The Scottish Bounty Hunter

This programme contains very strong language.

DIAL TONE

'Virginia Beach Public Safety.'

Hey, this is Christian Matlock, bail enforcement agent.

-'Yes, how can I help you?'

-I need to check in an address

-with you on Northampton Boulevard.

-'Do you need assistance with that?'

No, I'm just letting you guys know that I'm in the area.

-I'll call you when I'm done.

-'All righty.'

This time of night, believe it or not,

up on this Northampton Boulevard,

where we're going, it's lively. You know? You would think

it's the afternoon up there.

All the guys with drugs. They sell drugs up there.

If you want something illegal, you can find it up here.

Doesn't matter what it is, it's up here.

That's a truck stop right there. That's where you can get the women.

So, you've pretty much got drugs on the right, women on the left.

Depends whatever you're in the mood for.

PHONE RINGS

Informant.

Hello?

It's 1am in Virginia Beach,

on America's Atlantic Coast.

We are on a manhunt,

chasing a fugitive who has just been recalled to jail.

Nothing?

I'll get the other side.

That's Dwayne. He's the, um...

He's my backup.

Sharp eyes, that guy.

We meet an informant in the car park of a government housing block

and she identifies the man we're looking for.

Is that him? Dwayne.

-What's up, buddy?

-Hi, how you doing?

-Can you put that bag down for me?

-All right, then.

-Yeah, put it down.

-Anything in your pockets?

-Yeah. What's going on?

You're going to jail today.

Well, I don't want to go to jail, you know?

But you have to be accountable for things that you do.

I mean, I'm working and all but, being an ex-veteran

and all, like that, I'm dealing with a lot of PTSD and all that.

I drink a lot of alcohol to, you know, get rid of the sorrow and all.

I can't feel sorry for everyone

or I'd just end up taking the handcuffs off everybody.

You know?

Thought about taking them off many times and letting folk go,

but I can't do that.

This is what I signed up for.

28-year-old Christian Matlock

was born and raised in Brechin, in the east of Scotland.

# I've been a bad, bad boy

# And I know I should be good... #

At 21, he left Brechin and moved to Virginia,

in search of his American father.

I was at the point where

I was getting into a lot of trouble.

Couldn't find a job.

Plus, I've always thought that, you know,

America looked a lot cooler in the movies.

So, I thought I'd come and give it a try.

In Virginia, like most American states,

it's not only cops who get to carry guns and chase criminals.

If you want to, you can go to school,

get a licence and become a bounty hunter.

In some states, you don't even need a licence.

GUNSHOTS

Seven years ago, that's exactly what Christian did.

'I'm not your typical bounty hunter.'

Cos I know other bounty hunters

and I know they're fucking arseholes.

The big tactical, Rambo-looking cunts.

Should I not say "cunt"?

'I mean, don't get me wrong, dude.

'every boy or every man, right, wants to have a gun

'and they want kick in doors and be all tactical and shit, right?'

What the fuck is that?

'It's exciting being like that.'

But I prefer to be more of the, like, undercover detective,

kind of, guy.

Bounty hunters are contracted by bondsmen -

moneylenders who offer to cover bail money to those who can't afford it,

in exchange for a 10% commission.

If the accused fails to show in court, the bondsman loses

the entire sum, unless a bounty hunter can track down the fugitive.

About to meet a Chesapeake bondsman, Joey Belcher,

to get a couple of files for some people that he can't find.

Or he's having difficulty finding. I don't know what the problem is yet.

-Sup?

-Hello, Christian.

What have you got?

Got a guy.

Heroin.

He's violated both bonds for pre-trial.

He was down in Virginia Beach.

Parents own this company down in Virginia Beach,

supposedly where he works.

Who else you got?

I got a girl. Another junkie.

-Young girl.

-How old is she?

19-20.

Fucking hell.

Looks like a scene from The Walking Dead, doesn't it?

Both of them got ties right across the line, North Carolina.

-I see that. Both addresses are in North Carolina.

-Yeah.

But they're all coming up here, because they buy their dope cheaper.

I ain't worried about it. And it's laced with fentanyl.

Give them a bigger high. All right, buddy.

-Do what you do.

-Easy.

-Give me a holler if you need me.

