When the stakeout took an unexpected turn and I was still in my beach shorts ā my time with the Scottish Bounty Hunter
By Matt Pinder, Director/Producer
Bounty hunting is not a 9-to-5 job. Following the work of Christian Matlock, therefore, meant joining him on a late-night stakeout.
The location: the family home of a known fugitive, near the Great Dismal Swamp National Park – a place that very much lives up to its name! – just across Virginia’s state line with North Carolina.
The mission: track down a fugitive and return them to jail.
Sharing the dusty single-track road with a gazillion mosquitos (and other, much larger bugs!), we approached the house — in my head, the famous banjo music from the movie Deliverance played ominously.
With nowhere to park without attracting attention, Christian decided that we should drive past several times to get a sense of any activity. After around five-or-so of these drive-bys, he decided to take a closer look and pulled straight into the drive.
Christian – a 6’2”, 235lb (16½st), self-confessed former ‘bad boy’ from Brechin in the north east of Scotland – is an impulsive young man who caught us off guard on more than one occasion with some impromptu decision-making. He’d spotted an opportunity to wind up this particular job sooner than planned. Either that or maybe he just didn’t fancy spending any more time in the swamp than was absolutely necessary, which would have been entirely understandable.
What is bounty hunting and how does it work?
In most American states, when someone is released on bail but can’t afford the fees, they can employ a bondsman to cover the costs. As part of the deal, certain rights are assigned to the bondsman.
If the suspect doesn’t show up for court or goes on the run, the bondsman can recruit a bounty hunter like Christian to apprehend them.
The bounty hunter has the legal right to enter the person's property and make an arrest. Effectively, he has more powers than even the police in apprehending his target.
Best laid plans
The original plan was simply to stake out the house that night and then return with a warrant in the relative safety of daylight the following morning to search it. But no sooner had we entered the drive than two large cars suddenly pulled in right behind us, effectively blocking us in. Seemingly, they came out of nowhere and it was far too dark to see who was inside.
Very quietly, he reached for his gun and body armour ā and instructed me to switch off the camera.
By this point, I’d been filming Christian for around a week and had never once seen him nervous ...until now. Very quietly, he reached for his gun and body armour — and instructed me to switch off the camera. Not for a minute had I anticipated a situation like this; I was still dressed for the beach!
We soon discovered that it was only the fugitive’s brother, returning home with some of his friends. However, there was no easy way for us to get out of the drive without confronting him, so Christian used some good old-fashioned Scottish banter and a flash of his warrant to diffuse the situation.
He then entered the house while I remained outside, returning a few anxious minutes later — but without the fugitive, who wasn’t home. That we made it through such a nervous encounter at all was testament to Christian being extremely good at his job.
In the end, the fugitive ended up getting arrested by the police in a hotel back in Virginia Beach.
The life of a Scottish bounty hunter
It was all just a little bit surreal. I couldn’t believe – and still can’t! – that this ‘bad boy’ from Brechin had turned his life around so completely and was now running about America with a gun, arresting people.
is a film about Christian’s unusual and fascinating life: the people he works with; the scrapes he gets into; the truly unique relationships he develops with some of his ‘clients’; his connection to some heartbreaking and tragic stories about drug addiction and broken families.
Extended Trailer - The Scottish Bounty Hunter
Documentary about a former Brechin High School pupil turned American bounty hunter
