Russell Moncrief, a 75-year-old local bondsman, is being charged with a major crime: exchanging bail for sex. On Wednesday, the judge will decide if he should stay in jail until his trial.
An FBI agent said in court, “Used Moncrief bail bonds to get her out of jail, but she had to have sex with Mr. Moncrief in exchange.”
The agent said that Moncrief, who had been a bondsman for almost 50 years, reportedly had a deal with people who traffic people.
“Those traffickers had an understanding with Mr. Moncrief where they would be bonded out by Mr. Moncrief in exchange for sex,” he said.
The almost two-hour meeting was mostly about two things: whether Moncrief should stay in jail until his trial and what conditions could be put on his release if he is.
In response to worries about victims, the state says yes:
“They are afraid of retaliation from the defendant,” said Mary Sammon, assistant statewide prosecutor.
The defense said that Moncrief is not a danger because he has given up his license to work as a bondsman.
“All of these things come from claims that were made before he had a bail bonds business; they have nothing to do with now,” Rose Feller, the defense attorney, said.
The defense said that if Moncrief is freed, he could be subject to terms like a curfew, an ankle monitor, and limits on how much time he spends on the internet.
The state, on the other hand, said he should stay in jail until the trial because of how serious the victims’ claims were.
“If they did not comply with this exchange, with what the expected payment would be, he would threaten to revoke their bond and threaten to put them back into custody,” he told us.
Feller wanted to know if the unnamed victims were telling the truth.
“We can talk about how honest they are with this court. “It is been based on a lot of different sources, but there is nothing solid to back it up,” Feller said.
The judge told the lawyers that they had to turn in their legal cases by the middle of the afternoon. Each side did, and the judge’s ruling is still not in.