-All right.

Drugs are really bad, especially in this area.

This part of Virginia, especially, is really, really bad with heroin.

That's the big thing right here.

And, right now, it's laced with something else

that's actually killing people, on the spot, pretty much.

The first thing I do, I don't know about other bounty hunters,

but I always check... I always check people on Facebook,

cos I mean, I don't know what the percentage is but,

I think everyone's on there, somewhere or other.

Oh, and there we go. See? We found her already.

Right, I've got three mutual friends with her.

See the difference now in this here?

August 27, 2015, to last month.

If she really is a junkie,

she's either, one, going to want to get drugs,

or she's going to want to make money.

We just need to find out which one she wants more.

And then, we'll offer it to her.

And then, the same as everyone else, they'll come.

And they'll realise that we're not who we say we are.

But we do have something for them. It's usually just handcuffs.

Around 80% of the jobs Christian gets are drugs related.

In recent years, Virginia has been battling a worsening drug scene.

At present, more than 800 people die each year from heroin

or opiate overdoses in this state.

The following morning,

Christian has already made progress on the first of Joey's two files.

He's contacted Josh, who is working in his mum and dad's repair shop.

Posing as a customer, Christian calls him again,

to confirm an appointment.

DIAL TONE

-AMERICAN ACCENT:

-Hi, bud.

I'm about ten or 15 minutes away from you.

OK, where do I come in at?

All right, well, I'll be with you there soon.

Thanks, bud. Bye.

He just told us exactly where he was.

Fucking idiot.

To catch Josh unaware,

Christian attempts the arrest with no gun and no cameras.

Are you ready for this?

This is fun. No gun.

No, actually, I want to talk to you guys.

Today, yeah, if he wants to. If he has the capability to.

You got anything on you?

I'm not having a needle.

This way.

How long have you been trying to get off of heroin?

For months? So...

How much time do you have before you have to use heroin again today?

Have you got hours or what?

You OK?

Well, I mean, you've got handcuffs on.

I'm going to pull up and get out, get some fresh air and a smoke

and, then, whenever you're ready, we'll push that buzzer.

For finding and putting someone in jail,

Christian gets paid 10% of the person's bond,

which could be as low as a few hundred dollars,

or as high as tens of thousands, depending on the crime.

I feel OK, I guess. I mean, I've been better.

I spoke to his mother on the phone,

and she said that she's over the moon

that he's actually going to be back in jail,

because he's probably going to overdose on that heroin any day now.

He told us that he just took it, about an hour or so

before we showed up. So, whenever that starts to wear off,

he's going to be feeling pretty fucking horrible in that jail.

You've seen Trainspotting?

Can you imagine doing that in a jail cell?

I'd rather do that on a comfy bed or something.

Being a bounty hunter means that Christian works

long and antisocial hours.

All right!

It also means that many of his friends

are in the business themselves.

Like Kevin Johnson and veteran bail bondsman, Ernie Sutton.

Christopher Bellarini.

He used to be the number one bounty hunter around here.

He was crazy. He had an old German Shepherd dog named Major,

weren't worth a shit. But he told me, he says,

20 years ago, he told me,

he says, "You're going to start seeing gangs down here."

And he was right about the time. It's 22 years ago.

But now people will shoot, instead of fighting or trying to run.

I miss the good old days in Scotland.

No-one shoots anybody in Scotland.

You just fight. That's what we do.

You know, in the old days, we had to go knock on doors.

A lot of stakeouts. Now, a lot of it's what they call...

-Cyber shit.

-Yeah, the...

-What do you call it?

-Facebook checking's the best.

-Facebook, yeah.

-Facebook checking.

People want to... They want to put everything on Facebook -

where they're going, where they've been,

-what they're doing this weekend. Yeah.

-I got a woman up in PG County,

Maryland, but she was going to school, right?

There's five different beauty schools all in the same place,

but she would check in at this coffee shop every single morning.

Every morning, she was there at the same time,

getting coffee on her way to school.

For Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and, then, Thursday, no check-in.

Because I'd checked her into West Winchester jail!

As well as getting paid to put people in jail,

Christian also makes money getting people out.

PHONE RINGS

-Hello?

