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Watkins v. City of Mobile
Citations: 549 So. 2d 575; 1989 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 166; 1989 WL 60799Docket: 1 Div. 854
Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama; April 28, 1989; Alabama; State Appellate Court
Neil Watkins was convicted of third-degree assault under a city ordinance and sentenced to ten days in jail and ordered to pay $180.50 in restitution. Watkins, a bail bondsman, argued that he could not be guilty of assault since he was acting within the law. However, it was determined that under Alabama law, a bail bondsman can only delegate the authority to arrest a principal through a written endorsement on a certified copy of the bail agreement. Shelia Dimoff was arrested for writing bad checks and released on three appearance bonds, with Dale Rivers as the surety. After Dimoff failed to appear in court, Watkins, subcontracting for several bonding companies, attempted to arrest her on Rivers' instruction. An altercation occurred with Dimoff’s common law husband, resulting in injuries to him. Watkins claimed self-defense, stating he was prevented from arresting Mrs. Dimoff. According to Alabama Code 1975, § 15-13-62, a surety may arrest a defendant before a conditional judgment is entered, provided they have a certified copy of the bail agreement. The statute explicitly requires that a surety must authorize another person to make an arrest through a written endorsement on that certified copy. In this case, Rivers had not endorsed any copy of the bail agreement, rendering Watkins' attempt to arrest Mrs. Dimoff unauthorized. The court emphasized that the statutory requirements for delegation of arrest authority are stringent and must be followed; failure to do so invalidates the arrest. Since the statutory provisions were not adhered to, Watkins had no legal authority to arrest Mrs. Dimoff. Consequently, his motion to dismiss the assault charge was appropriately denied, and the circuit court's judgment was affirmed, with all judges concurring.