NC Bondsman arrested in shooting, and providing security without a license
Fayetteville NC June 19 2021
A bail bondsman was arrested last week, police said, after he allegedly shot a man he was trying to take into custody.
Marquell King was shot at 7:38 p.m. June 5 as licensed bondsman Nicholas Dawson was attempting to serve an arrest warrant, police spokesman Sgt. Jeremy Glass said.
King was sitting in a vehicle near Brayboy Park on Fontana Street when Dawson, 35, allegedly had his weapon drawn and attempted to remove King from the car, Sgt. Glass said.
During the interaction, King was shot in the left bicep and right hand, the police report said.
Dawson was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm into occupied property. King was treated for his injuries then arrested on a charge of misdemeanor probation violation, records show. Both men have since been released onbail.
When reached by phone Thursday, Dawson declined to comment.
This is the second time in less than a year that Dawson has been charged with a crime involving a weapon, court records show. He was arrested by Alcohol Law Enforcement agents last July on a charge of providing armed security at a Hope Mills party without proper registration. That charge is still pending. Under N.C. law, security guards are required to have a firearm registration permit and security guard training if they want to carry a weapon on duty.
Bail bondsmen in North Carolina are allowed to carry firearms, but are not licensed to to do so by the Department of Insurance which licenses bondsman, Deputy Commissioner John Cable said.
“They carry those at their own risk, like a civilian would carry them,” Cable said. “There is no authorization under us. There is no formal training.”
According to Cable, in the case of an accidental discharge of a bondsman’s personal firearm, that individual could lose their bail bondsman license pending the outcome of investigation by the Bail Bond Regulatory Division of the Department of Insurance.
If a bondsman is convicted of a felony, that would result in loss of license, Cable said
If there is no conviction, the Bail Bond Regulatory Division would conduct an investigation and determine whether the allegations warrant revocation of the bail bondsman license, he said. Once an investigation is complete, the Bail Bond Regulatory Division can allow for the bondsman to undergo remedial training or education in order to retain the license, according to Cable.