-Four years ago,

he started lending bail money as a bondsman himself.

How much is your bond? Uh-huh.

Right.

Christian's received a call from a mother, whose teenage son

has been arrested for possession of marijuana.

He's seen the magistrate and he gave them a 5,000 bond,

in order to get out of jail.

So, I have to charge this woman 500 and then I'll pay the five grand

and get her boy out for her.

And he'll be out until he goes to trial for his case.

At the jail, Christian pays the bond and the teenager, Alexander,

is released on bail, with some unusual conditions.

-Did you get your bond?

-Yep.

He's got, kind of, magistrate's conditions, to...

No driving without...

No driving without the mother's permission

and if he's to reside with the mother, has to obey all house rules.

But, just an hour later,

Christian receives another call from Alexander's mother.

PHONE RINGS

Matlock speaking.

Uh-huh.

Are you being serious?

Where is he?

Right, I'll see you over there.

Apparently, on the way home, he just fucked about, laughed at her,

said it was all a joke.

Talking about all kinds of stuff. So she wants to put him back in jail.

This is probably the quickest fucking revoke that's ever happened.

Sup, man?

Put your hands on the wall for me.

-For what?

-You're going back to jail, mate.

-I'm going back to jail?

-Mm-hm.

You had fun there. That's what she said, wasn't it?

-No.

-Right, well, what's going to happen is you and I

are going to have to have a talk right here

-and then, we'll find out... Don't.

-I'm not trying to do anything,

-so don't...

-Don't do anything stupid.

So, it's 100% that I'm going back into that jail?

-For now, yeah.

-I didn't break any of those rules.

I wasn't there, mate. I was not there, so I don't know.

But it does state on there that you're supposed to obey

the house rules of your mother.

I'm 18 years old and a graduate of high school. I'm in college.

I haven't done...

I get it, mate.

SNIFFLING

I just want to live with my mom.

I want everything to be OK again.

And I didn't do anything wrong to go back.

-Do you want to talk to her now?

-Yes.

-Right, it's going to be on here,

so you're going to have to talk up.

DIAL TONE

'You have reached the voice...'

'I felt bad for him.

'Haven't really felt bad for anyone I put in jail

'for quite a while, but that guy,'

he got me.

It's definitely younger folk like that that need help,

but when you grow up and you know how you act,

you know what I'm saying?

My grandfather picked me up from jail, fucking many occasions,

and I never acted...I never acted that way on the way home.

# Blue skies, smiling at me

# Nothing but blue skies... #

The next morning, Alexander's mother called Christian at home.

# Bluebirds... #

She said that she wanted to get him back out of jail.

So, I called the jail for her

and she took custody of him and they went home.

I don't have any kids,

so I don't know what it's like dealing with one,

especially having to be a single parent,

when you have an 18-year-old boy to deal with, you know?

It must be tough and stressful for her, I can imagine.

I know I was an arsehole when I was 18.

Maybe that little experience for him,

getting arrested and then getting arrested again

and seeing how easy you can actually get put back in jail,

probably scared him a little bit.

So, maybe it's one of those few cases where jail actually

did work...for someone.

Back at work, Christian returns to the second file

given to him by bondsman Joey Belcher.

19-year-old Raven was arrested for possession of narcotics,

but failed to show up in court.

Right now, I'm just looking through Facebook on this lassie's page,

to see if I can find something - places that she's been,

folk that she's checked in there with...

..what she's doing.

Maybe, if she's got, like, a work uniform on or something.

So...

..January, February, up until March, she's been asking for lifts...

..up to Chesapeake, so she was down in North Carolina, then.

We're probably going to have to drive past that address

right there and just have a look at it.

That's down in South Mills, North Carolina.

These places are horrible to hunt in.

There's nowhere to sit.

Look, there's the actual map view of it.

Got nowhere. You can't... I'm sure everyone knows each other

right there, as well, so you can't go into someone else's driveway.

These are the worst.

Christian plans to do some surveillance work

on Raven's address in North Carolina this evening.

First, he is meeting his friend, defence lawyer, Steven Pfeiffer.

-What's good here?

-All their seafood. Phenomenal. It's all fresh.

I mean, we're next to the water, it's a seafood restaurant.

I think I'm going to get this.

