agreement with Andy to this end... if he did in fact have the case files, Quote: "The insurance company that guaranteed the bond gave me the file," Staubs said. "I am a licensed agent with full arrest powers and everything, so I called the law to tell them I was going. When I got out there, I blew the horn and I heard a shotgun or something go off. I called the police and said 'There's a problem,' and the defendant started screaming at me, so now we are off to a real bad start." In Florida there are no BEA people, so if he is in fact a licensed bondsman and a PI in FLorida can he not do a pickup if authorized by the bonding company? If he is not licensed then that ends it all anyway. So he says he got the case files from the surety company, so unless he broke in their office and took them... I tend to think they gave them to him for a reason.... and that reason was <<________________________ >> fill in the blank. He does seem a bit over the top however, but that is not the main issue here, is it? Only two issues I can see... 1. is he licensed as a bondsman in Florida and 2. if he is licensed did the surety give him the files and if so for what purpose... also, was there other paperwork as in contract (I spelled it wrong first.... contact)?? |
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| Author: | AndyL [ Thu 13 Aug 2009 21:36 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Interesting ..... |
Bill, when Cobra did that job for me in Miami, I flew down to take her back to MO. I met him and we talked a long while. He is an intense inividual. Takes the job very serious. He works hard at it. He was driving a Tahoe with the very back caged off for his dog, and some supplies storage. He had a cage between the middle seat and front seats for prisonsers, just like a patrol car. He had a laptop and fax machine in the front with him. He was set up to work and work he did. He may be stretching his numbers he claims some, alot do in this business, but it was pretty obvious to me he was doing alot of apprehensions at the time. The bondsman that turned me on to him to do that job backed up the claim that he was the best and most reliable in the area. He may well have gotten his teat in a wringer this time, but there are holes, as we both pointed out, that dont make sense. At that time, he said to abide by FL law, he held a bonding license and hung his shingle with a local general. He said he wrote just a few bonds a year so he could legitimatly keep his license but mainly did BEA work. If he did wrong, toss him under the bus. He needs to pay for it. But somebody is lying. I got a gut feeling its the bonding company, like I said, trying to avoid a lawsuit. I could be wrong, but that scenario seems to be the most logical, especially since he had the file on the guy. I doubt serioiusly he broke in and stole it. |
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| Author: | Kathy [ Thu 13 Aug 2009 21:55 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Interesting ..... |
As with anybody that pushes the limit to accomplish a goal, I think that COBRA probably did what he felt was right, gathered his research, and info, and when the others involved felt the heat, withdrew their support. It happens every day. I'm not saying whether he did or not cross the line. Sometimes arrogance works for us, sometimes it works against us. Human nature is such that individuals tend to use whatever is self-serving to themselves, no matter the truth. I tend to equate arrogance and self-serving defenses on the same level, and I don't care for either of them. I am what I am, and I respect others that are the same. |
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| Author: | Yak [ Fri 14 Aug 2009 05:56 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Interesting ..... |
Andy, Your outlook and point makes a lot of sense. I wasn't condemning him, but rather pointing out what seems to be his attention level which is To each their own. I personally believe that this is connected somehow to his investigation and again, attention defficiency as to getting involved with the Haleigh Cummings case down in Fla. http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice ... aleigh.php This is a bit similar as to how Dogpile did it with the exception of keeping it our own Country. The downside to this notoriety is that your going to be condemned three fold for the slightest mishap or mistake that falls your way. Sometimes it's better to leave the camcorder at home. ......... Just my personal opinion. |
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