Guns and Drugs

Hey everyone. I'm new to the recovery business and I had a quick question.

Let's say I've arrested a fugitive at their house. I have found a gun, drugs, or both. What would the best plan of action? Should I turn the items over to the police at the jail when I hand over my fugitive or leave them at the house?

I just curious if I could get in trouble for having these items with me.

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"I think the Constitution should be used less as a shield for the guilty, and more as a sword for their innocent victims." -Sam Waterston

Well if the Police are there doing a stand by to "keep the Peace" they will be all over that . . . . Do NOT put it in your vehicle . . . then YOU own it . . . your word against the individual's as to whom it belongs

Others will be along directly to let you know their own personal opinions.

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Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

I can see the potential problem. Like you're saying, it could turn into a "it's not my ___" situation, but I can't leave these items at the location.

Should I call the cops for that type of issue? But if they get called, they might want to take the fugitive as well, which means no $ for me.

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"I think the Constitution should be used less as a shield for the guilty, and more as a sword for their innocent victims." -Sam Waterston

Here in Miami, FL and in other parts of Florida as well ...finding Drugs / Guns are a common thing ...

if we find Guns / Weapons... ANYONE may own a gun here... with or without a Concealed Weapons Permit.. so basically .. our call here is .. any guns/weapon stays in the apartment / house / vehicle.. and off to jail we go .. we are not the Police / Narcotics / DEA / ATF...

if we find drugs.. all I want is the target .. the illegal drugs get flushed or destroyed or go down the sewer...if s/he is an azzh**e, then I let them flush / destroy them for me ..if it is prescription medication with their name on the bottle I leave it in the house / auto ..(they will get medical care at the jail if they needs their Meds..), after you clear the house and have your subject and have Police Standing by outside .. you may if you like, want to notify the Police that there are drugs in the house.. but, ALL I WANT to do is to get that person booked into jail and get paid on the recovery .. and then hit happy hour

..remember ... it may be very possible that ONE DAY you might see these people you arrest again in the street or while you are with your family..the last thing you want to do is have a confrontation when you are not expecting it ...sometimes these defendant's have absolutely nothing to lose and want payback..and they will remember that you disrespected them or treated them bad while you apprehended them and they might do something very stupid in public with the grudge that they have been holding with you.. maybe even go so far as to walk up on you and start messing with you or a family member.... so in my opinion ... if you treat everyone you come across with respect you may have to worry less about retribution one day after s/he gets out of jail .. of course if the deft. is a jerk treating them with kindness and respect sometimes goes out of the window .. but I still try and keep the physical and verbal altercations with the defendant to a minimum and get that defendant to the Jail ASAP without incident or giving them a "Dog" speech....it is usually a very quiet ride to the jail when I do pick ups.. Just my Pandora Music playing and the Cage Partition stays SHUT ! I tell them the window does not slide open.. I cant hear you .. so wait until we get to the jail..

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JEFF P.
Limited Surety Agent (FL) - License # P_2O8124_
Private Investigator (FL) - License # C_27OOO33_
NABBI Member



"Surprise Sex is the Best Thing to Wake up to, UNLESS, You are in Jail... "

What Jeff said, not to mention being called in to court on your dime to testify to the chain of custody of evidence.

This happened to Brian Smith of Paradigm Investigations and me, we apprehended a guy with a Mac 11, and it was a talk down/cool down 45 minute conversation to get into the defendant's head and safely extricate ourselves with the defendant. I explained that I wasn't a cop and "Parts are parts" so take the gun apart and hide the pieces under your bottom dresser drawer. He asked for help, I said I am no good on mechanical stuff. He field stripped it and did what he was told. Now we were safe because the weapon was his prized possession and it now could not be used to attack us. Once in custody, I called the US Marshall that asked for the help on this case, Nate Peterson, and I explained that we had the guy and he had been shot in the leg. Turns out, this guy was the murderer of another drug dealer, who he killed with the aforementioned Mac 11, and was shot in the leg by the now deceased victim, but no witnesses would talk.

Those that have been to my office have seen this guys picture on my wall of shame!