Boneless chicken wings.

Wow, really exploring(!)

We're at the best seafood spot in Virginia Beach

and you're getting chicken wings.

I heard a report on NPR today when I was driving in

and I think they said, the Attorney General said,

there are more heroin deaths this year in Virginia

than there is deaths from car accidents.

-I believe it.

-That's insane.

-I believe it.

I've had four, five clients, this year alone, dead.

Yep, I've been to two of my clients funerals this year already,

because they've taken... They've been heroin addicts,

pill addicts and, then, that new stuff came out,

fentanyl, or whatever.

I don't know if it's new, but they started...

It's a drug. They are cutting... Mixing it with their heroin, yeah.

They are finding them dead with needles in their arms, you know?

As darkness falls, we head down to the swamplands of North Carolina,

to stake out one of the addresses on Raven's file.

The most violent people that I've arrested are women.

I never usually get too much shit from men.

I don't know why. If they look at me and are like,

"I'm not really going to fuck with him" or...

Women don't get that, cos they're under the impression,

"He's a guy, he's not really going to do anything back to me."

So, I've been battered about by women.

Fucking, they've swung bags at me, all kinds of stuff. Thrown shoes.

But I knew that from Scotland, too,

because they're violent there, as well.

The house that we're looking for is half...

0.5 miles up here, on the right.

And you can see, there's nowhere to stop, so...

Number 97.

As we pull into the drive,

two cars follow immediately behind, blocking us in.

Oh, fuck.

Oh, you're fucking joking.

Get your camera off.

In the car behind is Raven's brother.

Right, I'm going to come in there. I have a warrant to check the house,

so, I'm going to come in there and take a look around, OK?

In every file, Christian gets a legal warrant

to arrest his fugitive and to search their property at will.

Any of you guys know where Raven is?

No-one does?

I really need her, like, immediately.

Christian searches the house,

but Raven isn't there.

I'd like to get her before she, at least, you know...

gets into even more trouble or worse, you know?

-What did you say the name of that place was?

-The Riverwalk.

It's like... It's like a park and it's just, kind of, like in Norfolk.

-South Norfolk. Is that, like, in Chesapeake area?

-Mm-hm.

When was the last time you actually got in contact with her

-or spoke to her about something?

-She's kind of always been one

-of the siblings of mine that...

-Comes and goes.

No, that I've just never, like, really affiliated with.

-Really?

-Just due to what she does and what she brings herself around.

I can understand that one.

I mean, like, yeah, I'm not going to act like I've never done anything,

I mean... Everyone does, but that's just a...

-whole other level.

-Well, maybe this time, we can get her some help.

All right. I just sent you a text.

If she stops by or gets in contact with you,

just text me and let me know she's here and I'll come down here

and get her, if you wouldn't mind doing that.

Thank you.

Fucking hell, that place was horrible.

I thought that was her in the car there.

Christian has one other address on Raven's file to check,

in the nearby city of Chesapeake.

I went and spoke to the neighbour.

I found out that Raven and her boyfriend, or whatever,

got evicted and actually the Sheriff's office had to

kick them out of there. And this was about two weeks ago.

So we are about two weeks behind them now.

Don't know. I'm really going to have to think about this one.

She's going to be hard to find...

..I would imagine.

I think that we going to find her, probably, fucked up on some kind of

drug somewhere in a hotel room.

That's probably where we are going to find this one.

This sort of story is nothing new for Christian.

Virginia Beach jail contains many of his repeat clients,

who tell a familiar story. Like 21-year-old Megan Shannon.

Drugs. I hate them. Like, I hate them.

Drugs came into my life because I ran away from home a lot

and people saw that I was a little girl, a little pretty little girl,

you know, who, like, needed somewhere to stay and then they

wanted to have their way or do what they wanted and it was

pretty bad and I had some things happen to me growing up

that made me search for something that I thought would be better,

but wasn't.

I mean, that's... that's where drugs came in.

Drugs came in to numb the pain, to fix problems that nobody else

wanted to try to help and fix or something, you know.

And now, I'm here.

You can usually tell, there are some people that, you know,

they just genuinely need help.

And, you know, they've got no-one else to help them, so...

