A former Torrance police officer and bail agent was sentenced Wednesday, Nov. 29, to 27 years in state prison for abusing his position as a bail agent by intimidating and kidnapping clients and threatening to send them back to jail if they didn’t give him money and property.
Rehan Nazir, 51, was convicted by a Norwalk Superior Court jury in May of 17 felony counts, including three counts of kidnapping, extortion, burglary, false imprisonment, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and grand theft, according to court records.
Prosecutor Monique Preoteasa said the crimes took place from 2017 to 2019 in Torrance, Gardena, Manhattan Beach, Lakewood, Rolling Hills Estates, El Segundo and Long Beach. Of the counts for which Nazir was convicted, there were nine victims.
Of the 33 counts, Nazir was found not guilty by the jury on nine counts and the jury was hung on two others. Two charges were dismissed prior to trial and three others were dismissed during trial.
While working as a licensed bail agent, Nazir “employed several fugitive recovery persons, more commonly known as bounty hunters, to assist him in locating and apprehending several persons that he had bonded out of jail prior to their required court appearances,” Ricardo Lara, California Insurance Commissioner, said in a statement after Nazir’s conviction.
In one instance, Nazir and his employees broke into a home and detained multiple people at gunpoint while looking for someone he had bailed out of jail, Lara said. Nazir threatened to return that person to jail if he or she didn’t give Nazir money. The victim was then handcuffed and taken to Nazir’s Torrance office, while the victim’s family members were taken by other employees to ATMs.
Nazir also told local law enforcement officers he had the right to repossess vehicles owned by those he bailed out, even though there was no contract for collateral, Lara said. Nazir also accepted stolen credit cards and property instead of cash to…
Read the full article here