The Martin Firm - selected case information

LaGrange Daily News

Saturday, October 18, 2003

Bail bondsman convicted on misdemeanor charges

Cleared of assault, cruelty allegations
By Joel Martin
Senior Writer

A LaGrange bondsman, along with a co-defendant, were convicted of misdemeanor battery charges Friday for assaulting a man who owed the bondsman $362.

But the defendants were acquitted of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and cruelty to children in the second degree.

Jeff Bradley, 40, owner of AAA Bonding Co., and Ronald Batchelor, 34, of LaGrange face a maximum 12 months in prison at sentencing Oct. 31.

The issue was whether the defendants used excessive force when they arrested Jamie Thomas, 21, at a residence on Cherry Valley Drive and returned him to the Muscogee County Jail in Columbus.

Bradley had posted a bail bond for Thomas after his arrest on credit card fraud charges, but he said Thomas never paid him a bonding fee or called his office as required under the terms of their agreement.

The jury deliberated for about two hours before returning the verdicts.

"Clearly this was a case of excessive force,'" even though the jury found that it didn't rise to the level of a felony, said Assistant District Attorney Lynda Caldwell. "Had they believed no excessive force had been used, the jury would have found the defendants not guilty as to all the charges."

Defense attorneys said Bradley used reasonable force when Thomas resisted arrest after he was found hiding in the mobile home of Thomas's cousin Destiny Terry, last Dec. 3.

Batchelor's only involvement was helping Thomas off the floor when he was already in handcuffs, his attorney, Frank Martin, said.

Thornton and Bradley's attorney, Frank Martin of

Columbus, said the victim, who was AWOL from the Army at the time, apparently sustained a gash over the left eye when his head struck the bunk beds where he had been hiding.

"It all gets down to a swearing contest," Thomton told the jury. "Who do you believe?"

Bradley took Thomas to St. Francis Hospital in Columbus where about 10 stitches were needed to dose the wound. An emergency room nurse said Destiny Terry showed up at the hospital and Said, "If he had just surrendered like he should have, none of this ever would have happened."

Terry denied being at the hospital.

Bradley said he had to pull Thomas off the bunk beds and tackle him before he could get him handcuffed.

The defendants had been indicted in August on 12 counts, including kidnapping with bodily injury. Nine counts were dismissed before and during the three-day trial.

"The state threw everything at them but the kitchen sink," Thornton said. "They couldn't get that Loose or they would 'have done that too.

Martin also accused the prosecution of "over-reaching," claiming the defendants never would have been charged if they had been .police officers making an arrest.

"People with equal rights should be treated equally," Martin said.

Hospital records show that Thomas reported hitting his head on the bunk beds. But Caldwell said the bondsman intimidated him into telling that story.

"This is a case of excessive force, unnecessary and unacceptable brutality," the prosecutor said.

She said Bradley kicked Thomas in the face when he ignored the bondsman, and was beaten and kicked while in handcuffs.

"These men 'think they're above the law, that they're untouchable," Caldwell said