Bail agency wants off Bradley case

A Magnolia bail bonds company has filed a motion in Sussex County Superior Court to be relieved of the bond posted for Lewes pediatrician Dr. Earl Bradley. However, the motion has stalled in court.

Axe Bail Bonds, which has offices in Delaware, Maryland and soon in Pennsylvania, wants to be relieved of a $36,000 surety bond posted in Bradley’s name because the company can no longer supervise Bradley, who is incarcerated at James T. Vaughn Correctional Institute in Smyrna. Bradley is awaiting indictment on over 30 charges of rape and exploitation of young children.

Dwayne Breeding of Axe Bail Bonds said, “All the judges have disqualified themselves. Anything to do with that case can’t go before any of the judges that disqualify themselves. That means we’re stuck on the bond until we get a judge that will do the case.”

Officials with the Superior Court prothonotary’s office said the motion is still pending until a judge can be assigned to the case. Judge E. Scott Bradley was assigned as judge in the case but has passed on the motion.

Breeding explained why Axe wants to be relieved.

“Say that the jail doesn’t transport him for some reason. Then we are still responsible for getting him into the court, but we can’t get him in the court because we can’t arrest him and bring him out. I can’t guarantee he’s going to get to the courthouse because if he doesn’t go, I can’t pick him up to bring him in,” he said.

After he was arrested on the morning of Dec. 16, 2009, Bradley was released later that night on $36,000 bond. Breeding explained what happened after Bradley was released.

“When I originally did this bond, it was a transfer bond. I didn’t know who it was, what it was, what was going on, anything. That night we ended up getting called down to Lewes where we met all the detectives and stood by with them while they were in the house looking for him,” he said.

Bradley was arrested on additional charges and turned himself in the morning of Dec. 18. Lawyers in a civil suit against Bradley and Beebe Medical Center in New Castle County have said Bradley tried to destroy records in the day-and-a-half before he turned himself in.

Breeding said Axe was called by an out-of-state bond agency on behalf of a member of Bradley’s family. A transfer bond was then arranged where the out-of-state company wrote the bond and then transferred it to Axe.

Breeding did not identify who the other company was or which member of Bradley’s family was bailing him out.

The bond was transferred to Axe and written as a surety bail. Breeding said that means the client gives the bondsman 10 percent of the bail.

That 10 percent acts as the bondsman’s fee for ensuring the defendant ends up making his court date. The bond is essentially an insurance policy to ensure the defendant shows up in court.

“You pay insurance on your car – you never wreck it, you never use it. You pay insurance on these people guaranteeing them to be in court – they don’t run, they don’t use it. As soon they’re sentenced and the case is closed, we’re done,” Breeding said.

After he was rearrested, Bradley had a new bail set at $2.9 million cash. The prothonotary’s office said new bond is assessed on every charge; the first bond stays on the case as long as charges are pending.

“We could write it again if we wanted to. We’ve actually talked about writing the $2.9 [million] But the only reason why we’re not going to do it is, we’re afraid that, one, we know he’s on suicide watch in the prison. If he gets out, he’s either going to kill himself or someone is going to kill him. Then it would be up to us to find the body within the time period that we have or we have to give up $2.9 million,” Breeding said. “We know he wants to kill himself; he’s actually stated he wanted to.”

He said if Axe’s motion to be relieved is granted, no more obligation to make sure Bradley shows up in court and keeps the money it has been paid.

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