Bounty hunter charged in shooting
By Luis Ernesto Gomez/Staff Writer
A Santa Maria bounty hunter has been arrested a month after he allegedly shot several times at an occupied car on South Broadway, officials said.
Monday afternoon, Sylvester Swain, 49, was booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of shooting at an occupied vehicle, assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a loaded firearm in public, according to jail staff. Bail was set at $250,000.
Swain allegedly fired a 9 mm handgun at a 1994 Pontiac Grand Prix occupied by two men and two women in the rear parking lot of El Taco de Mexico in the 700 block of South Broadway, the night of Nov. 13, Santa Maria police said.
Swain claimed self-defense because, he told police, the Pontiac drove toward him. However, he continued to fire as the car drove away, police said.
Neither the driver, Carlos Perez, 40, nor the passengers - Maria Gonzalez, 44, Esperanza Sanchez, 21, and Anthony Aguilera, 41 - were injured, police said.
“He almost killed me,” Perez said in an interview with his attorney present. “We almost all got killed.”
It took a month for police and the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's office to file charges against Swain, mostly because additional evidence needed to be gathered, said Senior Deputy District Attorney Gene Martinez.
At the time of the shooting, Swain was reportedly looking for Fidel Alonso, 43, of Santa Maria who was accused of failing to appear in court and was wanted on a $40,000 felony bench warrant.
Information gathered by the bounty hunter led him to the restaurant where he allegedly identified himself, as required by law, to Perez around 9:15 p.m., police said.
In an interview in the presence of his attorney, Ben A. Romo Jr., Perez denied ever seeing Swain identify himself.
The day after the shooting, a sister of Swain described him as a family man who aspired to be a police officer but ended up working in construction. Through his sister, Swain declined to be interviewed.
Attempts to seek comment from Swain since then have been unsuccessful, and relatives have declined to comment.
Perez said he was picking up Gonzalez, his sister-in-law, from work. Sanchez and Aguilera were riding in the back seat, he added.
Police have not released many details of what happened that night, but Perez claims that Swain - a big, tall man - approached the car with his gun already drawn.
At that point, everyone in the car panicked, Perez said.
“I put on the gas and wanted to go out as soon as possible,” Perez said.
He said he heard Swain yell, “No. No. No!” as the Pontiac sped out of the parking lot and onto Jones Street.
Perez said he drove toward Swain, who stood near the sidewalk adjacent to Jones, but denies doing it intentionally.
Of the four shots that hit the Pontiac, one bullet entered the driver's side door and almost hit Perez's waist, according to a police report.
The other three bullets hit a lower place on the same door, the front fender of the driver's side, and a spot near the trunk, the report showed.
The Pontiac sped out of the parking lot, first on Jones and then north onto Broadway, where the front right wheel broke off as it hit a concrete center divider, police said.
Swain continued shooting but missed the car with other rounds and instead hit several businesses on the northeast corner of the intersection, police said.
One bullet shattered a front window of Santa Maria Hair Design, 628 S. Broadway. The business was closed at the time.
Police later stopped the car about a block north of Jones and took everyone into custody, but the four people in the car were released without charges.
As of Monday, Alonso remains at large.
Several bail agents, who typically hire bounty hunters, throughout the state heard the story quickly.
A member of the California Bail Agents Association immediately denounced Swain's actions.
Because no agency in the state issues licenses for bail fugitive recovery agents, anyone who acts as one must comply with a number of standards, according to California Law.
Any bounty hunter who is in the process of capturing a wanted suspect must carry a valid California security-guard card or a fugitive-recovery license issued in another state.
As of Monday night, police had not disclosed whether Swain had a security-guard card or whether he had a gun permit, which is also required by law.
Bounty hunters, who are typically hired by a bail agent, must wear identifying clothing or carry documents and must notify police six hours prior to capturing a bail fugitive.
Swain made that call to Santa Maria police that night, police said.
And though Santa Maria police have worked with bounty hunters in the past, Lt. Kendall Greene said this is the first time one has used a firearm. And this is the first case he knows about that involved an arrest of a bounty hunter who used a firearm, Greene added.
“When he made contact with the vehicle, he did not stop and call the police department for them to handle the situation once it got out of control,” Greene said.
“Why that didn't happen, I don't know.”
Romo, who says will be representing Perez in civil court, says he's ready to file a lawsuit.
“We'll be seeking damages to Mr. Perez including battery, assault, attempt to commit bodily injury, among other things,” Romo said.
“I think it's something that needs to be addressed, and these people who were affected by it deserve it.”
Luis Ernesto Gomez can be reached at 739-2218, or
lgomez@santamariatimes.com.
December 19, 2006
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. I was happy, however, that I only missed one shot, from about 30 foot in the final test.
