Greek Orthodox priest also operates bail bonds office

The large crucifix hanging from Michael Kirkland’s neck catches your eye. Then you notice the badge and the I.D. card.

On the street or in his office, the Rev. Kirkland, an ordained Greek Orthodox priest, is a man of the cloth whose clients are the accused.

“You can’t hide what you are,” he said. “I just happen to be a priest who happens to have a business.”

He operates Emergency Bail Bonds, just south of the Delaware County Courthouse, with its neon sign and 24-hour urgency.

Framed pictures, certificates and credentials line the walls. In one, Kirkland poses, in full priest’s regalia, next to Donald Trump.

But it’s what you can’t immediately see that draws the curious. Beyond the table lamp and display of flowers is the chapel.

Inside is a mural of the Virgin Mary, pictures of saints and a small altar, from which Kirkland offers prayer to those trying to post bail for loved ones.

“You’re dealing with families that are just screaming to be helped because they don’t see that the courts are helping that much ... it’s a sad situation,” he said. “This is where people come to you when they’re at their lowest. They’re begging.”

Kirkland, 65, sold life insurance before getting his license to underwrite the accused. He worked in Columbus for a while, but was worn down by the system’s cold efficiency.

So in 2009, he started fresh in the “quiet, sleepy town” of Delaware, “working out of the trunk of my car,” he said, before finding his storefront next to a barber shop.

The chapel was always an idea, he said, “if I had a little extra room ... at least to have some place, a juncture, where you can pray.”

When first meeting clients, Kirkland often pauses and stands: “Come with me a minute,” he’ll say.

“I’ll bring them back here and ask, ‘Can I say a little prayer for you?’

“It’s only if you feel they won’t be opposed to something like that. You have to let the circumstances open things. You can’t push anything on anybody.”

If defendants skip town, bondsmen are responsible for finding them or paying their bond. As compensation, they typically get 10 percent of the set bond.

Having a discerning eye and intuition is what Kirkland likes most.

“I answer to no one, no one pays my bills, there’s no guarantees of anything,” he said. “I start out every month with zero and I go in with the attitude you serve first, you take care of people. You help them as much as you can and God takes care of the rest.”

One man skipped town for weeks, panicking Kirkland, who also prayed for his return.

Five minutes before his hearing was to begin, the man was caught and returned to the jail, saving Kirkland at least $20,000, he recalled.

“All I could say was, that is a miracle. That, literally, was something you cannot explain.”

Not all believe that Kirkland’s cross-bearing persona is proper.

“It’s indirect solicitation as far as I’m concerned,” said Woodrow “Woody” Fox, a long-time bondsman with offices in Columbus and Licking County.

An open portrayal as clergy, on the streets, in jails and courthouses, is a lure for customers, and a violation of Ohio rules that prohibit solicitations in jails and courthouses, Fox said.

“He goes into jail as a minister,” Fox said. “And he comes out as a bail bondsman.”

Kirkland said he wears full religious regalia only for formal occasions and not in his jail ministry. He said he mentions his day job while doing ministry work only when asked.

The Ohio Department of Insurance regulates bonding agents and averages fewer than 10 complaints a year, said spokesman David Hopcraft. None have been against Kirkland.

“We do not consider it a high-volume problem,” Hopcraft said. “But any case that purports a violation of law is a serious matter to us.”

Teresa Blankenship, a bondswoman for 16 years based in Portsmouth, said the profession could use better oversight, noting that Franklin County courts often are filled with bond agents who descend on families, striking deals on the spot. But she doesn’t have a problem with Kirkland.

“Here’s this guy (Kirkland) trying to help the best way he can — who’s it hurting?” she said.

Kirkland doesn’t mind the critics: “God is part of everything. Morals and ethics, that’s all part of the way we’re supposed to live. And if we can’t be right in this business, then forget every other business.”