Kind of puts me in that position... where I feel like I'm, kind of,

obligated to help them, in a way.

I've never had somebody to really, like, look out, like he has.

It's nice and comforting to know that I can call him,

you know, and be like, "Look, I don't know what to do, you know.

"Can you help me out?" And he'll give me the best advice

that he knows, like a big brother.

I like helping people.

You know, it makes me feel good.

Christian's work as a bounty hunter and a bondsman is all-encompassing.

Bail bonds, can I help you?

I'm exhausted every single day.

'But it's just something that I can't seem to stop doing, you know.'

You come down the front door?

In an average week, he'll track down five to six people

and bail even more out of jail.

Ty's in jail, Joshua Shiflett's in jail.

Bounty hunters don't last very long.

I know of, probably, three or four that's been in it as long as I have.

And they either can't handle the hours or can't handle the stress.

Yousef got shot, he's still in the hospital.

Raven's still on the run.

The job takes him through some of the most deprived areas

-in the state.

-Do you have any ID on you?

And the people he meets are either suspects, criminals

-or at the end of their luck.

-Have you seen this guy here?

The government really doesn't take care of you that well.

-No, but...

-But he still flies the flag.

His punishing workload gives Christian little free time...

When's the best day to fly? Is it Tuesday?

..but he is planning a visit back home to Scotland,

to celebrate his sister's engagement.

Last time I seen my mother was last year.

Last time I seen anybody else was probably...

two years ago?

The fucking prodigal son returns.

Can I play a song?

It's like the theme song to my life.

MUSIC: Ain't No Grave by Johnny Cash

# There ain't no grave

# Can hold my body down... #

Yeah, I mean, I think my past definitely helps,

because a lot of my job is being able to talk to people, right,

and somewhat understanding what they are going through at the time.

You know, if they've got drug problems, drinking, family problems.

I mean, I can relate to a lot of that shit.

# Look way down the river

# And what do you think I see? #

Shit got pretty bad. I mean, I don't know if anybody else

seen it, but I seen it.

It's just the lifestyle we lived across there, back in that time.

A lot of parties and stuff that we used to go to.

But it wasn't any normal party. It was, like, week-long,

drugs and fucking drinking.

A lot...a LOT of Ecstasy.

Bugger all else to do.

I don't know. I feel like, in Scotland,

I was supposed to die there, you know.

# Ain't no grave

# Can hold my body down. #

I'm just glad he left here,

because they were going out and getting drunk and getting in trouble

with the police and drinking and just

hanging out with the wrong people.

Brechin doesn't have a lot going for it, really.

There's not a lot of work

or nothing in this area.

It's just, like, some place to sleep now.

I think he did notice, when he was young,

that there is no potential here for young people.

There was never any place for them to go of an evening,

kind of, do things.

It was just, walk the streets and that's what you did with your mates.

Aye, back in the day, he was off his head. We all were.

-Who?

-Christian. He's asking about Christian.

-Oh, Christian.

-Used to get in so much shit, you've no idea.

Unbelievable. Battering people, for the fun of it.

He was like, "Aye, I'm a bounty hunter."

I was like, "You're talking shite."

It wasn't until about...maybe about four years after he became

a bounty hunter, I thought, Christ, this guy's actually telling

the truth, man.

He's came from Brechin to actually doing something with his life.

Probably the only one of us that's turned his life around.

He's doing really well for himself, basically, you know.

From Brechin to the United States!

There you go! Feel the heat.

-Eh?

-See the shit I've got to put up with?

Right, boys... Right, what's the plans, like?

-What are we doing? We're causing some carnage?

-No.

Here, fucking behave.

Behave.

I really like being home, but at the same time,

I don't know if I really like being here. I wouldn't say

this is my home any more. The only good thing about coming home

is my mates, obviously.

-You fucking better miss us.

-I do. Of course I do.

-Do you?

We used to fucking party hard.

It was every day, because we never had no jobs, we never had nothing.

-That's the way we lived.

-I don't know if I could live it again.

But I definitely miss it.

-ANNOUNCER:

-We are all here for the one thing tonight!

It's Christian Matlock's homecoming parade!

CHEERING

CHEERING

CHEERING

-I love you.

-I love you, too.

