Everyone has a right to bail after an arrest. You are eligible for bail in Bellflower, although the bail process can be exhausting and terrifying. You will be going in circles, wondering whether you will remain in jail until the close of your trial if you cannot afford the exorbitant bail money and do not have anyone to call. It could be your first time on the wrong side of the law, or you never had to bail out a loved one. Under these circumstances, do not hesitate to contact Bail Bonds Company. We offer bespoke bonding service to help you exit jail earliest possible.
Bellflower Bail Bonds Definition
Bail in Bellflower is a refundable deposit you pay to the Bellflower Courthouse to leave jail. A bail is a form of surety that guarantees your appearance for a scheduled trial or hearing. The collateral you deposit with the court assumes the form of cash bail or a surety bond.
Nonetheless, not every apprehension or detention requires you to post bail. The judge can look at your criminal record and the nature of your case and release you on personal recognizance where you do not deposit any collateral with them to exit jail. Alternatively, the arresting officer can issue you a citation informing you when to appear in court and release you without paying bail.
When you post bail, the court will refund the money at the close of the case. However, when you disregard the agreement and fail to attend court proceedings, the bail will be forfeited, and the judge will issue a bench warrant. You do not want this to happen to you because the primary reason for seeking bail was not to avoid the criminal justice system. The bail was intended to reunite you with your family and allow you to earn a living while you await the case determination.
If you have insufficient amounts, it is not the end of the road to exercise your liberty to bail pending the court’s verdict because you can contact a Bellflower bail bonds service for financial support. First, you enter a contract with your bonding company to help you exit jail. After signing the agreement, the bondsmen deposit the surety bond for your bail. In return, you promise to attend all court proceedings; otherwise, the bonding service will send a bounty hunter after you.
Ways of Posting Bail
When it comes to various forms of bail, the significant difference hinges on the nature of your case and your financial capabilities at the time of the arrest. The common bail types are:
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Cash Bail
The funds you deposit directly with the Bellflower Courthouse’s clerk in the form of cash to leave custody are known as cash bail. You can use this option if you have committed a minor offense, as the judge sets a cheap bail that you can afford. When you have sufficient money to pay for bail, exiting police custody is easy. The cash you pay assures you will adhere to the court’s release conditions. And if you obey all the court requirements and the case is closed, your money will be refunded regardless of the verdict. Nonetheless, when you are convicted, and your sentence involves payment of a monetary court fine, the cash bail funds can go towards clearing the fine.
When you have been arrested for a serious crime like a felony, the court will set a prohibitively high bail. If the amount is in thousands of dollars, you could have challenges raising the money, and this is when you go to a bondsman for bonding service. The private entity takes responsibility for your bail, and in return, you pay them a 10% non-refundable premium fee and secure the remaining amount using collateral. The bondsmen then pay you full bail, and once the case is closed and the deposit with the court is refunded, they return the collateral. Nevertheless, when you disobey the court’s instructions and the money with the court is forfeited, the company utilizes the collateral to recoup the money lost through forfeiture.
Low-income earners, primarily those of color, often find cash bail unfair. The bail industry in the country is dominated by a commercial bonding service system that discriminates against colored defendants. The most significant percentages of pretrial detainees are colored because they often cannot afford to pay commercial bail. Judges tend to impose excessive bail amounts on colored defendants than white defendants for the same offenses.
Another challenge of cash bail, apart from discriminating against colored defendants, is that the court can delay your release if it is suspicious of the source of the funds. When there are questions about the basis of the money, the court schedules a hearing to investigate. If the funds were legally obtained, you could post bail, but you will have stayed in jail longer than anticipated. Alternatively, the cash bail will be declined if the court establishes you cannot prove the money is legitimate after the hearing.
The court will not allow you to post cash bail with illegal money because forfeiting the funds will not cause any losses. You will have no problem jumping bail because you do not care about the money you deposited with the court. Nonetheless, if the source of the funds were legitimate, you would not want to lose them, thus honoring scheduled court hearings.
