George Tucker as he is release from the Denver Jail

George Thomas Tucker, pictured above, is wanted for failure to appear in court for driving under restraint. He has an extensive history of DUI and driving without a valid license.

He is described as follows: 6’2″ tall, 230 lbs with blue eyes and gray hair. His DOB is 5/31/1942.

Mr. Tucker has a history of alcohol driving related offenses and may be described as a functional alcoholic. He works as an engineering consultant and was believed to be working in the Houston, TX area. He reported his specialty to be in power plant design and had been working with ThyssenKrupp while in Denver.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Mr. Tucker, please call 720-284-9764. You may be eligible for a reward.

Life often presents us with opportunities to choose an action. The choice we make reveals our true character, who we are as people. This past week, my family had such an opportunity and I’m proud of the choice they made.

My son-in-law, Jeff, is also a bondsman. He runs his own business separately from mine, but we work very cooperatively together and talk several times a day. He called me the other day to talk over a situation. It seems that a young woman called him to do a bond for her, but she had little money to pay for it. He listened to her story and decided that he needed to help her. He wanted to know what I thought.

She is a young, single mother, with four children. She had gotten a traffic ticket a few months ago and had failed to appear in court. She contacted the court to see about setting a new date but, they were not interested. They told her she had to post a bond to get a new date. She had contacted several bondsmen, prior to Jeff, and they all told her that they would not help her. Some even accused her of being crazy for suggesting that they do this type of a bond.

Jeff asked her why she missed the court date and she replied that she had been waiting for an appointment at social service agency to receive food for her children. That appointment conflicted with the court date, so she chose to take care of her children. I’d make the same choice. How about you?

Jeff called the court clerk’s office to talk about the case and see if they would reschedule the date. The clerk replied that the woman could have made going to court a “priority” and been there. She was unwilling to help. I think that this woman did have a “priority” on that day and she made the right choice. So, Jeff decided to help her out and do a walk-thru bond and get her a new court date. This, despite the fact that she could not afford the normal fee. He asked me if I thought he was crazy for doing this. I told him no, I would likely do the same thing.

Jeff met with the woman later that day to do the bond and called me shortly thereafter. He said that she was absolutely the right person to help out and was glad that he did it. He related more of her circumstances and said that he wanted to do something for her children for Christmas. I told him that I was in. He replied that he had already talked to another friend, Sharon,and she said that she wanted to help. We were on a mission to make Christmas for someone that we didn’t even know.

My wife, Nancy, was in Boston for her mother’s birthday that weekend. She call me to talk and I related the story to her. I wanted to recruit her to help as she is an “olympic calibre” shopper. However, before I could ask, she jumped in an volunteered to go out and buy gifts for the kids. I’m a lucky guy.

Nancy related the story to several others who said “that’s so nice.” However, one friend, Penny, not only said “that’s nice”, she also said “I’m in.”

We delivered Christmas to this family yesterday. The children were gone, so they will not know of our involvement. Santa is going to look pretty good this year. This is a very deserving family and I am pleased that someone in my family, Jeff, recognized the circumstances and was so willing to help.

So, I’ve learned a lot about friends and family in the past week. They were presented with an opportunity to reveal their true character and I’m very proud of who they are.

“Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time i the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish. Christmas , in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself.” – Francis C Farley

Jeremy Van Trump is wanted for failure to appear for three cases in Clear Creek County, Colorado. He is described at  as a White Male, 5’10″ tall and weighing 160 lbs. He has blond hair and blue eyes. His DOB is 6/4/1983. His last known residence was in Evergreen, Colorado. However, he has ties to Golden and Lakwood, Colorado as well as Armstrong, Iowa.

Van Trump had two vehicles registered in his name. The first is a 1994 Chevrolet Pick Up with Colorado Tag 149-VDF. The second is a 1998 Saab with Colorado Tag 150-VDF.

Anyone coming into contact with this fugitive is asked to call 720-284-9764. You will remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

The cost of a bail bond in Colorado is regulated by the State Legislature. As of this writing, the State of Colorado has set 15% as the maximum fee that a bondsman may charge and the standard rate charged is filed with the Division of Insurance by the Insurance company that the bail agent represents. The rates charged by bail agents cannot exceed 15% but, they may be less than 15% if the risk seems less than the standard.

Many people who need to purchase a bail bond have no idea what goes in to making the decision as to what rate should be charged. They simply look for the lowest rate they can find but don’t understand that the lowest price doesn’t get the best service.

There are a number of factors that the bail agent must take into consideration when deciding to do a bond and at what rate. Bail agents are in the business of managing risk and, if they want to stay in business, they must look closely at the risk they are taking and charge appropriately. The bail agent will want to know how much the bond is and the nature of the charges. This helps him decide how likely the defendant is to fail to appear in court.

Another factor to consider is the prior criminal record and history of failure to appear in court. It may sound counter-intuitive, but the bondsman would prefer to have someone with a history of minor offenses who has always appeared in court than a first-time offender who fails to appear. Ties to the community are also significant. The bondsman wants to know if the defendant has lived and worked in the community for a long time. Does he have family in the area and is he close to them. A poor risk would be a person who has family, but who has burned every bridge and they will have nothing to do with him.