Scott

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R.E. "Scott" MacLean III

"Leaders are like Eagles, you never see them in a flock, but one at a time"

Chesapeake Group Investigations, Inc.
Chesapeake Bail Bonds
877-574-0500
301-392-1100 (fax)
301-392-1900 (Office)

your question has been answered above. So just to reiterate:
1 your job is to exonerate your client's bond. PERIOD. Nothing more, nothing less.
2 whatever else you see/find is outside the scope of the mission. It doesn't concern you.

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

Those were very helpful answers. I want to thank all of you for helping me out!!

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"I think the Constitution should be used less as a shield for the guilty, and more as a sword for their innocent victims." -Sam Waterston

The above advice is very good. I will add one piece.

We carry a small video recorder on each of us to reduce false accusations. If something in the residence that may be illegal, just happened to show up in that video, it will probably be sent promptly to the appropriate authorities. As others have said, your primary focus is getting the defendant to jail. If you have 'evidence' after the fact then you could possibly send it on. Sometimes those appropriate authorities really appreciate it and sometimes they don't care. Otherwise don't touch it, don't poke it, don't smell, don't move it. Pretend it's not there.

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Jeff D.
Gauntlet Professional Services
Fugitive Recovery, Bail Bonds, Process Servers, Investigations, Security, Training,
State Approved Courses for POST and DIFP
Located in Central/Southwest Missouri/St. Louis/Kansas City
417.309.0582

I concur with all that has been said prior to this post....

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Domestic Security Investigations
P.O. Box 4462
Rockville, MD 20849
Tel: 1-800-387-0787
Anti-Moral Majority Club President
"Fear not the unknown, Fear the person who controls the unknown" Gene 7:14

This is a delicate question, really. In the circumstance that a gun and/or drugs is found in plain view, do as the others said, and handle you business exonerating the bond. Note the type of drugs and/or gun in your personal file, in the event that you have to pick them up again. However, if the person is a convicted felon and/or is being picked up for charges relating to the gun/drug charges, notify dispatch of what you found as you notify them that you've picked up your defendant and are en route to the jail. Let them know where you found it and description of said items and that you have NOT touched said items. IF they wish for you to stay at the scene as a request to secure items visually, do so. You will be surprised at the positive influence and appreciation the officers will have and your reputation with them will increase because of your professionalism. MOST IMPORTANTLY, if there are children in the home and said items are there with no other person to care for them, DO NOT LEAVE until the police have arrived and released you to take your Defendant to jail. Most of the time, if the police decide to charge the Defendant for any of the said items, they will either cite them and release them to you, add the charges later at the jail after completing their investigation, or want to take your Defendant.

If they choose to take the Defendant, have them sign off your paperwork (TCR (LV, NV), Bond Revocation Form, or what ever your AO uses. Also, create a Receipt of Prisoner form that is designed specifically for Police Officers. Make sure this form has all the Defendant info, charges, jail info, a place for the Officer (with Badge #) to sign, AND most importantly a place for the Event Number that Dispatch has assigned to the Case... including the Event Number assigned to you by dispatch when you have informed them prior to arriving at the address (if those agencies give that info to you).... There will always be an event number tied to all your call-ins... You just have to ask for it... Note when you cleared your call on the Receipt of Prisoner. You can use this to get paid, as well as create a paper trail.

You job is to exonerate the bond. That means by:

Returning them to their jurisdiction jail
Getting them to turn themselves in
Be the Cause of their Re-Arrest (which includes Police taking them into custody)
Death Certificate
Getting them to the Bondsman (by directed or personal surrender, per client request)

The paper trail proves you were the cause of their Re-Arrest. It ties you directly to the apprehension.



I hope this helps, but always know that your State Laws will always come first. Don't play Police Officer, but don't be afraid to give them free information. On a positive note, if they are charged with said items, and they bond out again... if they FTA, at least you are increasing the bondsmans premium and your cash flow later.

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Timothy Soule
Soule & Associates Investigations
Sheridan, WY
307-763-3134

"As Professional Bail Enforcement Agents, we secure the Risk of the Surety by lawfully protecting the interest of not only the safety and security of our Clients and their Surety Agencies, but their Indemnitors and Defendants as well."