Bail bondsman and former police officer denies charges in court

LOS ANGELES -- A Hacienda Heights bail bondsman and former Los Angeles police officer pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he illegally solicited bail from prisoners while working as a bail bond agent, authorities said.
Edwin Sunmin Lee, 39, is accused of six felony counts, Los Angeles County District Attorney's officials said in a written statement.
Lee retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in April of 2005 after admitting to a felony charge of filing a false police report, according to the statement.
He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in Los Angeles Superior Court Feb. 23 for a preliminary hearing, DA's spokeswoman Shiara Dávila-Morales said.
The charges include two counts each of approaching prisoners to solicit bail, approaching prisoners to solicit bail inside a jail facility and failing to keep records of the solicitations, Dávila-Morales said.
Lee could not be reached for comment Thursday.
He has an active bail bondsman license and uses a business address in Koreatown, according to the California Department of Insurance.
The alleged incidents took place at the Van Nuys jail on or about July 27, 2008 and Feb. 10, 2009, she said.
"In essence, the defendant is accused of going to the Van Nuys jail and soliciting Korean-speaking arrestees to post their bail," Dávila-Morales said. Lee himself speaks Korean.
Bail bond agents are legally prohibited from approaching people to solicit bail, the added. The arrestee must first approach the agent.
Furthermore, she added, it's a separate felony to solicit bail in a jail facility.
No records were kept of the alleged solicitations, she added, which amounts to another felony.
If convicted, Lee faces up to three years and eight months in prison.
The case is being investigated by the DA's Justice System Integrity Division.