Cedar Rapids police investigate shooting, injury to bail bondsman

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids Police Department lent some more clarity to the bail bondsman shooting situation late Friday night.

While in its initial report it was unclear who was shot, it seemed to indicate that the person who had been injured was identifying themself as a bail bondsman who had been attempting to take a suspect into custody. As it turns out, in the latest version of events from police, there were two bail bondsmen, the person shot was the man they were trying to take into custody, and the bail bondsman was actually injured when the man struck him as he attempted to drive off.

According to both accounts, police were called at 4:48 p.m. Friday to the Dairy Queen at Wilson Avenue and Bowling Street SW for the report that someone had been shot.

There they learned that the bail bondsmen had attempted to take Richard Dean Hamilton, Jr., 40, into custody, as he was wanted on failure to appear warrants related to drug charges, police said. During this attempt, one of the bail bondsmen shot Hamilton, although police did not say why this happened or who did the shooting.

Hamilton was later located by officers assigned to the PCAT team at a residence in the 2200 block of D St. SW. Hamilton was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his wounds that appear to be non-life threatening.

Also hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries was the bail bondsman who was struck by the vehicle. Neither bondsman was identified by police.

No further details were not released. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Original Version for the Curious:

A bail bondsman was shot Friday afternoon hear a Dairy Queen in southwest Cedar Rapids, according to Cedar Rapids police.

The injured man, who was not identified, told police he is a bail bondsman and was taking a subject into custody when he was shot.

Police were called at 4:48 p.m. to the Dairy Queen at Wilson Avenue and Bowling Street SW.

Everyone involved in the shooting has been located, according to a news release, though further details were not released.