interesting case out of Corpus Christi, Tx... FYI
A woman plans to file charges against several men who came into her home last month demanding money on behalf of a local bail bonds company.
Leilani Salazar doesn't argue the fact that she owed money to Alma's Bail Bonds, related to a family member's criminal case last fall, but Salazar questions how far a company or their collector should be allowed to go to make someone pay up.
It was about 11:30pm on January 30th a group of men walked up to Salazar's house.
She claims they knocked on the door, said they were US Marshals, and threatened to take her to jail if she didn't pay up.
Salazar owed $435, but could only afford to pay about half of that.
She spent much of the next day with her sister in Alice, too afraid to go back to the house.
"And I told her I don't want to go home, because these men, they invaded my house, they invaded my daughter," she recalled with tears in her eyes.
Alma Flores of Alma's Bail Bonds said they contract with a private group called U.S. Fugitive Recovery Services, which is run by Eloy Silva, whose title is "Bounty Hunter" on a card inside Alma's.
Flores believed the collectors weren't supposed to go after people late at night.
She recalled telling an office manager, "I said be sure and tell Eloy not to be ringing doorbells after 10:00 at night."
Silva confirmed over the phone that he was at Salazar's house that night, but he denies being rude, threatening to take her to jail, or claiming to be a US Marshal.
"She was just told that if she didn't pay the money, then a suit was going to be filed on her, and then a warrant could be issued later on," he said.
However, Salazar is certain that's how they identified themselves.
"I know they said they were US Marshals. My other daughter knows they said they were US Marshals."
Carlos Alvarado, Supervisory US Marshals in Corpus Christi, says his office has received two complaints in the last month about collectors claiming to be Marshals.
One is Salazar's case, but he didn't specify the other.
Although his office is not actively investigating the claims right now, Alvarado said he has spoken with the US Attorney's office about the issue, and said that if someone is wrongly using their name, there are serious penalties for that.
Salazar plans to file charges with CCPD, accusing the men of extortion and impersonating an officer.
She has also filed a complaint with the County's bail bonds board, hoping to change what those companies can and can't do to collect.
Alvarado encouraged anyone who has doubts about who's knocking at their door to contact 911, because dispatch
