ST. LOUIS MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
A felon could break down your door at any moment with police approval. Bail bond agents have great freedom to search your property, even if they have criminal records. But many of those agents want that to change. We followed around bail bondsmen Paul Berry. On one occasion, he was yelling through a locked door as he said, "If you do not open the door, I will open it for you."
Berry is a bail bondsman, who also works as a bounty hunter. On this day, he called St. Louis Police from his cell phone to let officers know, "I'm attempting to make a fugitive arrest and and it looks like there's people inside." He added, "It may be a forced entry."
It sounded like someone screamed at him from inside, then a car pulled into the driveway. He approached the driver and told the woman, "..if you open the door then I can save you the trouble of any type of damage or anything cause she's refusing to open the door. I have the Police Department on the way right now, so I would like to not be less intrusive as possible." The woman replied, "I can't let you in." Berry then said, "Well Maam I have the authority by the State of Missouri to go in your house. She then drove off.
Berry returned to the front door, knocked loudly and yelled, "This is the last time. Open the door or I'm kicking it down."
When police say they won't be able to back him up -- he does kick it in.
Berry says all of the inside doors were locked and if someone was inside -- her or she ran out the back door.
Berry has a lot of power -- from going into your house to making an arrest. And he doesn't see how a felon could be trusted to do his job.
But the State of Missouri trusted violent felon Virgil Lee Jackson after he pushed for a new law five years ago. It allowed felons to be bail bondsmen. The felony just has to be older than 15 years and Jackson's offenses including two burglaries, unlawful use of a weapon and a first degree robbery were all more than 20 years ago.
Bail bondsman Angela Park says she's been pushing to reverse the law ever since.
"Extremely distasteful -- that a felon could come in your house, a felon could come through your door and take your loved one away."
She's says the new law was squeezed into a licensing bill regarding Dentists.
Park said, "It was a huge thousand page omnibus bill that had to do with licensing in all different areas."
So why did Missouri Legislators listen to a felon like Jackson? At the time, he was part of the Missouri Professional Bail Bond Association. According to MO records, the Association, and its members, contributed at least $1,300 to the bill's sponsor - former Missouri Representative Robert Behnen. The new law is even known today as the Lee clause -- named after Lee Jackson.
"After the Lee Clause came into effect, it was I think 10 months later that he was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and being a felon in possession of a handgun."
Jackson is now serving federal time for conspiring to murder his fellow association member at the time -- Gerald Cox. And Cox is currently defending himself against charges of burglary and kidnapping in a case where police say he ordered his bounty hunters to bring him a man he says owed him money.
Angela Park says a bail bondsman's job is too important. "We serve to have oversight over people that are accused of crimes but not convicted at no cost to the taxpayer."
She, Berry, and others will continue tracking down fugitives -- while waiting to see if the Missouri Legislature will once again ban felons from their ranks.
The State of Illinois does not allow private bail bondsmen. Suspects must pay a percentage to the court and it's solely the job of local police to track down fugitives.
Former Representative Robert Behnen, of Kirksville, lost his seat to Wes Shoemeyer who used the "Lee Clause" against him. The home phone number listed for Behnen is disconnected, so he could not be reached to comment about the law he helped draft and the contributions he received.
Berry is a bail bondsman, who also works as a bounty hunter. On this day, he called St. Louis Police from his cell phone to let officers know, "I'm attempting to make a fugitive arrest and and it looks like there's people inside." He added, "It may be a forced entry."
It sounded like someone screamed at him from inside, then a car pulled into the driveway. He approached the driver and told the woman, "..if you open the door then I can save you the trouble of any type of damage or anything cause she's refusing to open the door. I have the Police Department on the way right now, so I would like to not be less intrusive as possible." The woman replied, "I can't let you in." Berry then said, "Well Maam I have the authority by the State of Missouri to go in your house. She then drove off.
Berry returned to the front door, knocked loudly and yelled, "This is the last time. Open the door or I'm kicking it down."
When police say they won't be able to back him up -- he does kick it in.
Berry says all of the inside doors were locked and if someone was inside -- her or she ran out the back door.
Berry has a lot of power -- from going into your house to making an arrest. And he doesn't see how a felon could be trusted to do his job.
But the State of Missouri trusted violent felon Virgil Lee Jackson after he pushed for a new law five years ago. It allowed felons to be bail bondsmen. The felony just has to be older than 15 years and Jackson's offenses including two burglaries, unlawful use of a weapon and a first degree robbery were all more than 20 years ago.
Bail bondsman Angela Park says she's been pushing to reverse the law ever since.
"Extremely distasteful -- that a felon could come in your house, a felon could come through your door and take your loved one away."
She's says the new law was squeezed into a licensing bill regarding Dentists.
Park said, "It was a huge thousand page omnibus bill that had to do with licensing in all different areas."
So why did Missouri Legislators listen to a felon like Jackson? At the time, he was part of the Missouri Professional Bail Bond Association. According to MO records, the Association, and its members, contributed at least $1,300 to the bill's sponsor - former Missouri Representative Robert Behnen. The new law is even known today as the Lee clause -- named after Lee Jackson.
"After the Lee Clause came into effect, it was I think 10 months later that he was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and being a felon in possession of a handgun."
Jackson is now serving federal time for conspiring to murder his fellow association member at the time -- Gerald Cox. And Cox is currently defending himself against charges of burglary and kidnapping in a case where police say he ordered his bounty hunters to bring him a man he says owed him money.
Angela Park says a bail bondsman's job is too important. "We serve to have oversight over people that are accused of crimes but not convicted at no cost to the taxpayer."
She, Berry, and others will continue tracking down fugitives -- while waiting to see if the Missouri Legislature will once again ban felons from their ranks.
The State of Illinois does not allow private bail bondsmen. Suspects must pay a percentage to the court and it's solely the job of local police to track down fugitives.
Former Representative Robert Behnen, of Kirksville, lost his seat to Wes Shoemeyer who used the "Lee Clause" against him. The home phone number listed for Behnen is disconnected, so he could not be reached to comment about the law he helped draft and the contributions he received.
