Brickner says the government is remaining mum because that part of the story reflects unfavorably on its case. "When I brought them in, Terets gave me a hug, and said, 'Thank you, thank you,' because we treated her well," he says. "We made phone calls for her, we didn't mistreat her or anything. She said, 'Thank you for being respectful.'" Brickner also says the immigration officer accepted Terets and her daughter into custody without protest, and thanked Brickner for bringing them in. The drop-off seemed no different than the dozens of others he had made across the country. A few hours later, Terets called Brickner on the phone, he says. She was no longer in custody, and she was angry. That's when he guessed that there was trouble on the horizon.
Terets and her daughter were released on "orders of supervision," a sort of legal limbo for immigrants who have final deportation orders, but who are allowed to remain in the country. They could remain in the country for the rest of their lives, or they could be deported at any time. Since they're willing to serve as government witnesses, their immigration status has probably measurably improved — a tearful 11-year-old girl on the witness stand could well seal Brickner's conviction.
Ken Garduno
Bounty hunter Jeremy Brickner claims he never identified himself as Immigration.
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Perhaps ICE foresees a time when they won't need bounty hunters like Brickner, a time when, flush with funding and manpower, they can stick to the moral high ground, and send legitimate government agents to pick up every stray immigrant. Maybe they're sending a message to other bounty hunters with Brickner's case, warning them that outrageous tactics will not be tolerated, and that people who can't stick to the rules should get out of the business. Or maybe they're putting on a nice show of doing so.
Even as one government department was arresting and indicting Brickner, several law enforcement agencies were irritated and inconvenienced when Brickner abruptly left the game in December. The U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were both keen to collect a man named James Armondo Watkins who Brickner had been tracking. Watkins was wanted on four separate warrants involving guns, drugs, and probation violations. They were depending on Brickner to seal the deal. Before Brickner's arrest, he had already set Watkins up to meet him in Stockton, and both agencies expected to take part in the raid.
Since the man's mother had recently died, Brickner set up a meeting at a notary's office, where Watkins believed he would collect a life insurance check for $14,000. Then Brickner was arrested, held for eight days, and released on the condition that he cease and desist his bounty hunting completely. When the Marshals office and an ATF agent called Brickner and asked for the place and time of the setup, Brickner said, "'Sorry, I can't give you any information,'" he remembers. "They called the U.S. Attorney's Office and they said, 'Nope, he can't give it to you.'"
Brickner says he had nothing to do with the fact that the U.S. Marshals, the ATF agents, and the Stockton SWAT team all showed up at the right notary's office, at the right time, and got their guy. But he does think that if government agents need the help of an indicted bounty hunter to get results, they shouldn't be embarrassed to ask.
"I think it's ridiculous," says Brickner. "We should all be working together."
