Thankfully, I don’t often get assignments in the City of Hawthorne.

I live in the City of Hawthorne.

Sure, I might want to work on the front line and witness the mayhem and mass destruction of breaking news, but I really prefer to LIVE in a nice quiet non-newsworthy neighborhood.

A young woman’s apartment was broken into by people from a bail bonds company. They suspected a guy who skipped out on his bail was still seeing her, so they “forced entry” when they came knocking and she wouldn’t open her door.

They held her and searched her small apartment for their felon.

Surprise! He wasn’t there.

Maybe I’m missing something, but it all seems very illegal. The girl has already hired a lawyer to represent her and I think I’d probably do the same.

Did I mention her 7 year old daughter was in the apartment at the time?

Apparently the bail bonds company believes they have the right to break into a home if they believe you’re harboring a person who owes them money.

The bail bonds company calls it “forced entry”.

She wasn’t. She did have a cameraphone though and recorded them breaking in.

I worked on the story earlier this week with a new reporter, Tom Wait.

We shot interviews at the apartment with the girl and an interview with one of the bail bonds people near a taco joint a couple miles away. Later we went live outside of the Hawthorne Police Department.

It’s hard for me to imagine how I would feel if the same thing happened to me.

It’s hard to imagine, mostly because I really doubt I’d ever be in that situation.

How difficult is it to avoid this kind of mess? It’s pretty easy for me. I guess it’s not so easy for others.

I’m glad it’s Friday. There’s only so much stupidity I can handle in one week.