Bail Bond Association of New Mexico

09/10/2024

Click on the link and listen in to my interview with KKOB Radio!

Gerald Madrid is the last man standing when it comes to full-time Bail-Bondsmen in Albuquerque. What changes could be made to help keep criminals from skipping out on court while also allowing police to focus on keeping the 505 safe?

08/15/2024

Gerald Madrid says come to 5th and Fruit NW, next to Gerald Madrid Bail Bonds and support our local food vendors!

Tagging to share:
Madrid Towing
Mobile Vin Inspection

01/22/2020

A state agency says Kentucky’s pretrial release system is “badly broken.

02/15/2018

BREAKING: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit Issues Ruling – Bail Schedules Constitutional, No Right to an “Affordable Bail”

02/13/2018

One Year In…What We Do (or Don’t) Know about New Jersey Bail Reform

One Year In…What We Do (or Don’t) Know about New Jersey Bail Reform by Jeff Clayton, Executive Director, American Bail Coalition The New Jersey Courts issued a report yesterday touting the success of the implementation of bail reform in New Jersey, a cooper.....

02/13/2018

NEW EVIDENCE: SERIOUS REPEAT OFFENDERS RELEASED FROM JAIL AT ALARMING RATE

Just last month, police in Albuquerque cracked down on auto theft and arrested 23 accused felons. Altogether, the arrested offenders have nearly 200 cases against them with over 300 charges. Through their criminal careers they have around 150 arrests and nearly 50 felony convictions. The worst part? 70 percent of these arrested offenders have ALREADY been released from jail.

NEW EVIDENCE: SERIOUS REPEAT OFFENDERS RELEASED FROM JAIL AT ALARMING RATE

Just last month, police in Albuquerque cracked down on auto theft and arrested 23 accused felons. Altogether, the arrested offenders have nearly 200 cases against them with over 300 charges. Through their criminal careers they have around 150 arrests and nearly 50 felony convictions. The worst part? 70 percent of these arrested offenders have ALREADY been released from jail.

For example, repeat offender Jeff Brasher was arrested for crashing a stolen car into a police station. It was his fourth felony offense, and yet, he was released the very next day. Just a few days later, he was back in jail on a felony bench warrant and then simply released again. In the past, Brasher has been convicted of auto theft, burglary, larceny, and conspiracy. And, in the past, he’s been charged with car theft, possession of drugs, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. This is not someone who should be let out of jail and roaming our streets while he waits for his court hearings. It's unacceptable, and it's indicative of a criminal justice system that needs repair.

With less than 48 hours left in the 2018 Legislative Session, now is the critical time for lawmakers to follow through on their promises to pass legislation that will fight crime in New Mexico.

For years, I have urged lawmakers to take our crime problem seriously. As I said in my State of the State address, New Mexico should no longer be an island of leniency in a sea of tough-on-crime states.

We have less than 48 hours for lawmakers to get to work and finally help solve our crime problem.

Today, at long last, the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee is hearing important bills that will help fight crime in New Mexico. Please call the members and urge them to vote to keep New Mexicans safe in their communities.

Eliseo Alcon: (505) 285-6387
Patricia Roybal Caballero: (505) 710-5996
Deborah Armstrong: 986-4840
Bob Wooley: 986-4454
Monica Youngblood: 986-4242

02/11/2018

This defendant beat his ex-girlfriend while holding their 7-month-old baby Thursday evening by kicking her in the chest, causing her to fall back and hit her head on a table, and also made threats he was going to killing her. He eventually left but came back one day later with a gun. The ex-girlfriend was able to call for help.

Gonzalez-Ramos was arrested on an outstanding warrant and charged with child abuse as well as possession of a controlled substance for drug paraphernalia and traces of drugs found in his vehicle. But no big surprise... a Judge released him today on his own recognizance, with just a promise to come back to court. They must think he poses no risk to the community by his current actions.

02/10/2018

Let's take a quick glance at how the Arnold Foundation’s Public Safety Assessment’s tool deals with out-of-state persons arrested on felony drug charges while passing through New Mexico. Here we have a father and son arrested by the New Mexico State Police and charged with having 39 pounds of ma*****na in their vehicle. Both appeared before a Judge the next day, and based on the Arnold Tool, they were released ROR, in spite of having no ties to New Mexico.

What assurances are in place to see that these two guys return to New Mexico from St. Louis, Missouri to answer for these charges? NONE! Secondly, after doing some quick research, w**d in New Mexico on the street is selling for $250 to $350 per ounce...16 ounces per pound could "earn " someone $4000 to $5600 per pound times the 39 pounds they were charged for = $156,000 and as much as $218,400. All that and free to go!

02/08/2018

Contrary to what the Arnold Foundation’s PSA tool supporters say, let's take a look at how it really works in New Mexico. This defendant was arrested in Albuquerque on January 29, 2018 for criminal trespassing, arrested February 1st, 2018 for felony drug possession, and again on February 7th, 2018 for a stolen vehicle. Each time she was released on her own recognizance by a Judge and told to report to pretrial services. What happened to their claim of assessing the safety of the public? As it appears, if a person gets arrested THREE times in a week, and keeps getting rewarded with a free and unsecured release, there will be more bad behavior to come.

02/06/2018

Investigation into New Mexico pretrial monitoring reveals 1 in 5 ankle monitors go missing

Albuquerque, NM – An investigative report by KOB 4 Investigates reveals the failing system of New Mexico’s pretrial monitoring system – where one in five monitors go missing – allowing pretrial defendants to skip court. [...]

02/06/2018

Verdict Out On Bail Bond Industry: Judges Agree that Commercial Bail is Most Effective Form of Pretrial Release

As part of our ongoing efforts to promote understanding of the bail industry throughout the country, our team attended the American Judges Association Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana earlier this week.

