LANCASTER, Pa.–A York County bail bondsman finds himself on the other side of the law after he admitted to unlawfully arresting a Lancaster woman and stealing her dog back in December, according to the criminal complaint.
Authorities charged Michael L. Hansen, 49, of York, with burglary, theft by extortion, criminal mischief, two counts of simple assault, false imprisonment and conspiracy. He was arraigned on Jan. 28 and has since posted $250,000 bail.
Hansen owns Central Booking Bail Bonds located along North George Street in York City.
The charges stem from a series incidents that unfolded over several days– beginning on Dec. 8. Hansen is accused of ransacking Lisa Brown’s apartment located along the 400 block of Manor Street in Lancaster and stealing her dog. Hansen allegedly targeted Brown in order to find out the whereabouts of Joshua Green, who was wanted for skipping bail, court documents state.
Brown reported the incident to the Lancaster City Police Department on Dec. 8 and again on Dec. 9. Later that same day, Hansen took Brown into custody on a summary non-traffic warrant from York County, knowing he was not permitted to do so in the capacity of Fugitive Recovery Agents/Bounty Hunters, according to court records.
Brown was taken to Magisterial District Judge Walter Groom’s office in York County, where she was placed in a cell and held on the failure to pay the warrant. After posting payment, Brown and her lawyer said they were confronted by Hansen in the parking lot of the judge’s office, court records state. Brown and her lawyer told police that Hansen said she would not get her dog back from him until she told him the whereabouts of Joshua Green.
Hansen maintains that he did not make that statement in the parking lot, according to the criminal complaint.
Brown’s lawyer made contact with detectives at the York County District Attorney’s office and made them aware of the situation. The detective’s went to Central Booking Bail Bonds on Dec. 15 and found Brown’s dog in the office, court records show. One of the employees took the dog and locked it in a closet as the detectives attempted to take photographs of it, according to the criminal complaint. The employee told investigators the dog came from a “crack house” in Lancaster. The York County SPCA was brought in and the microchip revealed the dog belonged to Brown, court documents state.
Hansen, accompanied by his lawyer, met with investigators on Jan. 15 at the York County District Attorney’s office. Hansen admitted to police that he entered Brown’s apartment on Dec. 8 in order to look for Joshua Green. Hansen also confessed to stealing Brown’s dog, named Boss, and taking it back to his bail bonds business in York City. He told police he knew he did not have authority by law to arrest Brown, but unlawfully arrested her anyway, court documents state.