The case is likely to take some time and the bondsman knows that a person who has a mental or physical impairment is likely to be a high maintenance case and will charge accordingly. The bondsman who doesn’t allow for the costs associated with high maintenance cases will not be around for very long.

The bondsman looks at the indemnitor as well. He wants one who has a stable residence and work history. They should be a responsible person who can help manage the case. A history of working with the indemnitor will also factor into the equation. If the bondsman knows the indemnitor from previous bonds that have all gone well, he knows that his risk is likely to be more manageable.

Drug and alcohol involvement is a monumental factor in considering risk. There is a direct relationship between substance abuse and risk . The higher the abuse, the higher the risk. The higher the risk, the less likely it is that the bondsman will deviate from the standard rate of 15%.

We live in an era where people constantly search for the lowest price and don’t really consider what goes into the equation. Price is like oats. If you want good quality oats than you should expect to pay a fair price. However, if the lowest price is your priority, then you had better be willing to settle for oats that have already been through the horse.

You’ve decided to be a co-signer on a bond for someone you know. You’re next question is “How long am I going to be on this bond?” Hopefully, the person you are bonding is someone that you know very well and love very much, because you are going to be responsible until the bond is over. Yogi Berra is quoted as saying “It ain’t over ’till it’s over”. This is very true of bail bonds.

The appearance bond states that the defendant is required to appear at such times and places as the court directs. Each case is different, so the number of appearances will vary. Simple cases may be over with one appearance, the more complex cases can take up to a year or more. Think about this before you agree to be a co-signer.

The end of the court case is typically what ends the bond. The defendant may be found guilty; not guilty; a plea agreement may be reached; a deferred sentencing agreement may be reached; or the case may be dismissed. Until one of these things happens, the bond continues and you will continue to be responsible. “It ain’t over ’till it’s over.”

When trying to arrange for a bail bond, you will hear bondsmen talk about the need for a co-signer or indemnitor. This is a person that the bondsman wants to sign the actual bail bond agreement, taking financial responsibility for the court appearance of the individual in jail. Why would he want such a person?

The bail bondsman understands that the person in jail will promise just about anything in order to get out. Instead of talking to the person in jail, the bondsman wants to talk to a family member or very close friend of the person in jail. The bondsman is looking for a stable person who knows the defendant and is willing to stand up for the defendant; to put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. This person will be the co-signer or indemnitor. He will be the person to pay the bond if the defendant fails to appear in court.

A stable person, to a bondsman, is a person who is employed and has held the same job or worked at the same company for an extended period of time. This person is preferred to be a home owner or has lived at the same address for an extended period of time. He must not be on bond himself and must not have a history of failed court appearances. This person must know the defendant well enough to exercise his influence in getting the defendant to fulfill his obligations to the court. In addition, he must also know the defendant well enough to know where he would be if he skipped court.

The bondsman doesn’t know the person in jail. He meets with the prospective co-signer and learns about their backgrounds. This enables the bondsman to make an assessment of the risk he is taking in writing the bond. If you want to get someone out of jail, find a stable co-signer.

If you have any questions, call me at 720-284-9764

I frequently receive calls in which the caller confesses ignorance of bail and asks “How does bail work?”

Bail will differ from state to state however, I’m going to give you a brief overview of the basic principals of bail. When someone is arrested, most often they will be given the opportunity to get bailed out of jail. Only the most serious cases will be held without bail. There are two things to listen for when talking to the jail about the bond. The first is the dollar amount. The second is whether the bond is cash only or cash, surety or property.

The most common option is the cash, surety, property bond. In this case you will have the option of posting the entire amount of the bond in cash. The surety option involves using a bondsman to post the bond. The property option involves using real property as security to post the bond. Not all jails will accept this option, however.

You may choose to post the entire amount of the bond in cash. The advantage to this method is that you avoid the fee that a bondsman will charge. The disadvantages to this option are that your money will be tied up until the case is fully resolved. This could take up to a year or more. In addition, if the defendant fails to go to court, you lose the money.

If you don’t have the cash to post the bond you may utilize the services of a bail bond agent. He will charge you a non-refundable premium of up to 15%(depending upon state law). The advantage is that your money will not be tied up for the length of the court case and will work hard to ensure that the defendant will appear in court. The disadvantage is that the premium paid is non-refundable.

The third option is to pledge your property to post the bond. This method varies considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and is difficult to discuss. It is best to research this topic at the courthouse where the case originates.

On some occasions you will have a bond that is cash only. This means that you must post this bond in cash and cannot use a bail agent or your property. This occurs in cases where the defendant has failed to pay a fine or a judgment and the court is most interested in obtaining the funds.

In summary, when contacting the jail to find out about posting a bond, you will want to know the dollar amount of the bond and whether it is cash or cash, surety, property.

I’ll be writing about other facets of bail in the future, so check back. If you have any questions, feel free to call me at 720-284-9764.