01/31/2018

Not a day goes by the media does not report on yet another repeat offender back out in the community, free release to continue wreaking havoc on the community. Today in the Albuquerque Journal is this prime example of that, as they shed some light on the massive auto theft problem in Albuquerque, NM. The problem is so bad now that New Mexico is often referred to as the highest auto theft rate in the country and most recently the most dangerous state in the country.

"The most alarming is the criminal record of some of the individuals involved,” said Deputy Chief Harold Medina of the Albuquerque Police Department. He mentioned Richard "Ricky" Newman who has EIGHT FELONY ARRESTS and NINETEEN FELONY CHARGES and Schaeffer Schongalla with SEVEN FEONY ARRESTS and FOURTEEN FELONY CHARGES.

So, how or why does this keep happening in Albuquerque? Let's take a quick look at Newman and Schongalla and see what their recent criminal activity looks like...
In spite of Newman's extensive history, he was arrested on November 8, 2017 for a stolen vehicle. He went before a Metropolitan Court Judge a few days later and because of our new court rules and the Arnold Foundation Risk assessment tool, he was released on his own recognizance and told to report to pretrial services. That same day he was back out of jail and never reported to pretrial. Now, he is back in jail after being arrested on January 26, 2018 for yet another stolen vehicle. Schaeffer Schongalla, the next one mentioned in today's article also comes with very extensive criminal history. He was arrested January 5, 2018 on a stolen vehicle charge and released the very next day on his own recognizance and told to report to pretrial services. He, like Ricky Newman, ignored the pretrial services people and was back at it. In just over two weeks, he was arrested again, this time for aggravated eluding.

Thankfully, both defendants are back in custody held without bond for now. Again, the cause of the "revolving door" at jails is easy to see. As long as the Judges continue using the Arnold Foundation tool as some guarantee of behavior or appearance, while everyone is released free and unsecured, we will continue to be #1 in many bad things.

The solution is simple - stop giving everything away, and require that defendants to have a stake in the process, while holding them accountable for their actions, and this will change overnight.

01/30/2018

The system of cash bail helps achieve two important ends: ensuring the guilty go to trial and the innocent spend as little time incarcerated as possible, which makes bail the best alternative we have.

The justice system faces a number of tough challenges and one of them is: how to ensure that defendants appear in court, while allowing them to continue with their lives in the meantime. The answer is the bail bond system. It works by creating an incentive for private agents to capture defendants wh...

01/30/2018

A Local bail agent posted a $100 bond for this client just a few weeks ago, and though he was thoroughly notified of his court date, he failed to appear. The agent tracked him down today and booked him back into the County Jail. Some may joke that it was for a lousy $100 the agent tracked him down, but they did, because New Mexico bail agents stay true to their word. We hold defendants accountable no matter the size of the bond.

01/27/2018

If they skip court and there is no bondsman to track them down, these criminals are left free to roam our communities and commit crimes. Around 43 percent of those individuals later forfeit their appearance in court, compared to around a 5 percent forfeiture rate among those released in the traditional bail system.

As a Houston city councilman, I go to work each day with a mandate to protect taxpayers and ensure our city government is held accountable. I am also one of thousands of Texas bail agents who put their safety and capital on the line each day to keep criminals off the streets - all without expense to...

01/23/2018

Ms. Maria Beard was arrested in Albuquerque, NM on June 23, 2017 and charged with an Aggravated DWI. Her jailhouse bond was set at $5000, allowing her the option of paying the full cash to the court or retain the services of a bail bod agent. She opted to use a local bail bond agent, and he posted the $5000 bond to release her. She was given her first court date and failed to appear. The assigned Judge issued a warrant and forfeited the bond. Over the next six months, the bail agent appeared in Court numerous times to explain what he had done to bring her back to court. Judge Castillo Dowler is an experienced Judge and made it clear that she wanted the defendant back in front of her, and not the money. However, if Ms. Beard couldn't be located, the $5000 would become due.

Starting on July 20, 2018 until January 21, 2018, the bond agent followed up on every lead possible, and finally located Ms. Beard, arrested, and booked her. The story doesn't end there. Ms. Beard went before a different Judge today, and in spite of her repeated failures to appear was given a free and unsecured release at the urging of the pretrial services officer and the public defender. The Arnold Foundation tool says she is not a flight-risk and qualifies for a free and unsecured release.

Ms. Beard's arrest took place before the new court rules were rolled out on July 2017, so she posted a secured bond, failed to appear and was brought back into custody by the only one who had anything to risk, the bail bond agent.

Had Ms. Beard been arrested after July 1st, 2017 she would have been immediately released from jail on nothing more than her promise to appear. She would not have shown up, and there would be no one looking for her.

01/22/2018

HAZLETON -- "This job has changed so drastically over the years and my thoughts and prayers are with the family of those brave and courageous officers." Hazleton police Chief Jerry Speziale calls what happened in Harrisburg a terrible tragedy. Speziale was himself a Deputy U.S. Marshal for about 18�...

01/19/2018

Mr. Adam Benevidez was booked in Valencia County about January 2, 2018 on 18 charges including r**e, enticement of a child, kidnapping, and in**st. His bond was initially set at $500,000, which he could not make. He went back to the court on January 8, 2018, and his attorney asked for a reduction in bond and that was denied by the Judge in Valencia County. He then went back to court on January 18, 2018, and he now qualifies for a free and unsecured release, with a promise to come back to court and was told to report to Pretrial Services. This kind of nonsense is everyday in New Mexico, thanks to the new court rules they rolled out as of July 2017. Even with the further explained information from an opinion from the NM Supreme Court, defenders are still being released on their own recognizance for serious felonies. KOAT KOB 4 Caleb James Nancy Laflin KOAT KRQE News 13