Culp flees into hiding

Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Updated at 11:04 a.m.

Warren “Charles” Culp, Jr. – who on Sept. 19 was arrested and then charged with eight counts of grand theft and scheming to defraud Jefferson County taxpayers of more than $100,000 – “is now believed to be fleeing justice,” according to an Emergency Motion to Revoke Bond filed in his case on Tuesday morning, Sept. 26.
At a Nebbia Hearing on Sept. 21 in Florida's Second Judicial Circuit Court, Culp's preliminary bond of $500,000 was lowered to $170,000 despite the State informing the Court that Culp had stolen an additional $600,000 in the preceding weeks. A Nebbia hearing is a court procedure during which a defendant must disclose the source of funds used to post bail and be released from jail pending resolution of the case. In Culp's case, according to the Emergency Motion to Revoke Bond, the Nebbia conditions had been met when Culp's father “testified that all moneys would come from his personal accounts and Mike Harrison would satisfy the bond.” At the hearing, the defendant “testified that he had no passport and would comply with the bond conditions of no contact with witnesses or co-defendants [Kirk Reams and Justin 'Tyler' McNeill] and not to leave Georgia or Florida.”
Exhibit A supporting the Emergency Motion to Revoke Bond is a copy of an email from bail bondsman Mike Harrison to State Attorney Jack Campbell. In the email, Harrison details how his agency posted bond for Culp on Thursday, Sept. 21, but as of 9:31 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26, was requesting that his bonds be revoked and a bond violation warrant be issued.
Harrison states in the email that he received a text message from Culp's wife at 5:34 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 22, and in a follow-up phone call she indicated that “Charles was gone.” Harrison says he asked her if Culp had taken his own life, to which he says she replied that Culp had packed up and left. According to Harrison's email, Culp's wife said that items he took with him included a sleeping bag, pillows, bathroom bag, laptop, thumb drive, $40 and ulcer medicine.
“[T]hese items clearly indicate Mr. Culp has zero intention of returning for court,” was Harrison's professional opinion stated in the email.
The Emergency Motion to Revoke Bond also states that Harrison contacted the State Attorney's office to report that Culp had never appeared to sign his bond contract. The defendant's attorney, Ryan Davis, was contacted and told the State that he has no knowledge of the defendant's whereabouts. The motion concludes with the State's request “to revoke bond in the case in order to assure the defendant's appearance in court and to protect the community against unreasonable danger from this defendant.”
At 9:55 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 27, the Emergency Motion to Revoke Bond was granted. State Attorney Jack Campbell told the Monticello News that a new warrant for Culp's arrest has been issued worldwide.