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Bail Bond
You will need a bail bond when you cannot afford the expensive bail imposed by the court. Bond is necessary to help you leave jail early to reunite with your family, retain your job and prepare for trial. The hearings and trial can take months, and you cannot afford to put your life on hold for this wrong, waiting for a verdict from the court.
A bail bond involves contacting a Bellflower bail bonds service. With the bonding service on your side, you only need to pay a portion of the set bail figure as a bond premium, and the company will post the rest.
If you cannot contact your Bellflower bail bonds service while in jail, you can have a friend or relative reach out to them for you.
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Property Bond
You can utilize your property as security for your freedom awaiting trial if you lack the cash to pay upfront in what is known as a property bond. Again, you can use your interests in real property to ensure you will be present for your hearing. Whether you are using your home or commercial building, the equity on the property must be twice the bail money to be accepted as a bond.
Using a real estate property as bail will result in the court placing a lien on the property. If you complete the trial as required, the court will issue the lien, and you will have the property back. Nonetheless, if you disregard the court orders, the ownership of the property is passed over to the court, which then forecloses it to collect bail. If the money from the foreclosure is inadequate to cover bail, the court will come after you to recoup the deficit.
It is not always guaranteed that the court will accept your property as a bond. The court will deny your request to use a property bond if the market prices do not favor a sale.
California has rules and procedures for utilizing property bonds. These rules are incredibly complex and require a professional to help you navigate them. Your Bellflower bail bonds company will come in handy and guide you through the steps you need to obtain a property bond.
The court must appoint an appraiser to confirm the property is yours and establish its market value. The verification process involves the following:
- The title records.
- The names of all current individuals with a lien on the property.
- Mortgage certificates.
- Tax declaration documents.
- The property’s deed.
The required paperwork will be prepared and presented to the judge for review in a bail process once the court has verified your equity and the amount is 1.5 or 2 times the bail money.
Using a property bond will be difficult if your tax statement or property deed lists multiple names. For the property to be used for your bail, each individual on the list must enter a contract agreeing to use the real property to secure bail. You will receive the property back if you show up for all court proceedings, regardless of the court's decision regarding the charges.
It would help if you were careful with court orders when several people are listed on your warranty deed because failure to adhere to the orders will cause the bail to be forfeited, and all the individuals with interest in the property will pay heavily for your mistakes. Therefore, if people have accepted the property to post your bail, do not disappoint them by skipping court.
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Personal recognizance
The court will release you on your own recognizance if you have been detained for a non-violent offense for the first time. Additionally, you must have strong ties to your community, such as a family, a secure job, and membership in a religious organization. You are ineligible for personal recognizance if these conditions are not met.
Bellflower Bail Hearing
Your defense attorney could ask for a bail proceeding if you have committed a serious crime or are dissatisfied with the bail amount listed on the Los Angeles County Bail Schedule. You can ask for a lower or higher bail amount at the hearing if you or the prosecutor are dissatisfied with the amount specified in the schedule. The goal of the hearing is to determine whether you are eligible for bail. Additionally, judges use this procedure to decide whether you are eligible for a personal recognizance release.
All parties, the accused and the prosecutor, will have the opportunity to make their arguments. The proceeding will end if your lawyer convinces the court to grant you a release on your recognizance if you have solid community ties and are not a flight risk. The attorney can ask the court to lower the bail amount if it is impossible for you to leave jail on your own recognizance.
In most instances, the bail hearing happens during arraignment, which takes place within two days of your arrest. The judge takes many factors into account in the bail proceeding. These factors are:
- The safety of the public.
- Your criminal history, if any.
- The gravity of your offense.
- The possibility of returning to court as ordered when released.
- Your job status.
- Your community ties.
During bail determination, the critical factor to consider is public safety. Therefore, if you threaten the public's safety, the court can deny you the right to bail or increase the figure given in the bail schedule. The prosecutor will have their request to raise your bail granted if they can demonstrate you have violated probationary release before, and there is a possibility you will repeat your mistake once granted bail.
