Bail agents nab runaway ‘Gingerbread Man’

A bail-jumper who considered himself the “Gingerbread Man” for his knack for hopping state lines and eluding the clutches of Clark County authorities got his just deserts last week.

To avoid the law, Shaun Lynell Wilson, 37, moved from Washington to Oregon to Indiana before being caught.

Bail agent David Regan, owner of Regan Bail Bonds, had two phone conversations with Wilson while he was out of state but mostly communicated via text message. Wilson often texted “gingerbread man,” referring to the classic tale of the gingerbread cookie who ran from his baker to avoid being eaten.

During his escape, the cookie yelled, “Run, run, fast as you can! Can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

Perhaps unaware of the ending to this fable – where a fox tricks the Gingerbread Man and eats him – Wilson was captured by Regan Bail Bond agents in Indiana, who brought him back to Clark County last weekend for trial.

“I’ve got to give him an A for originality,” Regan said. “Not too many people will taunt us.”

Nine months ago, Regan Bail Bonds bailed Wilson out of jail on misdemeanor charges: driving with a suspended license, driving under the influence and reckless driving. Wilson failed to appear in District Court in February and April. When contacted, he said he needed a couple of weeks to put some affairs into order and would turn himself in.

While Regan kept tabs on his whereabouts, Wilson didn’t live up to his promise.

On May 21, Wilson posted on Facebook that he was moving to the East Coast and had already purchased tickets, later signing off as “Ginger bread man.” At the start of June, the search began in Vancouver, Wash., , but Wilson dodged the agents.

One of Wilson’s girlfriends said he had moved to New York, but Regan later learned that at the time he was in Eugene, where she was driving him around.

“Sometimes people throw smoke signals,” Regan said.

On June 19, bail agents Lew Ervin and Jason Stomps left Vancouver, traveling about 2,600 miles for 37 hours from Vancouver to Evansville. Five officers with the Evansville Police Department assisted with the arrest of Wilson, who was surprised, to say the least, according to Regan. They arrived back in Vancouver around 6 a.m. June 23.

Wilson appeared in Clark County District Court on June 25 via video conference.

“Isn’t that a little spendy?” Judge Darvin J. Zimmerman asked when he learned about the trip to Indiana.

Regan Bail Bonds spent about $3,500 in gas, cash and time to retrieve Wilson.

Area bail bond agencies put him on the “no bail” list. He was also filed into the National Crime Information Center, a computerized index of criminal justice information. With Wilson’s high flight risk, Regan hopes he gets about a year in jail.

However, Wilson recently posted $20,000 cash bail and was released. Will he stick around for further trial and his sentencing?

“That will be the real miracle,” Regan said.