Impersonating an authority figure is a common enough crime. Criminals could have an endless variety of reasons for impersonating police, doctors, and trusted public figures of all kinds. 31 year old James Felix had his own reasons for impersonating a bail bonds recovery agent in July of this year, but there is no way he could have known how fateful his false career choice would end up being.
He was initially arrested in Harlem, New York for impersonating a bail recovery agent. At the time, Felix illegally detained a suspect he believed to be dodging a warrant in the hopes of turning them in for a reward. However, Felix grabbed the wrong guy. It was revealed in the process that Felix was not a bounty hunter at all. He was charged with assault and weapons possession and let out on a $10,000 bond.
When Felix’s court date came around, instead of facing justice, Felix made a run for it. A warrant for Felix’s arrest was issued and a bounty put out by Empire Bail Bonds, the agency that issued his bail. It is odd to think that someone who had once pretended at being a bounty hunter would think it wise to try outrunning them.
Apparently, Felix’s time playing pretend taught him very little about how to evade a real bounty hunter. James Carrion, in the employ of Empire Bail Bonds, quickly apprehended Felix. Adding insult to injury, Carrion found Felix while the fugitive was in the middle of watching an illicit film in a hotel.
Michelle Esquenazi, the head of Empire, said, “We’re important people in the criminal justice system, and this guy made people like us look bad.” Carrion’s capture of false hunter Felix helped to lend credibility to bounty hunters everywhere, and the next person thinking about impersonating a bounty hunter will hopefully think twice before trying to escape justice.