On paper, the company charged Compton 10 percent of the bail - $7,500 - to free him. That rate, which is set by the insurance company contracted with Big Boyz and enforced by the state, cannot be changed by individual bondsmen.
But Compton did not pay anywhere near 10 percent. He and his family handed Big Boyz $750 and signed promissory notes for the difference. Court records show that Compton walked out of the county detention center two days after his arrest.
Court records also show that Compton, 25, his stepmother and father owe Big Boyz the $6,380 remaining on the promissory notes, plus $1,276 in attorney fees and $120 in court costs. Collecting that money is often difficult because friends and relatives of suspects co-sign the promissory notes but expect the suspect to pay the rest of the bill once freed.
"We told the bondsman we were not going to be responsible, but obviously we didn't read the paper," said Compton's stepmother, May Rorie of Baltimore. "We signed our name on something without reading everything in small print. ... I don't see why we have to be in charge of paying the bill. Brian [Compton] should be paying the bill."
Bail bonds are a big business in Maryland. Court records show there are more than 1,000 bondsmen in the state. In 2001, according to Douglas Colbert, a law professor at the University of Maryland, the industry took in an estimated $100 million to $150 million.
Bail bondsmen complain that the 10 percent minimum fee, which is set by their insurance underwriters, is a hardship for many clients.
"If your brother was locked up on a $10,000 bail, and you could pay $300 or $1,000, which one would you do?" said Barry Udoff, president of the Maryland Bail Bonds Association, who also runs the day-to-day operations of Fred W. Frank Bail Bonds in Baltimore.
"Requiring us to collect the 10 percent fee upfront would cause companies like ours to go out and open a premium finance company," Udoff said. "You'd go next door, borrow the money, walk back into the bail bonds office and pay the full fee. Not only the full fee, but interest on it, like a car loan. We'd make more money if that happened."
Sonya Rogers is handing over $75 per week to pay off a promissory note on a $150,000 bail to Big Boyz. She was arrested in August on drug distribution charges and said court officials are setting bails that are not "fair and reasonable," which is driving the industry to offer discounts.
