Man shot trying to flee bail bondsmen in Fresno

A bail bondsman shot a man he was trying to serve a warrant to in southwest Fresno on Tuesday night after the man tried to flee, according to Fresno police.

The man’s wound was not life-threatening and he was taken to the hospital in custody by police.

Lt. Larry Bowlan said about five bail bondsmen showed up in the 1500 block of Oleander Avenue, west of Chandler Airport, around 6:45 p.m., attempting to find a man in his 30s.

The man was sitting in a car outside a home. When he noticed the bail bondsman walking up to him, the man tried to make a U-turn out of the front yard, Bowlan said.

One of the bail bondsman felt his life was threatened as the car neared him and fired “once, maybe twice,” Bowlan said, hitting the man’s car and his leg.

The warrant for his arrest was for failure to appear in court, evading arrest, resisting arrest and child endangerment.

Bowlan said bail bondsman work under different rules than law enforcement and there are penal codes that protect them.

“In this occurrence, if they did feel like their life was threatened, just like a regular citizen, they do have a right to protect themselves,” he said.

None of the bail bondsmen were injured in the incident. Bowlan did not release the name of the bail bond company, the man who was shot or the bail bondsmen.

This story was originally published October 9, 2018 at 8:45 PM.