The judge can decide in your favor or that of the prosecutor. Therefore, it is up to you to find a reputable lawyer who will make solid arguments in the bail hearing for a favorable outcome.
Paying Bellflower Bail Bonds
Even when you can afford to post bail in cash up front, you are encouraged to hire a licensed and indemnified Bellflower bail bonds service to retain your freedom. Bondsmen are there to assist you in exiting jail affordably. For instance, if the court sets bail at $25,000, you do not need to have the money to be released. Even if you have the cash, save it and pay only $2,500 to your Bellflower bail bonds service to leave jail.
Once you pay the premium fee, typically 10% of the bail total, and sign the required documents, the service will send a bondsman to your jail to post bail. However, the court will require you to collateralize the bond when the amount is significantly high. The most commonly accepted bail is real property.
When you use the property as collateral, whether with the court or your Bellflower bail bonds service, when you skip court hearings, bail will be forfeited, and the property will be seized to recoup the forfeited amounts.
You are discouraged from posting cash bail because you will forfeit the funds if you disobey court orders.
If you do not deposit collateral with the bondsmen and skip bail, they declare you a fugitive and send a bounty hunter after you. Once you are considered a fugitive and the court issues a bench warrant, the focus of your Bellflower bail bonds service will be to capture and produce you in jail. The bounty hunter coming after you is a trained professional with skills in finding and apprehending fugitives. The professionals typically pay approximately 10 percent to 20 percent of the surety bond figure. The fee is paid once you are arrested. Also, there is a timeline for locating, capturing, and bringing the fugitive to prison.
Reasons You Should Enlist a Bellflower Bail Bonds Service
When you find yourself behind bars, you should contact the Bail Bonds Company to help you with a prompt release. An early bail is what you want to prepare for trial adequately. Therefore, find yourself an experienced and skilled bondsman. Steer clear of untrained and new bondsmen in the market because they could delay the process, causing you to stay in jail longer. However, with the right bondsman, you can attain your freedom early.
One significant reason you need an experienced bondsman is that we understand the bailing process and the challenges that come with it. Our professional bondsmen will streamline the process by tackling all challenges that could arise, delaying your release. Furthermore, we will prioritize your privacy, particularly if you do not want your loved ones to learn of the arrest or charges.
Similarly, we provide prices and payment methods that match your financial capacity. We know that arrests are sudden, and no one plans for them. And even if you have saved up some money equivalent to the bail amount, we understand you did not save to pay bail.
Also, we are transparent and honest. With our bondsmen, you do not need to worry about hidden costs or fees that could increase the cost of the services past the agreed-upon rates. Again, even if you skip court, we will not charge you extra fees if you have a valid reason for doing so. Additionally, we will differentiate between bail forfeiture and revocation for you to understand what will happen when you skip court.
Moreover, you need our bonding service because we are available around the clock. Arrests come without warning, even in the middle of the night. If an arrest occurs at night, on a holiday, or on the weekend, you need a bonding service available twenty-four hours a day. You can reach out to us by phone, email, or fax at any time of the day. We will explain the process of obtaining bail and even attend your bail hearing to offer support.
Jail and Court Information
Bellflower Courthouse
10025 East Flower Street
Bellflower, CA 90706
(800) 778-5879
Bellflower Sheriff Sub Station
16615 Bellflower Blvd
Bellflower, CA 90706
(562) 925-0124
Find the Right Bondsman Near Me
Have you been apprehended for an offense in Bellflower?
You want to act fast for an early release. It would help if you began by reaching out to a reputable bondsman. At Bail Bonds Company, we are eager to streamline your release procedure and eliminate all the anxiety and frustrations associated with arrests and detentions. We have the necessary licensure and coverage to ensure quality service. You can contact our office at 323-579-1415 for a free consultation.
