A judge has ruled that the bail for an employee of AJ’s Bail Bonds will stand at $1 million.  The woman in question, Janelle Llorens, and the business owner, John Pontillo, have been accused of “holding clients against their will” in attempt to extort additional payments beyond the initially agreed upon bail bond premium.  A third bail bondsman associated with AJ’s Bail Bonds has been charged with conspiracy to commit grand theft.

The Modesto Bee has reported that Llorens’ attorney had requested a reduction in bail but the motion was denied.  The defendants are scheduled to appear for their pre-trial hearing on Aug. 31.

Llorens and Pontillo were arrested in Sept. 2011 after the results of a four-year investigation showed the pair willfully committed insurance fraud.   The ploy involved submitting documents to the Stanislaus County court to indicate bail skips had been apprehended.  At that point they engaged in an elaborate conspiracy to commit at least six counts of kidnapping against former clients for the sole purpose of extorting additional premium payments.

Those kidnapped were taken to the AJ’s Bail Bonds office where they were handcuffed to a stair case.  They were told they would be surrendered to jail if the additional premium was not immediately paid.  Some of those kidnapped were eventually released.  Others were surrendered without cause.

The California Department of Insurance (CDI), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department worked jointly to investigate the case.   The defendants are being prosecuted by the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.

Reportedly, Peterson had previously told a client she would need $3,000 in cash collateral which would be held in case the person being bailed decided to flee.  The client was told that as long as the defendant made all of her necessary court appearances the money would be returned in full.  Prosecutors said despite the defendant attending all of her hearings and the judge having exonerated the bail, the money was never returned.

Approximately one year later, they said, Peterson also forged bail bonds documents in the amount of $720,000 in order to get her cousin’s husband out of jail.  The defendant fled once he was released from custody, did not appear in court, and a $1 million warrant was issued for his arrest.  The insurance company named on the bonds was contacted to be informed they would be responsible for paying the forfeited bail, it was determined that “none of the four bond numbers were valid”.   Three had been previously used to bail out other defendants and one had not been issued. The defendant was eventually re-arrested and taken into custody.

Peterson was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years probation.

The plan was first implemented in Oct. 2011 after the legislature passed a law which reassigned thousands of non-violent, non-sexual and non-serious offenders from state prisons to county facilities. Riverside Sheriff Stan Sniff said that Riverside jails have been booking approximately 200 new inmates in every month.   Beds are quickly filling, he said, and approximately 1,500 low-level county offenders have been granted early release. Sniff said deputies are continuing to sort out which inmates are the “best of the worst” and thus qualify for shortened sentences.

The Vacaville Reporter wrote that Sniff believes those decisions equate to a craps shoot because the “crystal ball only goes so far”.

Riverside law enforcement officials said they have received reports of increases in property crimes. Some released inmates have also been arrested after committing new, serious crimes. Yet with the realignment having been implemented less than a year ago, it is still too soon to tell whether there is a statistical trend.

The increase in prisoner capacity is impacting other counties as well.  Orange County jails, for example, have reported a 10% increase in prisoner populations.   A county spokesperson said they are considering a pre-trial release program which would require defendants wear a GPS device.

San Bernardino jails have begun releasing an average of 290 offenders a day, an increase of approximately 30 percent, in order to make room for newly transferred inmates.

ACLU attorney Allen Hopper said he hopes local sheriffs will begin to take a closer look at alternatives to incarceration as a means of reducing jail overcrowding.

This is becoming a major issue as the state’s realignment plan gets underway. Many convicted offenders will be going into the county jail populations to serve their sentences instead of state prisons. This will lead to a rise in the number of people being housed in county jails. County officials are looking at ways to bring down the number of inmates in jail to avoid overcrowding.

It is estimated that about 33.75% of Los Angeles County’s inmate population could be reduced if they could (or would) pay to bail themselves out, either by paying the full bail amount or the 10% premium that is charged by commercial bail agents. LA County Sheriff Lee Baca is focusing on the number of bailable inmates. He is looking for any alternative’s to bail, including ankle bracelet monitoring, but this is a costly solution for any county and requires cooperation from everyone.

However, statistically the commercial bail industry has proven to be the most effective form of pretrial release. The purpose of bail is not to allow every defendant to get out of jail; it is to ensure that the defendant will return to court. If the reason for bail was simply to release defendants, there would be no reason to require a bail. The point of bail is to give defendants a financial incentive to return to court once they are released.

Studies have shown that people who have a monetary liability, or whose family member has a monetary liability, that is dependent upon their return to court, show up for court as required. Bail agents also have a financial liability when they post bail for someone, so they, too, will ensure that the person goes to court.

People who are released on their own recognizance or by some other means do not have a good record of returning to court.

The lawsuit was aimed at Solano County bail bondsman Tim Toler. In 2009, it is alleged that Toler showed up at the couple’s home demanding to know the whereabouts of a fugitive. The Gordon’s stated that Toler had a concealed weapon and told them that he could make the couple “go away” just as he’d done with others like them.

The couple called the police and Toler was arrested and charged with multiple felonies that included possessing a concealed weapon and making criminal threats.

