Cowley County Sheriff’s deputies are no longer doing on-scene civil standbys for bail bondsmen who are on the job, Sheriff Dave Falletti said this week.
The change in common practice was in response to a fatal shooting involving a bondsman earlier this year.
“If they encounter an issue, just like any other citizen, they can call for assistance,” Falletti said, in an email responding to a question from KSOK-NewsCow.
On Feb. 23, Jake Nettrouer, 38, was shot and killed at his residence in the 17000 block of 271st Rd. in rural Cambridge.
Nettrouer
A sheriff’s deputy was outside the residence on civil standby for the bondsman, who was attempting a revocation. The shooting occurred inside the home. Wichita-based Fast Eddy’s Bail Bonds was handling Nettrouer’s bond in the case. The business is operated by Ed Runyon.
Cowley County Attorney Larry Schwartz said, this week, that his office is continuing to review the case and gathering information, before determining if criminal charges will be filed. Runyon was in the home and looking for Nettrouer when he shot and fatally wounded Nettrouer. No arrests have been made in the case.
Nettrouer was killed by a single gunshot wound.
He was out on bond after being arrested on theft and drug charges in November 2019 when his home was searched by the Cowley County Sheriff’s Dept.
“I was doing my job,” Runyon said in a phone conversation with a KSOK-NewsCow reporter, not long after the incident occurred. “I didn’t do anything wrong. If I had, I wouldn’t have been allowed to leave that night.”
Runyon said he had been looking for Nettrouer in the days before the shooting. He had initially wanted to work with Nettrouer, he said, to help him get a new co-signer on his bond.
Nettrouer’s girlfriend had indicated to Runyon that the couple were splitting up and she no longer wanted to be responsible for the bond.
Runyon said it had become clear that Nettrouer was avoiding him. Those who know Nettrouer have said he had an appointment with Runyon, scheduled for the day after the shooting.
Using social media, some family and friends of Nettrouer have called for Runyon to be arrested and criminally charged in connection with Nettrouer’s death.
Schwartz said he has some additional questions he would like answered before making a final decision.