RAVE MUSIC PLAYS

You can't stop them.

Here we, here we, here we fucking go! Here we, here we,

here we fucking go! Brechin, Brechin, let's go fucking mental!

Between Brechin and Montrose, that's what made me.

It's fun, but it's also upsetting coming back here,

because when I was growing up here, it was...

It was a really busy, fun place to be.

Now, it's just terrible.

Driving through and everything's falling apart

and it's just like a little sad town now.

Christian left Brechin to escape a life that was heading

in the wrong direction.

His drink and drug habits were getting worse

and his run-ins with the police were becoming more frequent.

You know what's really fucked up?

Last night, there was a guy, right, in Montrose.

He was doing all kinds of fucking ectos and all kinds of shit

last night and he came up to me, he was like,

"Man, I'm really proud of you, what you've done and look at you now."

And then, I'm thinking, that's great, look at you.

I brought you here, you know?

He was a fucking... Probably like 14 years old when I first met him.

And he wanted to be fucking cool, like we were.

So, we got him into the stuff we were doing.

And now he's fucking still doing the same shit as he was, you know,

when we first met him.

And he says he's proud of me.

It's not cool.

I just, kind of, wish there was a way I could help

the people back here, though, you know.

If I was here, I couldn't help people.

It would be me that needed help.

So I have to do what I do from fucking far away.

Back in Virginia, Raven is still on the run.

Christian's next move is to recruit the help of someone

who might have an insight into where she could be.

Fries in my milkshake? Oh, yeah.

His client Megan Shannon has just been released from jail.

-You look happy to be out of jail.

-Super happy.

I'm actually surprised you're not back in jail already.

So, what have you been doing since you got out, Megan?

-Well...

-Drinking again?

-Yes.

I'm actually looking for a woman.

Not for me. To put in jail.

But she's a similar person to you. She's young, got in a bad situation.

She's really bad on drugs, staying in hotels.

If I were still doing drugs and in that lifestyle of, like,

doing hard drugs and always on the run and bouncing around from place

to place, I would probably be like,

you know, either stripping or trying to do private parties.

Heroin's an addictive drug and it's dirty and makes girls

-do things, makes guys do things...

-You ever done that?

-Done heroin?

-Yeah.

-You have?

-Yes.

-I didn't know that.

-I snorted it.

-How did you go from just smoking weed to heroin, coke,

-pills?

-Somebody introduced me to them

and that was a rough time of my life and I just made the decision to just

have fun and try it and, then, I lost control over it.

-What happened?

-I got addicted.

You said it was a rough time in your life, though.

Some things happened. I lost custody of my daughter. Look.

That night, Christian and his backup, Dwayne,

try a number of hotels, looking for Raven.

But to no avail.

A few days later, Christian gets a call from Joey Belcher,

the bondsman who had given him Raven's file.

RING TONE

Hello.

Uh-huh. Right.

I was actually going to go...

What? She's in Chesapeake jail?

Raven was arrested by the police in a Chesapeake hotel.

Well, it means nothing for me.

It means I don't make any money on that one.

When you invest, you know, that amount of time and that amount

of miles running about trying to catch someone and then the police

go ahead and catch... I mean, it's great for Joey.

He's no longer stressing out about losing the money on the bond,

because that's it. She's done, she's in jail, you know.

At least, with her being in jail,

she's a lot safer there than anywhere else.

She might not see it that way, but she's probably in the best place

she can be.

Christian's attention turns to another client

caught up in America's ever-growing drug problem.

There's a severe, severe drug epidemic right now.

The heroin and prescription pain pills.

Oh, it's just... It's killing a lot of people.

Young, young people.

Younger than me.

Kids that are in high school are shooting up heroin with needles.

At 18, Colby Davis was working in the local shipyards

when he had a near-fatal road accident that left him on

heavy medication prescribed for the pain.

I had insurance to my work and I couldn't work,

so they cut my prescriptions off, so I was going through withdrawals.

An addict came up to me one day and she asked me if I wanted

something to take the pain away. I said yes.

And she said, give me your arm.

And I give her my arm

and that was the first time I ever shot heroin.

For the last six months, as Colby serves his time in jail,

Christian has been offering support to Colby's mum.

