COSTA MESA : 2 Bounty Hunters Bagged by Police

Two Missouri bounty hunters searching for a Costa Mesa man were arrested when police discovered that they were driving a mock police car and were carrying loaded firearms, authorities said Sunday.

Joseph Rose, 69, of Nevada, Mo., and Robert Christie, 32, of El Dorado Springs, Mo., had gone to Costa Mesa police Saturday night and told officers that they needed help delivering an arrest warrant to a man allegedly involved in a car deal gone sour, Lt. Sam Cordeiro said.

Police did not release that man’s name.

But officers found a handgun, a sawed-off shotgun and a 26-inch wooden billy club in the men’s car, Cordeiro said.

Also, the car had a siren, several antennas, two red rear flashing lights and a beacon on the dashboard, he said.

“It looked close enough to a police vehicle,” Cordeiro said. “If you were a private citizen and this car pulled up behind you with its lights flashing, you would pull over.”

The car had no marks specifically identifying it as a police car, although its license plate read “Unit 44,” which also happens to be the radio call sign for the Costa Mesa Police Department.

“That’s just a coincidence,” Cordeiro said.

The men were arrested at the police station on suspicion of possessing illegal weapons and loaded firearms.

They are each being held on $10,000 bail.

Police have no evidence that either of the two men tried to impersonate a police officer, Cordeiro said.

Investigators are trying to verify the men’s story. Rose told police that he was a licensed private investigator and bail bondsman working for a Missouri court, Cordeiro said, and Christie identified himself as Rose’s assistant, he said.

“Unfortunately, they got arrested during the hours we can’t verify that with a Missouri court,” he said.

Whether or not that is true, Cordeiro said, they still are required to comply with California law.

“They certainly will know now that’s not the way you do business in Southern California,” he said. “They failed to check California requirements. They failed to do their homework.”