Three "bail fugitive recovery agents," better known as bounty hunters, are accused of a slew of felony and misdemeanor charges in connection to an incident in San Diego County earlier this year, according to state officials.
National City police, working in conjunction with U.S. Marshals, members of the San Diego Violent Crimes Task Force and personnel from the California Department of Insurance, arrested Johnathan Hawks, 42, and Bianca Annette Garcia, 35, on Wednesday in San Marcos and San Jacinto, respectively. Both are currently being held on $1 million bail, despite the fact that the charges filed against Hawks include kidnapping and false imprisonment with violence. Both are charged with burglary, making an arrest without authority and acting as a fugitive recovery person while unlawfully carrying a weapon.
A third suspect, Jesse A. Wagner, aka Jesse Nunez, has been charged as well, according to a news release issued by the state department of insurance, which is the agency responsible for licensing the recovery agents. He, too, will face a million-dollar bail, authorities said.
All three suspects are employed by Fugitive Warrants, which is owned and operated by Wagner and was being investigated after an incident in National City.
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"On June 10, 2022, National City police received a radio call from a bail fugitive recovery agent in pursuit of a woman armed with a rifle," the news release states. "After responding to the scene and investigating, police learned that Wagner and his team arrested their fugitive and after doing so burglarized the fugitive and his girlfriend's residence."
Investigators believe that after the alleged burglary, the bounty hunters located the woman in her father's car and "conducted a high-risk traffic stop," then falsely imprisoned her and her father and brought them back to the couple's home in an effort to locate guns allegedly owned by the fugitive.
Wagner has been involved in several high-profile incidents in recent years in San Diego, including one in March of this year when he was shot in the face in El Cajon. A year earlier, Nunez's partner was shot while attempting to capture a fugitive in Chula Vista.
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On Monday, National City police told NBC 7 they are in contact with the Wagner, saying that he knows he’s wanted and that he promised to turn himself in but he’s not doing that. Lt. Greg Seward of the National City police, who is a lead on the case, told NBC 7 that the agency is involved because of other incidents Wagner responded to in that jurisdiction that are of concern. Seward said some of those concerns include the tactics Wagner uses, which allegedly included excessive force while apprehending fugitives.
Seward also said that Wagner was arrested in 2003 for impersonating a peace officer while working as a bail bondsman and was sentenced to nine years, four months in prison. The lieutenant was unable to say how much time Wagner served. Since his release, Seward said, Wagner has been operating as a bounty hunter.
And for those who are wondering: Since Wagner has not gone to jail, a bounty hunter will not be used to locate him.
Wagner was involved in three incidents in National City that are of concern, according to Seward, who alleged that Wagner has used excessive force, including pepper balls, and has been known to kick down the doors of residences and buildings where suspects are not located.
The San Diego District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case, according to the news release.
Hawks and Garcia are expected in court on Friday.