But now they are preparing for his release.

I never showed you the pictures!

-Look, this is Colby.

-That's Colby?

That's Colby. Look, that's his wrestling medal.

I think he actually told me about the wrestling stuff.

This... Oh, he was a great wrestler.

That's his son and that is him when he was around the same age...

-Well, a little older.

-How old's Colby?

-He's 22.

-I had the exact same problems he did,

-but with a different substance.

-Wow.

-Same age when I got...

-I came here when I was 21.

-How long have you been clean?

-Six years.

-That's amazing.

I miss my son. I miss seeing him smile, I miss teaching him things.

I, kind of, let go of the girl of my dreams, all to do drugs and alcohol,

so this time around, since I've been incarcerated,

I've put myself into the substance-abuse programme

and I hope to stay drug and alcohol free when I get out, so I can make

amends with people that I've hurt and try and change my life.

I can't wait to have my son back.

Yeah, I can't wait till he gets out, either.

If he wasn't in there, he would have been dead.

The month after he went to jail,

a young fella that he used to live with overdosed and died.

It broke my heart, because I knew that it could have been my son.

I was glad he was in jail.

-He looks a lot better.

-He looks... Really?

-I can't wait to see him.

-He's getting chubby, too.

-He said he was working out.

-Yes, he's getting bigger.

-I'm glad.

You are really, really, really a good guy.

You do more than any other bondsman would ever do!

And I'm so thankful that Colby met you and you are in our life,

so... I'm really glad. Thank you so much.

I really appreciate it. Really.

But Christian won't be in town for a Colby's release.

A potential job offer has come up,

so he's heading south, to the Sunshine State - Florida.

# There's a reason for the sunshine sky

# And there's a reason why I'm feeling so high

# Must be the season when that little light shines all around us. #

Palm trees. I love palm trees.

Christian's in Florida to see his friend, Johnny Milano,

a retired New York cop who, together with his wife Nicky,

now runs one of the most successful bail bond companies in the country.

# Just let your love flow

# Like a mountain stream

# And let your love grow

# With the smallest of dreams... #

Fucking hell.

Hey, hey, hey! How are you, man?

-Good to see you.

-Come on.

What's going on, bud? Welcome to the new crib.

-What do you think, bud?

-This place is huge.

-Thanks.

-It's a little shack.

-Just a little shack.

In south Florida, bail is set at considerably higher rates

and bondsmen like Johnny can become extremely wealthy.

This is where the magic happens.

I always wanted to say that.

In an average month, he'll lend millions of dollars in bonds,

charging 10% commission on every one.

I've got to show you a couple of things that you need to do get.

You need to get a nice pair of Christian Louboutins.

Now, Johnny. How much were those shoes right there?

These were 1,200.

No Louis Vuitton blue? Want to go blue? These are you.

I don't think they are anyone.

The downside of dealing with high-value bonds comes when

one of your clients goes on the run.

That night, we join Johnny's team on the hunt for a fugitive

with a bond of 40,000.

He's got a big bond. He's got Count 1, DWLS felony.

The issue is, he is a big dude.

And he's probably not going to be happy about going to jail.

-So...

-Let's do this.

Welcome to Riviera Beach.

Probably the worst area in the state of Florida.

-Back there?

-Yeah.

BARKING

What was that?

There is a dog in there. Did you hear that?

With a warrant to search the house,

Johnny gives the go-ahead to enter with force.

Cockroaches all over the place, look.

Yeah, what the fuck?

It looks... It seems like they've just grabbed everything

that was essential and just fucking dibbed out,

to be honest.

See if you see any addresses or anything.

What the fuck is that?

"So many memories in this house to let go.

"Goodbye."

-These motherfuckers...

-Knew we were coming.

-Yeah.

Or they knew somebody was coming.

All right. Anything? Anyone?

-Are we done?

-Yeah.

Johnny's next move is to offer a reward for anyone

with information that can lead to the fugitive's arrest.

If he can't locate him,

then Johnny will become liable for the full 40,000.

It's exciting.

It's like a real-life game, you know.

We'll piece it all together and then I'll start putting

-a reward out there and somebody'll snitch.

-Most definitely.

The following morning, Johnny speaks to Christian

about moving to Florida on a more permanent basis.

