One of the people at the center of the Haleigh Cummings case is William Eugene Staubs, aka "Cobra," a bounty hunter from Fort Lauderdale, FL, who has been involved in several high profile cases over the years, including the O.J. Simpson case and the take-down of an alleged terrorist in Fort Campbell, KY.
Despite an impressive record, which, by his count, includes the capture of over 8,000 fugitives – 199 of whom he says were child molesters – Staubs now finds himself at the center of his own criminal investigation – a case which he claims has been manufactured to silence him.
According to Staubs, he got involved in the Haleigh case just weeks after the tot was reporting missing by her father, Ronald Cummings.
"Pastor Richard Grund (father of Jesse Grund – Casey Anthony's former fiancé) got a call from a woman who was involved in the case, and she told him that there was something really wrong going on in this little girl's disappearance," Staubs said in an interview with Criminal Report Daily. "She said 'we need some type of investigator. These people are poor; they don't have any money.' So Pastor Grund contacted me, and we discussed it. I asked him what he thought and he said, 'I will tell you right now; it isn't going to be easy. It is going to be dangerous, so I suggest you prepare yourself.' So I called journalist Art Harris and asked him to come down to Satsuma to go behind the scenes with me, and I headed down there to get started."
Staubs says that within his first week in Satsuma he was able to meet with Haleigh's family and local police, during which time he uncovered a lot of inside information in the case. In addition, he also claims to have actively searched wooded areas in an attempt to find Haleigh.
"I worked an average of 20 to 22 hours a day every day," Staubs said. "Art Harris went with me, probably 5 to 7 days; in some cases, 16 hours a day. I conducted interviews and intense searches on land and in the swamps. I had to do stuff in the middle of the night because, you know, if you are walking around, somebody would shoot you. Also, I wanted to get into the underground, so I checked clients to see who is out on bond, and I got a list of names. I took that list, and I met with the sheriff, FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) and the assistant state prosecutor for Putnam County. I met with all these people, opened up all these files, laid them out and asked them if they had a problem if I go out for these folks right here. They asked me what I wanted them for, and I told them that some of them are wanted back by the bail bond agent and other ones I wanted to talk to and see where they are and, chances are, we might be revoking a few of them. They didn't have any problem whatsoever. Art Harris also filmed some of that and watched that interview go down."
One of the people Staubs was zeroing in on was a man who was free on bail after being arrested for alleged sex abuse. The individual caught Staubs' attention because of his alleged crimes and his allegations that he had attempted to donate furniture to the Haleigh Bug Center, a place where search volunteers would meet up. According to Staubs, the man's visit to the center – where children are often present – was a direct violation of the individual's bond. Staubs says he contacted the agency that held the bond and then went to the man's house on March 20, to pick him up.
"The insurance company that guaranteed the bond gave me the file," Staubs said. "I am a licensed agent with full arrest powers and everything, so I called the law to tell them I was going. When I got out there, I blew the horn and I heard a shotgun or something go off. I called the police and said 'There's a problem,' and the defendant started screaming at me, so now we are off to a real bad start."
Moments after arriving on the scene, Staubs was joined by two police officers, who stood watch as he threw the man to the ground and handcuffed him (click here to view video of the event as shot by Art Harris) before putting him into his vehicle for transport to the county jail. It was during that trip that Staubs says he received a call from people at the insurance company, who, he claims, said they had changed their mind, and told him to release the man.
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