Tweeker Seeker

I get asked a lot about what it takes to be a Bounty Hunter. I get everything from the legal requirements, work experience and physical requirements. In California it’s pretty simple. You must be a least 18 years old and can’t have any felony convictions . You must also do the following:

• Complete a 40-hour “power of arrest” course certified by the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).
• Complete a “power of arrest” course certified by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.
• Complete a 12 hour of education relating to the duties and responsibilities of a Bail Licensee certified by the Department of Insurance.

All of these requirements can be found here. Okay, so that’s the legal requirements which are fairly easy to complete since no testing is required. Now let’s list the physical and mental requirements. If you’re okay with the following then you should have no problem doing the job.

• Can you sit in your car for 10, 12 or 18 hours staring at a house?
• Are you okay with peeing in a big gulp cup in your car?
• Are okay with eating 2 day old fast food?
• Are you okay with being spit on, punched, kicked, screamed at, pepper sprayed or tasered?
• Do you like to fight?
• Are you comfortable touching homeless people or searching homeless encampments (which may include walking through human feces)?
• Are you okay with someone pointing a loaded gun at you? This includes cops, criminals and parents or friends of criminals.
• Are you okay with being awaken at 3 in the morning by annoying phone calls from informants, defendants or parents / friends of defendants?

If you said no to any of the above questions then this job is probably not for you. However, if you said yes to the above then you may want to seek mental help.

This article appeared in the Morgan Hill Times. This guy was on bail with us and was assigned to my partner. Unfortunately I wasn’t with him when he made the arrest. Good Job! Peter L. Mastroieni, 38, was arrested without incident at his residence on the 500 block of Lexington Court in Los Banos.

Peter L. Mastroieni - Arrested in Los Banos

I’m here sitting in our office talking with my partner and I started thinking about my very first arrest as a bounty hunter. Actually my first arrest ever. I remember it like it was yesterday. You know, like the first time you had sex or the first time you robbed a liquor store. A memorable day it was. It was in San Francisco, she was about the same age as me but quit a bit larger. No, not my sex partner, my first arrestee.  Anyway, I was there with a more senior investigator and he was going to “show me the ropes”, you know, “teach me how it’s done”. I remember it being very hot, standing in front of San Francisco Hall of Justice on Bryant Street. We were waiting for this girl to show up across the street, next door to a public parking lot. I was anxious and a lot of thoughts were bouncing around in my head. Thoughts like, “Am I going to get hurt?” and “What happens if we get into a fight?”. For some strange reason I was wearing a sweat shirt and my body armor (bullet proof vest). I was really hot and the sun was beating down on my bald head. It was starting to hurt and I was sweating profusely.

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There’s an interesting article that appeared in the Associated Press today about bail companies that allow criminals to make payments on their bail premium or the fee they pay when they are bailed out of jail. The article talks about the increase in bail-credit because of the slowing economy and brings up several good points about the risks associated with  financing the bail premium. However the article failed to mention that a number of counties in California have increased the number of criminals who are being released on their own recognizance (O.R.). Santa Clara County, for one, has recently increased the number and types of criminals who are released under their ORP and SORP programs. Santa Clara County has also initiated an amnesty program for persons with non-violent, misdemeanor bench warrants. If you get arrested before the end of the year on a qualifying warrant, you are cited and released without having to post bond.

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Today we’re doing surveillance on one of my partner’s cases. Were watching a house in San Jose waiting to get eyes on his defendant who is a mid-twenty, Hispanic male. This is a dumpy neighborhood surrounded by railroad tracks and industrial buildings near downtown. This is supposedly the home of the fugitive’s sister. Our informant says he may be staying here but she’s a but nutty so we’re not sure about her information. She’s given use addresses in the past that turned out to be a waste of time.

There are not too many choices for parking so we’re closer to the house than we would like. There are lots of people in the neighborhood and an old man paces back and forth in front of the house. You can tell he is trying to figure us out.

The neighbors pull up, I think I’ll ask them if they know the fugitive. Nope, they’ve never seen him. Not sure I believe them because she just looked at the photo and immediately said no. It’s also an indication they may be lying when they don’t ask you who he is or what he did. Most people will ask, most people are nosy and want the details. I would ask.

We decide to make contact at the house and see what they say. Knock, knock… Your adrenaline always gets going a bit when you knock on someone’s door. You never know who’s going to answer or what’s going to happen when the door opens. Is the fugitive just going to run out and start fighting, do they have a gun, how many people are inside and the bigger question – do they have big dogs? You always have to be planning for the worst. You have to be watching all around you.

It’s also difficult when there’s only two people, someone has to watch the side yard in case the fugitive decides to jump the fence and someone has to be at the door when they answer. So I watch the side yard and try to peek though the fence until someone answers the door. Dogs are barking and it smells like sewage. I am trying to watch both the yard and my partner. It’s tricky.

The large Hispanic woman opens the door and I can hear my partner ask for the fugitive. She tell us that she is the his sister and has not seen him in 9 months. 2 small children are also standing at the door. My partner asks if we can search the house. She refuses. Sometimes this is an indication that the fugitive is in the house. However, after talking with her we decide that she’s telling the truth. I want to search. I love searching houses. I love finding people hiding under beds or in closets. Most people are not that creative when it comes to hiding.

On to Dad’s house in South San Jose. This is a nicer neighborhood and were not too concerned about being discreet. Again, we make contact at the front door and talk to yet another sister who confirms the other sister’s story about him disappearing 9 months ago. I get the feeling that none of his siblings likes him too much. He sounds like a dirt bag. He thinks he’s a gang banger and pedal dope.

I always get disappointed when we hit a wall. There’s nothing more exciting then getting a solid lead and you know your close. After all we do this because we like hunting people. We like outsmarting people who think they can hide forever. I love the surprised look on their face when you tell them their under arrest. Were done with this case for the day.

I didn’t get a whole lot done today. At least not in the field. We have the ability to search the county jails for people that we are looking for. So if I am looking for someone named Joe Smith I periodically check the jails through out California and sometimes the prison systems. If I find them then there’s no reason for me to continue looking for them. So today I spent some time checking the jails for my defendants. Sometimes I am glad they were picked up by Police and sometimes I’m not. Usually I am glad when I am not making progress.

There are a couple of people that I really want to get myself and I’m looking forward to arresting them. One of them, let’s call him EZ, molested his 6 year old niece. I have to be careful not to go into too much detail but this guy is a piece of garbage. He was baby sitting his niece and his daughter and decided, after a few beers, to put his hands on her.

During the police investigation it was determined that this was not the first time he’s done this. The last time was with his own 7 year old daughter. Since then his first wife dumped him and, get this, warned his current wife. She either didn’t believe it or doesn’t care. I have spoken to her and she’s living in denial.

Anyway, he decided not to go to court and I’ve been looking for him for about 3 months. Some of his family members are helping but I’m concerned he may have fled back to Mexico. This is more common then most people think – Mexicans coming here illegally (or otherwise), committing crime and then fleeing back to Mexico. More on that later.

I’ve taken a special interest in capturing EZ and it’s a high bond amount so I am spending more time developing and following leads. I have some pretty good information that he is running with a friend and might still be in the area. I am working with the police detective that worked the case and have a good relationship with one of his family members. She trusts me and is convinced that he needs to be in jail.

As always, everyone’s innocent until proven guilty…