Country Singer Randy Howard Killed in Gunfight With Bounty Hunter

[onehandle]

Source: AP/Billboard

Authorities say country singer Randy Howard has been killed in a gunfight with a bounty hunter trying to detain him.

Several media outlets report the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the Tuesday night shooting of 65-year-old Howard in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Howard has performed with country music stars Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. In 1983, his album All-American Redneck hit No. 41 on the Top Country Albums chart, while the title track went to No. 84 on Hot Country Songs. He also hit that singles chart in 1988, landing at No. 66 with his take on Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire."

TBI spokesman Josh DeVine says the bounty hunter showed up at Howard's home to take him into custody for missing a court appearance. Devine said Howard opened fire, the bounty hunter shot back and Howard was killed.

DeVine said the bounty hunter was trying to detain Howard on a warrant charging him with fourth-offense DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm while intoxicated and driving on a revoked license.

Read more: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/6597744/randy-howard-dead-bounty-hunter

---

Oh, gunny gunny gun gun guns....

[Gidney N Cloyd]

1. "Bounty hunters." What year is this again?

[PSPS]

5. These are really bail bondsmen

Some like to use the "bounty hunter" moniker because they think it has more cache or gravitas. If they put up the bond (usually for a 10% fee, the rest on collateral) and the person skips, the bondsman has to either produce the defendant or pay up the whole bond. Theoretically, they're supposed to have enough collateral to cover the bond (usually a car, house, etc.,) but liquidating it is a hassle, they never get everything, and their own bond insurance or standing can get cancelled which puts them out of business.

If they kill someone like this, they don't get any "bounty." What happens is that they lose 90% of the bond they put up.

I know a lot of these guys and only a few carry guns if they have to collect someone. I think there used to be a reality show along these lines which was like "Cops," except you rode along with them trying to pick up a skipper. One of the guys I know was featured in that. They really played it up to look all militaristic and macho, as usual but, like all reality shows, it isn't the way they portray it at all.

[lobodons]

10. Dead was just fine in Django

Dead was just fine in Django. (The D is silent)

[marble falls]

11. From when I lived in Arizona:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_gist/1997/09/bounty_hunters.html

Bounty Hunters

By Franklin Foer
41000_41470_bountyhuntersfnl

Last month, five armed bounty hunters forced their way into a Phoenix home, shooting and killing two occupants. In another recent case, Kansas City, Mo., bounty hunters broke into the wrong home and put three bullets in an innocent man. These stories portray bounty hunters as thugs who are beyond the law. What is a bounty hunter? What legal powers do bounty hunters have? Whence do they derive those powers?

Bounty hunters work for bail-bondsmen. They are dispatched to capture defendants in criminal cases who have skipped bail posted by bail-bondsmen. About 40 percent of all criminal defendants are released on bail, a cash deposit that is forfeited to the court if the defendant fails to appear before the judge as promised. Defendants who can't afford bail often hire the services of a private bail-bond agency to front the cash. The bondsman's fee is usually 10 percent of the bail, with defendants putting up collateral for the remainder.
ADVERTISING

Last year, more than 33,000 defendants posted bail and then skipped their court date. Most bail-jumpers face charges on drug-related crimes, violent offenses, or theft. The most popular bail-jumper destinations are warm-weather spots (Southern California and south Florida) and big cities (Chicago and New York City). Most skips stay within the United States--avoiding passport-control agents, who are trained to spot them.

In most states, a bondsman must return the skip within a year of the missed court date to recover his deposit. Few bail-bondsmen keep bounty hunters on the payroll for liability reasons, choosing instead to pay the bounty hunters the standard fee of 10 percent of the bond. Bounty hunters (who prefer to call themselves "recovery agents&quot are paid only after the skip is returned to custody and the bail-bondsman gets his deposit back from the court. In most states bounty hunters are unregulated. (Bail-bondsmen, on the other hand, are licensed and regulated by all states, and in many jurisdictions must carry liability and general operating insurance.)

<snip>

The rest of the article is interesting.

[Psephos]

12. informative n/t

[quadrature]

2. do they get the bounty? how much was it?

this was a skipped bail-bond kind of situation?

[Cleita]

3. So much for keeping a gun in your house for self-defense from

home intruders. It seems that didn't go so well.

[ManiacJoe]

20. Guns are not magic talismans; there is no guaranty.

[Cleita]

21. If there hadn't been two guns, there wouldn't have been a gunfight. eom

[ManiacJoe]

22. So, which guy do you want to disarm?

The fugitive or the recovery agent?

[Ed Suspicious]

27. Both.

[LynneSin]

4. I'm sorry to hear of his death. It looks like Howard was suffering from addiction and needed help

I know we would want to say this is another death because of gun violence but to me I see this as another death probably because of our messed up drug laws. Mr Howard probably didn't have the means to get help for himself and found himself in a dead end path of addiction. I hope that the afterlife finds peace for him.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

16. All he had to do is show up to the courtroom.

He had problems, yes, but he should have gone to his court appearance.

[LynneSin]

17. That's easy to do when you are sober

Much harder to do when one is in the grip of addiction.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

18. Even an alcoholic can go to meetings.

[LanternWaste]

28. Even half-wits can speak of that which they know little of...

Even half-wits can speak of that which they know little of...

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

30. Yes, and some with high intellect

can be the dumbest motherfuckers on the planet.

[Judi Lynn]

32. One would think he could manage it. n/t

[Agnosticsherbet]

6. Wanted Dead or Alive.

[winstars]

7. Dead apparently is just fine... what a great country we have these days... nt

[Agnosticsherbet]

8. Live by the gun, die by the gun.

[Hoyt]

9. Yahoos and gunz just don't mix.

[dembotoz]

13. Has to be a song in there. Somewhere

What is this world coming to

[Frank Cannon]

14. Bon Jovi got you covered.

[RandiFan1290]

15. Thug music. nt

[ileus]

19. Warning...don't be a criminal.

[peacebird]

26. Bounty hunters are known to break into wrong house and kill innocent people

Sucks to be the innocent person, or their family, because these 'people' are above the law.

[ManiacJoe]

31. Bounty hunters are not above the law.

They do not possess any extra legal powers than a normal citizen.
Busting into the wrong house often gets them shot, as one would expect of any armed intruder.

[LanternWaste]

29. Tamir Rice should have heeded your words of wisdom...

Tamir Rice should have heeded your words of wisdom...

[Eleanors38]

23. Sad this guy was killed, but the bounty hunter appears justified in his actions. nt

[onehandle]

24. The Second Amendment clearly makes us all bounty hunters.

Excuse me. Gotta go hunt me some jaywalkers.






And since, well you know... I must add

[Eleanors38]

25. It appears you have no sympathies, one way or another. nt