The state Attorney General’s Office has filed petitions to collect $35,500 from Da Kine Bail Bonds, Inc. and Safety National Casualty Corporation for forfeited bail bonds the companies failed to pay to the state.

Da Kine, which Duane “Dog” Chapman heads as president and director, owes the state $35,000 from 21 separate criminal cases, according to a news release issued this afternoon by the Attorney General’s Office. Safety National serves as the surety that’s obligated to pay if Da Kine defaults.

“Bail bond companies promise to pay us when their clients skip court. Simply put, if they don’t pay we have to hunt down that money,” Attorney General Doug Chin said in the release.

A bail bonding agency works with the court to have a criminal defendant released from jail pending trial in exchange for money or collateral, which can include cash, assets, or a bond. The bail agency is then responsible for ensuring that the defendant arrives in court on the day of trial.

If the defendant does not appear in court, the court may forfeit the bond and the entire bail amount must be paid to the court by the bail bonding agency.

The state Judiciary and the Department of the Attorney General recently sued various bail bond companies for non-payment of forfeiture of bail bonds. In response, seven have paid the Judiciary a total of about $700,000 upon receiving notice.

A hearing on the Da Kine matter is set for Aug. 17 in Circuit Court. Hearing dates for the Family Court and District Court have not yet been determined.