Man booked for murder in fatal shooting during fugitive recovery in Palm Springs had criminal history
The bail agent the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said killed a suspected fugitive was booked for murder on Friday, but News Channel 3 has learned much more about his criminal past. Per station policy, News Channel 3 will not release his identity until formal charges have been filed.
The man was convicted on one count of assault with a deadly weapon in 2011. Court documents reveal that incident involved a knife. Two years before that, a similar conviction was handed down in Los Angeles County.
On Saturday the Riverside County Sheriff released information indicating that the man had prior criminal history that prevented him from carrying a firearm in the first place.
At 2:11 a.m. Friday morning Palm Springs Police were called out to the Indian Canyon Gardens condominium complex on the 100 block of E. Via Escuela and Indian Canyon Drive. According to police, they were notified 3 times; the first notification came from a a Ring panic alarm, the second came from the resident who was reporting a break-in, and the third came from a bail agent who said he was on scene attempting to take someone into custody.
When officers arrived, they identified the resident as David Spann, 33, who allegedly had a knife. An officer tased Spann, who refused to comply, and that's when the bail agent opened fire, killing Spann, according to police.
Spann was being sought by a bail agency, but it's unclear why. There was also no arrest warrant issued by law enforcement.
"If a bail agent or fugitive recovery agent who is acting on their own and for their own interest and to enforce the insurance contract, which was the bond that was posted, does not have to have any type of search warrant to make entry to a residence or any other private location in the case of where the underlying crime is a felony," said Dan Escamilla of the California Bail Agents Association.
Escamilla is also a bail fugitive recovery agent. He said there are, however, requirements in order for bail agents to apprehend a suspected fugitive.
"The answer is yes, as long as they meet certain requirements. One of the requirement is that the underlying crime has to be a felony. Forced entry into a home is not allowed unless it’s a felony. Of course the entry can always be consensual," said Escamilla.
There are also several requirements stated in California Penal Code 1299. For example, a bail agent must be 18 years or older and the person "shall not have been convicted of a felony, unless the person is licensed by the Department of Insurance pursuant to Section 1800 of the Insurance Code."
"In order to do a fugitive recovery in the state of California, a person needs to hold 2 certificates- one which shows completion of a class as a bail agent. The same class that bail agents are required to complete before they take the test with the state. The second class is class given by police academies. It’s a 40-hour course on arrest and control techniques that go over handcuffing, use of firearms, use of deadly force when deadly force is properly used," said Escamilla.
The question remains for Friday's fatal shooting: was the man conducting fugitive recovery even an agent.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the bail agent did not have the proper license. News Channel 3 also conducted a search of the man's name on the state's Department of Insurance listings, but there were no active licenses.