Modesto bail agent charged in shooting is now a person of interest in murder of Turlock man
A Modesto bail agent accused of using his position to solicit gang members to commit violent crimes is a person of interest in the murder of a Turlock man whose remains were found in the Stanislaus National Forest in April. Praveen Singh, also known as Prajeer Singh, also has been employed by criminal defense attorney and district attorney candidate Frank Carson.
“That is just nonsense; it’s silly,” Carson said Monday. “This is interesting that this happens after I announce I am going to run for district attorney. The whole thing is just suspect to me.”
Singh, 34, an agent of Singh’s Bail Bonds, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of attempted shooting of an occupied dwelling, soliciting the commission of a shooting at an inhabited dwelling and soliciting the commission of a robbery.
Carson, Singh’s attorney, said Singh “has done work for us” as a private investigator. He said he will officially object to all charges against Singh after a bail hearing this morning, during which he will argue for a reduction in Singh’s $500,000 bail.
The court agreed to set Singh’s bail above the scheduled bail amount based on documents submitted by the district attorney’s office that outline the basis for Singh’s charges and reveal him as a person of interest in the murder of Korey Kauffman, whose body was discovered by hunters in Mariposa County in April. Kauffman had been missing for just over a year.
A task force of investigators from the Modesto, Turlock and Ceres police departments, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department and the county district attorney’s office have been investigating Kauffman’s death since his disappearance last year, as well other related felony crimes. No explanation is given in court documents about why Singh is a person of interest in Kauffman’s death.
According to court documents filed by district attorney’s investigators on the task force, Singh used Northern Ryder gang members to carry out crimes in exchange for “profiles,” personal information on people used to commit identity theft. He also would add money to the books of inmates who referred people to Singh Bail Bonds, witnesses told investigators.
“Singh would routinely go into the Stanislaus Co. Jail during ‘legal contact visits’ and meet with inmates under the auspices of working as a Private Investigator for the court and/or Criminal Defense Attorney Frank Carson,” reads a document requesting an increased bail for Singh.
Licensed private investigators get “jail passes,” and their visits with inmates are designated as legal visits, so they are unsupervised and unrecorded to protect attorney-client privilege.
According to investigators, Singh used a pass that was issued to a different person and met with people other than Carson’s clients.
“Singh solicited Northern Ryders gang members to commit crimes, including drive-by shootings, robberies, purchasing narcotics and pimping/pandering,” according to a court document.
In an arrest affidavit that included information from numerous witness interviews by investigators and covert recordings from confidential informants in and out of the Stanislaus County Jail, the district attorney alleges that in February, Singh asked two gang members to commit a drive-by shooting of his neighbor’s home. Singh told them he wanted revenge because he believed his neighbor, a correctional officer, poisoned his koi fish, which were in a pond near a shared fence, the affidavit said. He drove the gang members by the neighbor’s home and told them to make him aware of when the shooting would occur, the affidavit said, so that he could keep his own family safe. The shooting never happened because the gang member who was to carry it out said he wouldn’t commit such a crime over fish, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit goes on to allege that in July, Singh tried to solicit Northern Ryder gang members to rob an outdoor marijuana garden near his business, D&M Auto Sales, on Crows Landing Road. Ceres police searched and seized the marijuana before any robbery.
Singh Bail Bonds is owned by Singh’s girlfriend, Joytishna Karan, according to its business license, but a confidential informant used in the case told investigators Carson is the “money man” behind the bail operation. Carson called the claim “silly” and said he would have everything sorted out before the election in June.
Carson also said, “I guarantee I will represent (Singh)” despite a conflict of interest asserted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Harris. Harris said Carson is a witness in Singh’s solicitation case and a related case from October in which Singh was charged with a violation of insurance commission regulations for referring his bail clients to Carson.
Singh’s bail amount and Carson’s possible conflict of interest are expected to be discussed during a hearing today.
This story was originally published December 2, 2013 at 9:02 PM with the headline "Modesto bail agent charged in shooting is now a person of interest in murder of Turlock man."