High School Wrestling Coach Accused of Murdering ‘Gentle Giant’ Bail Bondsman Working Overnight Shift

A high school wrestling coach in California has been arrested after law enforcement officials said he allegedly assaulted and killed a bail bondsman during his overnight shift.

Around 4:15 a.m. on June 3, officers responded to an incident and found 56-year-old Kevin Brace suffering from “significant injuries,” according to the Sacramento Police Department.

Officials attempted lifesaving measures, but first responders pronounced Brace dead at the scene.

Officers identified 38-year-old Jacon Mandell as the primary suspect in the alleged attack.

Mandell, who coached the wrestling team for El Camino Fundamental High School, reportedly knocked on Brace’s bond office in a “cordial” manner and asked to use the phone, according to police reports obtained by KCRA-TVC.

KCRA reports that Brace had worked as a bail bondsman for Greg Padilla Bail Bonds for more than three decades.

Mandell pulled Brace, who was working his routine overnight shift, out of the office and then physically assaulted him, security camera footage of the attack allegedly show.

According to Topo Padilla, co-owner of Greg Padilla Bail Bonds, Mandell reportedly used their services in 2020, when he was bailed out for resisting arrest, but they don’t believe Brace knew the suspect.

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Mandell was arrested and charged with murder, officials said.

He was booked into the Sacramento County Jail and was being held without bail. He is scheduled to appear in court again on June 12.

Padilla said that Brace was a “gentle giant” and, "He wanted to work overnights. He said people that are in jail in the overnight deserve to have a bondsman here for them."