Toler sued the Gordon’s in 2009 for allegedly interfering with his bail business but the suit was dropped. He filed another suit in 2010 after the couple cooperated with the Department of Insurance in an investigation into his bail bonds license. The Gordon’s filed a countersuit for alleged assault and vexatious litigation. Toler dropped his suit on Monday before the cases went to trial.

According to the Times-Harald, Toler has been no stranger to lawsuits over the years. He sued the city of Vacaville for his arrest in 2008 and was paid $40,000. He also won a lawsuit against the Solano County District Attorney’s Office three years ago for $230,000. Toler is a former police officer and even attempted to run against Gary Stanton for Solano County Sheriff in 2010. His campaign stopped after a judge ruled that he was not qualified for the position.

It’s always unfortunate to hear about bad actors in the bail industry. If you need a Vallejo bail bondsman, call someone with integrity.

The facility was given no criticisms. The conditions in the past have led to plans for a new facility. Groundbreaking for the new jail are set for this summer.

There are several challenges being faced by officials with the detention facilities for women. One includes the increased need to separate multiple categories of inmates. Twelve percent of inmates had to be kept away from general population in 2008 because they were sexually violent, in protective custody or some other reason. This number has grown to eighteen percent.

Because of the state’s new realignment plan, the grand jury believes that this figure will continue to rise. According to state officials, however, only non-violent offenders will be sent to county jails.

The sole recommendation of the grand jury was for the county to provide parental visitation on Saturdays at a girls’ juvenile rehabilitation facility.

The Probation Department must respond to the report by the end of July.

The previous budget for these programs was $500,000. It was voted on Thursday to reduce the amount to $122,000. Instead, that money will go to the county jails.

State legislators have been pushing for more focus on rehabilitation instead of incarceration, which was the main purpose of the law to reduce the number of inmates in state prisons.

The county had previously agreed to a budget of $6.1 million from state funding in order to reopen a wing of the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center. Questions were raised, however, about Sheriff Scott Jones’ spending. Under the revised budget, Jones set the jail costs for new inmates at $14.2 million.

The new budget will also move $1.8 million from home detention and pretrial release programs into the budget for the jail. Jones hopes that questions about spending costs for new offenders can finally be put to rest.

Four-legged residents of downtown Los Angeles are happy to get at any amount of green-space they can, say their owners, and the pups are thankful they can make good use of the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters emergency staging area.

The grassy knoll adjacent to the LAPD Metropolitan Center Jail on 2nd Street between Main and Spring Streets has long been functioning as a make-shift dog park, according to a recent story by the LA Times.  At the same time, the one-acre area isn’t technically a park.

At the same time, the Los Angeles Police Department says they are happy to share.  A Department representative said they don’t have the funds to maintain the area, but thanks to residents and dog-owners, the space is weeded, mowed, and cared for on a regular basis.

Signage requesting dog owners keep their pets leashed is often ignored, but since the dogs aren’t causing any harm, police are turning a blind-eye to the violation.

In addition to being a great place for dogs to socialize, residents say it’s a great place to interact with local neighbors.  The Department has indicated they’re pleased the green space outside the LAPD Headquarters has become an area so many Los Angelenos can enjoy.

The San Diego Union Tribune reported that the realignment, which was supposed to help close California’s budget gap and reduce state prison overcrowding is having a negative impact on county detention operations.  Under the program detainees who have been convicted of non-violent, non-sexual and non-serious crimes have been transferred to local jails to serve their sentences.

Gore said that as an effect, many of San Diego’s jails are at or nearing capacity. Maximum inmate capacity in San Diego is 5,600, the Tribune reported, and as of last week approximately 4,900 inmates were currently detained.  Persons booked on misdemeanor charges spend an average of 13 days in custody.  Approximately 200 of the current 4,900 inmates are being held for misdemeanor offenses.

Other offenders are having their sentences cut short.   In January 2012 the San Diego Sheriff’s Department authorized early release for some inmates in order to create immediate bed space.

San Diego District Attorney Jan Goldsmith said that shifting state problems to local governments was creating safety risks.  A more meaningful solution, he said, would have involved cutting unnecessary state spending.

Ming Qu and Ying Wu were fatally shot in a drive-by shooting earlier this month.  The students had been chatting in a BMW when the gunman approached.  Property and other personal effects were later found to be missing from the vehicle.   The suspect remains at large.

The Los Angeles Times had reported USC will be installing additional security cameras in addition to accepting additional police presence.  They further reported that Los Angeles will now dedicate a city prosecutor to investigate crimes taking place on or close to the campus and an LAPD Detective and four additional officers will be assigned to “work on and around campus with USC safety officials.”

LAPD spokesperson Andrew Smith said the additional officers will equate to a 7.5% increase to the Southwest Division’s current presence.   The officers are not new-hires, he said, but will be transferred to the Southwest Division from other areas.  The Department intends to use the additional manpower to conduct more frequent checks on local gang members and local parolees.

USC said they will cover most of the LAPDs increased personnel costs for this shift.   Those arrested near on on USC may wish to consult with a USC bail bonds company for assistance.