A Valley bail-bond company says it has denied an offer to write a bond for Jerice Hunter because her daughter is still missing and the bond amount is too low.
The operators of Regulator Bail Bonds, Inc., tweeted and Facebooked their displeasure last night, urging the state's other bail-bond companies to follow their lead.
After Hunter was arrested on suspicion of child abuse following the disappearance of her 5-year-old, Jhessye Shockley, a judge set her bond at $100,000.
A channel 15 (KNXV-TV) news report stated yesterday that a local church was trying to raise the 10 percent of the bond needed to free Hunter from jail.
Jim Hood, the owner of Regulator, won't say who contacted his company this week with an offer to put the front money and collateral down for Hunter. But Hood turned down the offer.
"We hold ourselves to a high moral standard," says Hood, who adds that it wasn't the first time his company had refused to take on a bond based on the moral implications.Here's what the company said on its Facebook site:
Regulator Bail Bonds INCWe are urging ALL ARIZONA BONDSMEN to deny writing this bond. We will not be posting this after working with this family for over a month. We have decided that this is a battle that needs to be fought in a political arena. ASK yourself the following questions: Wonder why crime is so high in Maricopa County? I know why it's has to do with the court system. The judges have control. There is no s...et bail schedule. Example (last week posted a 150,000.00 bond for a false rape. Two weeks later the case was dropped as the accuser withdrew her testamony. This week a mother is accused of Killing her baby girl and her bond is a measly 100,000.00 the sad part is we know she has the money and the property and that some idiot will write this bond. I'm not a judge but it's real simple ...in maricopa if you commit a crime like beating your wife. Your bond will be 1500.00 amazing. Join us as we battle the system and make our community safer by replacing incompetent and antique judges.