GOLDEN, Colo. — A bounty hunter who was originally accused of kidnapping and assaulting a woman he was tasked with taking into custody was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday following a plea deal.
Jesse Wagner, 49, accepted a plea deal in January that dismissed all of his charges except for possession of a weapon by a previous offender and illegal use of a stun gun. He previously faced kidnapping, unlawful sexual contact, burglary and assault charges.
Wagner appeared in Jefferson County Court on Friday, where he was sentenced to five years in prison. The sentence was agreed upon by the prosecution and defense during plea deal negotiations.
Wagner has been in jail since August 2023 and was credited for 573 days of time served.
- Denver7 Investigates' Natalie Chuck details the team's reporting into Colorado's bounty hunting industry in the video player below
In court Friday, Deputy District Attorney Brynn Chase noted that this was Wagner’s fifth felony conviction.
“It’s abundantly clear that he has presented a significant ongoing community safety risk. He's engaged in violent conduct or has been accused of that on multiple occasions,” Chase said. “He believes himself to be above the law in a lot of respects.”
Wagner’s defense attorney said their client was looking to take advantage of an opportunity to better himself while in custody.
Denver7 Investigates first reported on this case in August 2024, exposing a lack of regulation in the bounty hunter industry, which allows people with criminal records — including those who committed crimes on the job — to work in Colorado.
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After Friday's hearing, Chase told Denver7 Investigates there are difficulties when attempting to prosecute these types of cases, noting that victims can be unreliable.
“These victims are often potentially reluctant to engage with the prosecution,” she said.
Chase added that the lack of state regulation in the industry allows bounty hunters to exploit vulnerable people by holding the idea of taking them back to prison over their heads.
“We're operating in what I would equate to the Wild West when it comes to bounty hunters,” Chase said. “When there's no proper regulation, obviously there's no oversight. There's nobody kind of at the helm trying to determine whether or not somebody is acting in a proper way.”
Wagner still faces an open case in California, where he is accused of falsely imprisoning a woman. He previously served time in California for crimes committed while working as a bounty hunter.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office in San Diego County confirmed to Denver7 Investigates on Friday that the office is seeking extradition but could not comment further.
