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November 10, 2009

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Bail agents must notify local authorities

Wednesday, April 14, 1999 | 11:47 a.m.

The original version of AB485 required that notification be made before locating and apprehending the defendant.

The amended version, approved Tuesday, allows bail agents to catch the defendant first. But they must still let local law enforcement know the defendant's identity, the agent's identity and where the defendant is being taken.

The amendment also requires that local law enforcement be notified "before forcibly entering an inhabited dwelling in this state."

That provision was added to try prevent bail agents from breaking into homes to catch escapees but accosting the wrong people.

In a case that prompted legislative reforms in Arizona, a self-proclaimed bounty hunter was convicted of gunning down a couple in their bed. As a result of the killings, Arizona passed a law requiring bounty hunters to be licensed and to get permission from a home's occupants before entering.

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