Fugitive From E.H. Justice is Caught in Middle Village

A man who skipped town after his sister put up $10,000 collateral through a bail bondsman was brought back to East Hampton in handcuffs last Thursday, the money probably gone and extended jail time likely ahead.

Justin R. Cruz, 21, remained in custody as of yesterday, unable to post the new cash bail amount of $7,500, or $75,000 bond, set by Town Justice Steven Tekulsky. “Bail has been forfeited any number of times,” Justice Tekulsky said as he read over Mr. Cruz’s record. “That bail is gone,” he said, speaking of the amount posted by AM/PM Bails, based on collateral put up by Dayanet Rodriguez on about Dec. 22.

Ms. Rodriguez is described as Mr. Cruz’s sister in court documents. At the time the bond was posted, Mr. Cruz had been in the county jail in Riverside for about a month, after being arrested by East Hampton Town police on charges of criminal mischief and assault.

He also faces a charge of false personation, stemming from an incident in East Hampton last year. Perhaps more pressing, however, is a charge of violating  probation, in connection with a 2012 incident, in which he escaped, handcuffed, from a police cruiser in Springs. Police had picked him up for possessing a stolen cellphone.

He eluded a manhunt involving a state police K-9 unit and a county police helicopter, but turned himself in the next day, sans handcuffs. Because he was only 18 at the time, the court file was sealed after his conviction, but it is known that he was placed on probation.

In Justice Court on Feb. 25, the district attorney’s office and Rita Bonicelli of the Brill Group, an attorney appointed by the court to defend Mr. Cruz, made an agreement. Its terms were not made public, but it involved additional jail time. Standing before Justice Lisa R. Rana, Mr. Cruz teared up. He was given a new court date of March 23, by which time he would have to decide on the offer.

On March 23, he failed to appear in court. The bond was forfeited, and a warrant was issued for Mr. Cruz’s arrest.

Wayne Lynch, a retired 20-year veteran of the New York Police Department, works for Bail Guard, the enforcement division of Affordable Bails New York, which had been contracted by AM/PM Bails to handle the case. Mr. Lynch explained yesterday that a bail bondsman is like an insurer. If a fugitive is never found, the company is ultimately liable for the collateral amount, which is usually secured with personal property and a payment of 10 percent, plus a state-mandated fee.

Bail Guard learned that Mr. Cruz was attending an all-night poker game in Corona on May 4. Mr. Lynch, joined by two other ex-N.Y.P.D. officers, James Cafaro and Thomas McSweeny, staked out the sister’s residence in Middle Village. Last Thursday morning, Mr. Cruz arrived in a taxi, and the three converged on him.

“He didn’t want to be handcuffed,” Mr. Lynch said, describing the man as “passively uncooperative.” Mr. Cruz was eventually cuffed and placed in leg shackles.

On the trip back to East Hampton, he told the bondsmen that he had made $2,000 at the poker table but lost it all later shooting craps. He is due back in East Hampton Town Justice Court today.