Differences between bondsmen, bounty hunters

A wanted man is dead after being shot by a bondsman Sunday afternoon in Ammon.

There is a difference between a bondsman and a bounty hunter. A bondsman will post your bail. A bounty hunter catches people on the run if a bondsman posted the bail. But if a bondsman wants to, they can act as the bounty hunter.

“A lot of lives that can be at risk, you know, and so it’s a process of eliminating any miscommunications and anything that can go wrong,” said Janelle Jones, manager of Bandit Bail Bonds.

There are the rare times where the defendant will do absolutely anything to avoid jail. Jones said they call local law enforcement — even though it’s not required — to be prepared for those dangerous times.

“They can’t step in and help, but we just want to make sure that they know that we’re not going in to hurt somebody intentionally. We’re just pulling somebody who we need to bring to jail,” said Jones.

She said staff at Bandit Bail Bonds has never had something like this weekend’s shooting happen to them, but recognizes there are times where force has to be used.

“They’re willing to pull a gun on you,” she said. “What do you do? Are you willing to let your partner get shot and killed?”

Again, she said, those situations are rare.

“We don’t have a target on their back. We want we do everything in our power to help the defendant so it doesn’t get to this point,” Jones said.