I'm just a dumb retired cop that's figured out how to be a businessman

and, you know, so I'm grateful when I have somebody,

a fellow associate, that could better the business.

You think that's something you want to do?

Maybe.

I mean, as far as compensation, I think, you know, the money that

you make in Virginia Beach obviously doesn't come close

to what a bondsman in south Florida makes.

I like the Florida lifestyle down here.

Yeah. I say that every time I come down, like.

I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

You know, obviously, it's been good to us.

Away from the big house and expensive shoes,

Christian decides against the move to Florida.

Money's not really everything.

I enjoy getting the chance to help people.

If I did it, if I didn't give a fuck about people and all that

kind of stuff, I would have been down here already, the first time.

But I've got, you know, a lot of relationships with people

up in Virginia that might end up going off the rails if I left.

You know?

Back in Virginia, Colby Davis has been released from jail.

DOORBELL RINGS

Hello! Come here!

'I picked him up from jail and I was so happy.'

He was having a great time with his sisters and happy to be home,

just really having a good time and, then, Saturday,

Saturday was the day that they started drinking early.

-Who's they?

-They are Colby and his father.

-Oh.

-And they got in a fight,

rolling around on the ground and then, I heard Mike just, like,

scream and he had a bite out of his neck and I was like, oh, my gosh,

because I looked at Colby and he was bleeding down his mouth...

-But it wasn't his blood.

-But it wasn't his blood, it was Mike's.

It's almost like a fucking horror story.

And it gets worse.

He took my keys off the wall and four cars were damaged,

two were totalled. And the house across the street,

he ran into their closet,

in the same room that two people were sleeping.

The side of their house is gone.

I think he needs to get some help.

-He needs some help.

-If he gets out of jail,

-is he coming back here?

-No.

-No.

I thought he was going to kill his dad this time.

I did. I thought he was going to, if it came down to it,

he would kill his dad and probably everybody and then commit suicide.

Like, it went through my head and that's not something

a mom wants to go through her head. At all.

But he was that distant.

I really don't know what to make of it all, to be honest.

He really needs to get some help,

before he hurts himself or somebody else seriously.

I'll go down and see what's going on.

I don't want him to get to the point where he thinks everybody's given up

on him, you know, because then it will just be...

He'll have nothing left.

Colby was arrested across the state line in North Carolina.

-What's up?

-Why are you in here?

I took my mom's car and I hit a couple of cars and then I tried

to drive down here, to see my son and my girl before...

-They caught you.

-Yeah.

I mean, while we went through months and months of phone calls

and court dates and you finally got one and, fucking, here you are.

I don't even know what to say.

I figured you would probably be pretty pissed off at me.

-Yeah, I was. I still am.

-I know.

Cos I went... I even went to court and testified for you about

how none of this is you.

Yeah.

I just can't believe this happened, can't believe I did this.

Me, either.

I think you need help, Colby.

Yeah.

You'll be all right.

I'll talk to your mother tomorrow, anyways.

She hasn't given up on you yet.

I don't know what to make of it. I mean,

it's almost like it's not even Colby in there.

He's got that look on him that he's just given up on himself

and given up on everyone else, too.

So he's, kind of, at the end of the road.

I won't give up on him.

For breaking his parole conditions and multiple new offences,

Colby is facing a lengthy time back in jail.

You know...

..I wouldn't mind having a normal life. Sometimes, I think about it.

Kind of...

I mean, it gets you... It runs you thin.

MESSAGE ALERT TONE

A message from bondsman Joey Belcher and the cycle begins again.

# Every day things change... #

Christian has another load of files to work through.

It's the same mix of criminals,

drug addicts and people at the end of their luck.

This is a job that... You can't do this half-arsed.

You're either going to be a bounty hunter full-time

or you're not going to be one at all.

I've tried to get out of it two or three times, actually.

I'm like, I can't take this any more -

the phone calls and the stress.

But I just can't seem to stop doing it, to be honest.

# Any time the hunter

# Gets captured by the game

# Oh, yeah

# Ooh-ooh, yeah

# Ooh-ooh, yeah

# Ooh-ooh, yeah

# Oh, yeah

# Secretly I've been trailing you... #