A bail recovery agent finds people who missed court while out on bond and returns them to custody, so the case can move forward and the bond is not lost. It sounds like a movie. The real job, according to two men who do it every day, is mostly phone calls, paperwork, and patience.
Josh Hackman and Kevin Pettyjohn are the licensed bail recovery agents who work with A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds. They joined hosts Tug Cowart and Daniel Matalon on Justice Unfiltered for a first for the show: a full episode on what happens after someone skips court.
Who are Josh Hackman and Kevin Pettyjohn?
Josh Hackman is an Army veteran with combat deployments overseas. After nine years in the service, he worked in defense contracting, private investigation, and executive protection. He found bail recovery by accident more than 11 years ago, when another veteran in Dahlonega suggested he try it. “I didn’t know it was a job,” he said. By his count, he has averaged about 300 arrests a year ever since.
Kevin Pettyjohn got certified 28 years ago because a friend thought he would be good at it. When that friend never sent him work, he walked into another local bondsman’s office and asked for a shot. The bondsman asked two questions. Do you know anything about this? No. Can you handle yourself? Yes. He left with one file and a promise: close this one, and you get another.
He closed it that night, alone, at a single-wide trailer on Lookout Mountain. Going alone is something he says you never do in this business. He just didn’t know that yet.
What does a bail recovery agent do all day?
A bail recovery agent spends most of the day investigating, not chasing. Both men said every case starts the same way: a name, an address, and old-fashioned detective work. They make calls. They knock on relatives’ doors. They talk to ex-girlfriends. Then the technology comes in.
Hackman put a number on it. The part that makes good television is about 5 percent of the work.
“I can teach anyone to kick a door,” he said. “I can’t teach you to be a good investigator.”
The term for it is skip tracing. When a person misses court, the industry calls it a skip, and locating that person is the trace. Matalon expects the profession to keep moving in that direction, with more problems solved by brainpower and fewer by force.
Is a bail recovery agent the same thing as a bounty hunter?
In Georgia, a bail recovery agent and a bounty hunter are the same job, and both agents prefer the first term because it sounds less like a cartoon. Other states draw the line differently. The agents said Florida does not allow anyone to operate as a bounty hunter, while Tennessee requires a patch on the vest that says exactly that. Every state has its own rules.
Hackman also pointed out how old the work is. Think Old West wanted posters. It is, he said, one of the oldest professions in the world.
Can you go back to jail on bond without a new arrest?
Yes, in some situations. When a bondsman posts a bond, the bondsman takes on the financial risk. That comes with a contract. “You don’t need to commit a crime to go back to jail on bond,” Hackman said. If a defendant violates the terms of that agreement, or a cosigner decides to come off the bond, the bonding company may be able to surrender the person back into custody.
Pettyjohn learned that on his second job. Days after that first pickup on Lookout Mountain, he was sent back to the same address for the man’s wife. The couple’s truck was packed almost to the top. They were leaving for Arizona. He stepped outside and called the bonding company that had posted the husband’s new bond. The answer came back quickly. Both of them returned to the county jail that night.
Matalon called it a business decision with simple logic. Once those two crossed the state line, no one would have been able to reach them.
The takeaway for families is simple. Stay in touch with your bond agent, and make every court date. If a date is going to be a problem, here are the steps to take if you can’t make your court date. And if you are thinking about skipping court, this episode is a good reason to reconsider.
How do bail recovery agents find people?
Bail recovery agents find people with a mix of public records, conversations, and the trail we all leave online. Social media is a big part of it. Hackman said he has located people from what was behind them in a photo: a welcome mat outside an apartment door, even a stain on a concrete walkway. Image search tools can now match a background to a location. In one recent case, he said, a building behind a man wanted in another state showed exactly where he had been standing in downtown Atlanta the day before.
There is other technology they will not talk about. “I’m not going to share all the secret sauce,” Hackman said.
Sometimes it is pure legwork. Pettyjohn told the story of a woman whose paperwork was a dead end. Her boyfriend, a long-haul truck driver, told him he would never find her. So Pettyjohn visited the trucking company, where the safety supervisor pulled up every stop the truck had made. One stood out. Thirty minutes off the road in Dalton, parked between two hotels. Security footage at the first hotel showed the boyfriend carrying bags across the street to the second. She was inside.
For the record, Hackman does not have personal social media. He uses it to find people all day, which is the reason he stays off it.
How dangerous is bail recovery?
Bail recovery is dangerous work, and the agents said safety has to cover everyone in the room, including the person being taken into custody. Hackman described one of the hardest struggles of his career, with a woman who weighed about 140 pounds and kept fighting after local police arrived. “All I can do is stop her from hurting herself and hurting me,” he said.
Pettyjohn put it plainly. When a door opens, you do not know what kind of day that person has had, or who else is inside.
That is why they work in teams of at least two, and why Matalon is careful about who represents his company in the field. The wrong person in that role can get someone hurt. “These guys operate at the highest level and at the highest standard,” he said.
Matalon has even been part of the plan. In the last few months, he said, the agents brought him “out of retirement” to pose as a courier in a van while a very tall fugitive walked toward him. The team showed up on cue. He admitted that for a split second he wondered what would happen if they didn’t.
How do you become a bail recovery agent in Georgia?
Most people become a bail recovery agent in Georgia by learning under someone who already does the work. Hackman said agents are independent contractors who buy their own equipment, including body armor, a body camera, and a vehicle. He estimated it takes about $4,000 to get started the right way.
The field is small. By his estimate, fewer than a dozen people do this full time in Georgia. His first year was close to an unpaid apprenticeship, earning a percentage of someone else’s percentage.
Pettyjohn’s advice is about motive. “One thing we don’t like is cowboys,” he said. People who want the gear and the badge are the ones who get hurt, and they get bondsmen sued. “It’s not a fashion show.”
Reputation is everything. Both men built their relationship with A 2nd Chance over years of trading information with Jesse Fellabaum, the company’s Director of Operations. They would call when a bond looked solid. They would call when it didn’t.
Hear the full conversation on Justice Unfiltered, on Xtra 106.3 FM, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a bail recovery agent do?
Is a bail recovery agent the same as a bounty hunter?
Can my bond be revoked if I have not been arrested again?
What should I do if I missed a court date in Georgia?
Meeting a bail recovery agent is the one part of our business we hope your family never sees. Staying in touch and showing up to court keeps it that way. If someone you love needs help getting home tonight, call A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds at (770) 627-3235 or start the process online.
About A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds
A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds has been reuniting families for nearly 20 years. With multiple offices across Georgia and Alabama, our licensed bail bond agents are available around the clock to provide fast, respectful service to every family we work with. Whether the charge is a misdemeanor or a felony, we are here to help.
The information in this article is provided for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This article reflects a conversation with guests, and the stories and opinions shared are their own. Bail recovery rules differ from state to state, and what happens after a missed court date depends on the court, the county, and the terms of the bond. Laws, procedures, and requirements in Georgia can change, and individual circumstances vary. If you have specific legal questions about your situation, please consult a licensed attorney in Georgia. A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds is a licensed bail bond agency, not a law firm.
