Burglary Alleged Behind Bounty Hunter Killings

Burglary, not a mistaken search for a bail jumper, was the reason five bounty hunters in black ski masks and body armor broke into a home and shot a couple to death last month, prosecutors said Saturday.

“Bounty hunting was a ruse to get out of trouble if they got caught,” Maricopa County Atty. Rick Romley said in announcing first-degree murder charges against the men.

Prosecutors said the men had worked as bounty hunters in the past, but their story of a tragic case of mistaken identity involving a California bail jumper didn’t pan out.

The warrant for the bail jumper had expired and police could find no connection between the bail jumper and the victims. Also, the company they said they were working for has denied sending them.

Charges against Michael Martin Sanders, David Bruce Brackney, his son Matthew William Brackney, Brian Jay Robbins and Ron Eugene Timms were upgraded from second-degree murder after they were indicted Friday night.

They also face burglary and various detainment charges.

The five men allegedly broke into the home of Chris Foote, 25, and his 19-year-old girlfriend, Spring Wright, early Aug. 31. Police said the men, wearing black military-style clothing, ski masks and body armor, broke down the front door.

They tied up several people inside, including three children, and a gun battle broke out when they tried to force their way into Foote’s bedroom. Foote and Wright were killed.

Romley said the shootout, which left two of the suspects with bullet wounds to their arms, appeared to disrupt their plans to take money and valuables. Nothing appeared to have been taken from the home.

After the killings, Foote’s parents, Kay and Tom Foote, circulated petitions calling for tighter regulations on bounty hunters, and a state lawmaker planned to draft a bill to regulate the industry.

Bounty hunters don’t need warrants and are largely unregulated because they are enforcing a bail bond contract, not the law.