The case of an overzealous Colorado bounty hunter who seriously injured two Utah brothers while trying to apprehend a bail jumper has raised the issue of whether out-of-state bounty hunters can legally make arrests in Utah if they are not licensed in this state to do so.
Gerald Lee, a resident of Uintah County, was arrested in Grand Junction, Colo., for driving under the influence and without proof of insurance back in 1998. Lee was jailed and posted bail through A-1 Bail Bonds and headed back to Utah. He failed to show up to court in Colorado, and a warrant was issued.
According to the bail contract, Lee consented to apprehension for jumping bail, and the Colorado bail company hired bounty hunter Miles Walter Langley to go after him. According to court documents, Langley tracked Lee to his brother's home in Naples.
Lee's brother, George Lee, greeted Langley at the door and Langley posed as a construction company rep "looking for a good mechanic to hire and heard that Gerald was looking for work."
While invited in the house, Langley approached Gerald Lee as if to shake his hand only to slap handcuffs on the man's arm. The brothers describe Langley as a "very large man" who failed to identify himself as a bounty hunter and saw him as a stranger attacking. A fight took place in which Gerald was assaulted by Langley, who also left brother George "unconscious on the floor of the kitchen in a pool of blood" a court brief states. Gerald was dragged out of the house by his heels, his head banging on the floor and steps on the way out.
George Lee testified later in court that when he awoke, he called the sheriff's office to report a kidnapping. Langley took Gerald Lee to a hospital and then to jail in Grand County.
During a trial in Uintah County, Langley was convicted of assault and later pled down to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Before the Utah Supreme Court, an attorney for the Lee brothers argued that although there was a valid contract out for Gerald Lee, Langley violated Utah law in crossing the state line and arresting him because he was not a licensed bail bondsman in Utah.
Attorney Gregory Sanders argued that the insurance company in Colorado could have easily hired a bounty hunter licensed in Utah to go after and bring back Lee, but they chose not to. Sanders said the danger is that Utah law enforcement would not know if an out-of-state bounty hunter was legally licensed in another state readily enough.
Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham said she saw a "hole in public policy" in Utah's laws that did not address bounty hunters from other states and if they could legally make arrests in Utah. However, Durham did express concern that if Utah forbade out-of-state bounty hunters from making arrests, other states, such as Colorado, could follow suit, making capturing fugitives fleeing justice more difficult.
Attorney for the bail company, Julianne Blanch, said the tradition of bounty hunters being able to cross jurisdictions dates back to 19th century law where a signer of a bond contract is "on a string" and that a bondsman has jurisdiction over him "wherever he may go."
Blanch admitted that Langley entered the Lee residence "under false pretense" but pointed out that he was trained and licensed in Colorado at the time. During the Utah trial, Langley testified that he had apprehended several Utah residents before.
Justices noted that they may recommend that the Utah Legislature clarify its position on out-of-state bail bondsmen. A ruling is expected in the coming months.
E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com