CT bounty hunters busted for trying to bag suspect in RI court

February 1, 2018 6:26 pm

By: Rachael Perry

Email: rperry@abc6.com

Twitter: @RachaelABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Two Connecticut bounty hunters were arrested after detaining a suspect illegally.

Angel Guadalupe, 45, of Bristol, C.T., and William Sobota, 40, of Burlington, C.T., were arrested on Thursday for attempting to transport a suspect back to Connecticut.

“The bounty hunters detained the suspect based on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear for misdemeanor crimes in Connecticut,” said Laura Meade Kirk, spokeswoman for Rhode Island State Police.

“However, Rhode Island General Laws do not allow for out-of-state bounty hunters to operate in this state.”

The unidentified suspect, Kirk said, was being arraigned in Providence on a separate charge.

Guadalupe and Sobota caught wind of the scheduled appearance, and waited for the suspect to be arraigned. From there, they allegedly took the suspect into custody and started to lead him out of the building.

“A Rhode Island State Police Trooper assigned to a security detail at the courthouse was alerted to the bounty hunters’ actions and confirmed that they had no legal right to detain the suspect,” said Kirk.

“The trooper confirmed there also was no warrant on file from the state of Connecticut indicating that the suspect faced any charge under which he could be arrested and extradited to Connecticut.”

However, Guadalupe and Sobota did not heed the trooper’s words of advice, ultimately being arrested by other troopers on Interstate 95 South in Warwick, near Route 117 a little later on.

Both bounty hunters were brought back to Sixth Division District Court where they were charged with kidnapping and conspiracy. They were released on personal recognizance.

The suspect was released.

No further information is available at this time.