I was posting a bond at a jail the other night. My indemnitor was busy filling out paperwork while I went down to the booking area to post the bond. There were some issues with the bond and it took longer than usual to post. Upon returning to the jail lobby I noticed that my indemnitor was visibly upset.

I asked him what was wrong and he told me that his cell phone had been stolen. It seems that a young man had just been released from custody and asked to borrow the phone the call his mother to come and pick him up. The young man sat next to another bail agent and commented how much he liked the phone. So, he got up and walked out with it. He was gone before the owner noticed.

This is incredible to me. This guy commits his next crime before he even leaves the building. I’ve labelled it as a stupid criminal trick because the lobby has security monitors. So, the entire event is captured on video. In addition, he called his mother to come and get him. That call will be on the telephone records. When caught, and he will be caught, he will be charged with a felony due to the value of the phone. He might try to argue that he forgot that he had the phone or didn’t remember that he had it. That argument will be void because we called him and sent him a text telling him to bring the phone back. He didn’t.

Theft from a jail…how stupid is that?

I own a small business and the telephone is my life-blood. The only way my clients reach me is via the telephone and I answer every call with a notebook at my side. When the phone rings, I drop what I’m doing and answer it. There is the potential that the person calling needs my service…and I need them. I answer the call, I don’t screen them.

Monday is the day I receive the most cold call solicitations. I hate Mondays and I hate cold calls. I’m not sure what it is about Mondays, nobody likes Mondays. I suspect that the callers use the weekend to build up the motivation to make the calls and come in on Monday all fired up. Whatever it is, Monday is the day that they do it and I hate Mondays. I do know what it is that I hate about the cold calls…it’s the bullshit.

So, it’s Monday and I’m busy. The phone rings and I answer the call, identifying myself by my first name. The person on the other end of the line calls me by the name I have just given him, has a New York accent and tells me his name and that he is “getting back” to me “as promised” with some “important information” regarding a new “investment opportunity” that I “requested”.

I tell him that I don’t know his name or company, I don’t recall having had any conversation with him and I would not tell him to call back when he found the right “investment opportunity” for me. He replies with something like “I understand that you are a busy guy, you get a lot of phone calls and probably don’t remember me. However, I take detailed notes and I have it right here that we spoke and you told me that you had something going on and to call you back when I found the right opportunity.”

He’s trying to warm up the cold call by leading me to believe that we have actually spoken in the past and that I told him to call back when he had something that I wanted. He’s smooth and talking faster than I’m able to listen and trying to warm me up. He thinks that he is smarter than I and is going to be able to deceive me into believing his story. An alternate version of the story is that a friend of mine gave him my name as someone who might be interested in this “opportunity”. When I ask who the friend is, he replies that the friend wishes to remain anonymous.

In the short span of 30 seconds, this guy has tried to gain my confidence by deceiving me. What he fails to realize is that I am a bail agent. I answer calls all day long and my business is to learn the truth. I question callers to learn if they are being truthful about their situation. I need to find out what they are not telling me. I manage risk and need to determine the reality of these persons lives. You might say that I’m in the bullshit business. More to the point, I identify bullshit and keep it from entering my world.

So, here is a guy trying to earn a living by trying to sell me something. He needs to gain my confidence in order to do so and his first step is to try and bullshit me. Does he actually think that is going to work? He is the personification of an oxymoron…gain trust by using deception.

I handle the call by slowing things down. I ask him to repeat his name for me, several times. Spell it. After all, I’m not too bright and I don’t hear very well. I do the same for his company name, address and phone number. I also ask him to explain the purpose of his call, in simple terms that I can understand. As I said, I’m not very bright.

I’ve learned that the guys who last the longest in the cold calling business are the ones who don’t seem to hear “no”, so I don’t often say it. If he’s caught me at a time when I feel like playing the game, I’ll continue to ask the same questions over and over. I plead ignorance, that I just can’t understand what he his trying to tell me. After all, he believes that I need him to manage my investments because I don’t understand them. I want him to believe he is right so that he will continue to play the game. My goal in the game is to frustrate him. I want him to hang up on me. However, if I’m busy or grow tired of the game, I just hang up. I wonder if he put that in his notes?

Most people think that the purpose of bail is to get someone out of jail. That thought is foremost in their mind as the call around looking for a bondsman to help them get that someone out of jail. Frequently, their only consideration is getting it done as cheaply as possible and they call around shopping for the lowest price. Bail is a competitive business and there are people out there willing to do a bond on the cheap.

The better bondsmen understand that the true purpose of bail is to get the person into court, not just out of jail. They understand that bail is a process that continues until the case is over. That could take several months or, in some cases, years. Providing the support necessary for these extended cases has a cost and the better bondsmen understand that. The low-ball bondsman isn’t concerned with that because he is only interested in getting the money today.

I’m writing about this because I received a call from someone who went with the cheap price and is in a bind. Her case has gone on for some time and is nearing a conclusion. She needs the support of her bondsman and he is not willing to provide it. She called hoping that someone else could provide what she needs. However, only the bondsman who wrote the bond can provide the service she needs. Unfortunately, she obtained her bond from the cheapest bidder and now she is stuck.

Good service is seldom cheap. Cheap service is seldom good.