Clerk pleads guilty in Wake County bail bonds scam

Raleigh -- A former Wake County court clerk pleaded guilty Friday to altering court records in a deal that will keep her out of jail.

During a hearing, it was revealed that Latoya Barnes was not involved in an alleged bail bond scheme that cost Wake County Schools a million dollars.

Prosecutors said Barnes actually exposed the ring which had been operating for nearly a decade and was interviewed by SBI agents. The scheme helped bail bondsmen avoid paying forfeited bonds for people who didn't show up on their court dates.

When someone is arrested, they often have to post a bond to get out of jail before their trial. They either have to come up with the cash themselves, or they can pay a bail bondsman a non-refundable fee to post the bond for them. If the person later doesn't show up for court, the bondsman forfeits the full amount of the bond.

But prosecutors allege in Wake County bondsmen paid bribes to avoid paying forfeited bonds.

But while she exposed what was allegedly going on, Barnes admitted to SBI agents that she too has dismissed more than $27,000 worth of bond forfeitures to keep her drug-addicted son out of jail.

"I just want to apologize for my actions. And, my motherly instincts basically got the best of me and clouded my judgment. Under normal circumstances nothing like that would have ever occurred," Barnes told Judge Donald Stephens Friday.

Judge Stephens agreed to a plea deal that suspends 15 months in prison for the 41-year-old and puts her on probation for two years.

The case against another court clerk and two bail bondsmen indicted in the larger scheme remains.

Kenneth Vernon Golder II and James L. Perkins are charged with obtaining property by false pretenses, accessing a government computer, altering court records, and misdemeanor bond violation. Golder faces an additional charge of misdemeanor unlicensed bail bonding.

Former court clerk Kelvin Lawrence Ballentine is charged with obtaining property by false pretenses, accessing a government computer, and altering court records.

Investigators say the money would have gone to Wake County schools.

The SBI has been investigating the case since last August, when Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby requested agents look into it.

The Wake County Public School System has filed legal actions against bail bond insurance companies to recover about a little over $1 million in bond forfeitures related to the cases.

An attorney for the school system said 316 individual motions have been filed to reclaim the money related to orders that were electronically granted by Ballentine. In addition, WCPSS is also seeking monetary sanction and interest. Some of the orders date back to 2008, and the district is asking for 8 percent interest.