Madison police arrest bondsmen for impersonating US Marshals
By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer
MADISON – After an investigation stemming from an April 23 incident, in which three men drew guns on an unsuspecting motorist at the corner of Wall-Triana Highway and Highway 72, Madison police arrested three area men on charges of impersonating a peace officer.
On the evening of Wednesday, April 23, police received several tips about a confrontation involving drawn guns happening at one of Madison’s busiest intersections. According to a release from the department on May 7, the responding officers came upon three men, who were later identified as private bail bondsmen.
“The subjects identified themselves with badges very similar to the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and initially identified themselves to Madison Police as being part of the “fugitive task force,” the release stated.
The suspects were, according to the release, “attempting to apprehend” someone they thought was a criminal fugitive.
Lt. Terrell Cook of the Madison Police Department clarified that the individual who was the subject of the men’s false crusade was not the fugitive they were trying to apprehend.
“They were lucky that the person they were chasing didn’t have a gun,” Cook said.
After a warrant was put out for the three men’s arrests, the trio turned themselves into the authorities on May 7. The suspects are Thomas Ramsey, 27, of Huntsville; Angelo Contino, 38, of Meridianville; and Walter Rua, 45, of Huntsville. All were booked into the Madison County Jail on $2,500 apiece.
Thomas Ramsey, 27, of Huntsville. (Contributed/Madison Police Department)
Angelo Contino, 38, of Meridianville. (Contributed/Madison Police Department)
Walter Rua, 45, of Huntsville. (Contributed/Madison Police Department)
Cook said the men’s positions as bondsmen likely influenced them to try to pass themselves off as members of the Fugitive Task Force.
“I’m sure that that’s what led them to feel the necessity to go get these fake badges,” Cook said.
No charges stemmed from the brandishing of firearms, Cook explained, as the men had proper licensing – though he did not endorse the actions of pointing them at a car just off a busy road.
“It was a perfect storm of bad ideas,” Cook said.
