After you have allegedly committed a crime, apprehension is imminent. Once you are arrested, you are placed in police custody, waiting for release. Based on the severity of the crime you are accused of, you could be eligible for bail to be free, pending the case’s ruling. The bail amount is determined by the court or Bail Schedule depending on the crime’s nature. Unfortunately, bail is expensive, and many defendants, especially those with less economic means, are left in jail while a few with the financial means obtain a pretrial release.
At Bail Bonds Company, we understand that many defendants in custody in Palmdale lack the financial capability to consolidate the funds on short notice. Therefore, we are here to help you post bail and avoid spending time behind bars that is more than necessary. Today the criminal justice system is congested, and you could wait months or years without case determination. Our operators will pay a surety bond for you to resume normalcy as you arrange for a trial.
Action to Take After Apprehension
Arrests are usually humiliating, especially when it is your first time. However, your actions at this time of difficulty are critical in the case’s verdict. When you are arrested in Los Angeles County, you will be detained in the nearest police custody for booking.
Once you learn of an impending apprehension, you should immediately call your bonds company regardless of the charge you face. The bail operators will then evaluate their case and collect adequate info to guide their subsequent action.
When the offense in question is a minor one, the arresting officer can rely on the California Bail Schedule to determine the amount you should pay to exit police custody awaiting a court appearance. However, before your release, you must complete the bail application process.
For a severe offense, the court or jury has the discretion to grant or deny bail. As a U.S. citizen, you qualify for bail, although the judge can withhold this right when they deem you a flight risk or threat to the community. With the help of a bond operator, your rights will be protected, and the chances of a pretrial release are high.
Options After Arrest
You have a manifold of options to exit police custody until trial, and your Palmdale bail bonds operator will walk you through these options. When hiring a bond operator, ensure they are licensed and have the relevant coverage and expertise to handle all bond forms, including:
- Federal bonds
- Surety bonds
- Cash bail
- Property bonds
- Immigration bonds
- Prostitution bonds
- Domestic violence bonds
Various charges vary. So, your choice of bonds agency must treat your case uniquely and pay attention to all details before deciding the way forward. Surety bonds are prevalent in Los Angeles County, but they depend on the circumstances.
One option for being released from police custody pending the determination of your case is personal recognizance. The pretrial release option is available if you are a first-time offender, the crime in question is not severe, and you have an excellent standing in the community. If you meet these stipulations, the court will not deem you a danger to the public or flight risk, allowing you to exit police custody without paying bail. Personal recognizances cases are rare because it is easy for you to leave Palmdale, where the court resides. After all, you have nothing to lose.
Similarly, you could leave detention by posting a cash bond. Paying bail in cash is the first instinct when the court grants the option; you could be willing to pay the money upfront to leave jail. However, it will be challenging to raise funds, primarily when you have fewer financial means. If you have been arrested before, then you know the court sets a high bail fee to discourage you from skipping town after release. Sometimes the amount is tens of thousands of dollars which many Californians cannot afford. And even if you can afford to pay the funds upfront, you can put the money to better use by hiring a profound lawyer to build a solid defense. Again, if the court is suspicious of the source of the capital, they will order an investigation into the origin of the money, which takes time, thus extending your stay in custody.
The most prevalent way of exiting police custody is posting a bail bond, otherwise known as a surety bond. A surety bond is an efficient and affordable way to leave police custody pending case determination. Nevertheless, to maximize these benefits, you must contact a bail bonds agency for the service. It would help if you had a compassionate bond operator keen on details. With a bail agency in your corner, instead of paying the total bail funds to the court, you will deposit a small percentage, usually 10% of your bail, with the bond operator, who pays the entire bond to the court. By doing this, your Palmdale bail bonds will have allowed you to reunite with your family and contest the charges outside the jail.
You cannot predict an arrest, and raising the money required as bail within a moment’s notice is not something you want to do alone. Your bonds operator can come in handy by posting bonds on your behalf and offering different payment modes based on your financial capacity. It would help if you had a trustworthy bond agent because a lot is at stake. The cosigner will be depositing collateral with the bond agency in the form of a deed or a valuable item without trust; they will have concerns about signing the agreement. Your bond agency must help the cosigner understand all the contract details before commitments. Also, you or the cosigner must pay the bonds agency a separate fee for the services offered. The rate is usually fixed at 10% and protects all parties involved in the contract. Be wary of agencies charging rates exceeding the handling fees because any extra charges will be additional costs.
Also, be wary of agencies with hidden charges, which some operators add to maximize their profits out of compulsion. These bond companies apply various tactics to sign contracts whose content you do not understand. Avoid these tricks by researching the market prices for bond services. Obtain quotations from multiple companies within Palmdale and choose the agency with reasonable prices and no hidden costs. After you have found a bail bond service with affordable rates, you should evaluate their prices before signing the contract. One common hidden charge you will likely come across is the annual premium. Bail operators introduce these fees because, with the criminal justice system overwhelmed by cases, it can take years before it is concluded. Some bond operators raise annual renewal fees to continue with your bail coverage when a case lasts for over one year. Typically, the cost equals the premium fee initially paid to exit custody. This is a lot of money to a family with minimal economic means, and this is where your bail service should come in with zero additional fees.
Moreover, your Palmdale bail bonds company will benefit when you need a quick and affordable way to consolidate your bail. The right agency will offer various in-house payment schemes to cater to the needs of families with economic hardships. Modes of payment like checks, property, cash, and money orders should be available.
If you exhaust all means of consolidating bail, you still have the property bond option. These bonds are common in immigration cases where the government uses your property to secure a bond and ensure that you meet all court responsibilities within the jurisdiction where your claim is being heard. Collateral can be any valuable item one and half times the bond money. Besides, you can use your property to secure the bond, but the problem is that it takes a long time to process, delaying your release from custody.
Again, you must know that the cosigner cannot pass on the bail easily. You must return to jail and complete the necessary paperwork to discharge the bond. And if you abandon your responsibilities, a bench warrant will be issued, and the bail will be forfeited. When this occurs in a property bond scenario, the property will be seized and auctioned to recover fees, and the cosigner will be refunded the rest. Although you can use the property bond options, let it be the last option after you have exhausted all the other pretrial release methods.
Creating a Relationship With Your Palmdale Bail Bonds Operator
After exiting jail, your bonds service must take time to explain all your rights and responsibilities during your stay out. As a Californian, you have a right to bail, although this comes at a price. The court will impose duties like:
- The requirement to remain in your jurisdiction until the case is over
- A condition to be present for all the arranged court sessions
Your bail service must explain these responsibilities and how the process works. After release, the bond operator expects you to:
- Check in with them often
- Be available whenever the bond operator wants to see you
- Keep current personal contact info
You have two methods of checking in with your bond agent. You can call or appear in person to illustrate your willingness to abide by court instructions and assume responsibility for contravening the law.
When you employ an attorney to defend you during the trial, share with your Palmdale bail bonds’ contact info to remain in contact if there is an emergency.
Benefits of Working With a Palmdale Bail Bonds Service
When you are in police custody, you can do very little to secure freedom. Additionally, you are not familiar with the obstacles involved in posting bail, which will further slow down your release. You will reunite with your family quickly when you hire a professional bondsman.
One benefit of working with a professional bond operator is that they can trace a loved one who is in jail. When seeking to flee an individual from police custody, it is a difficult task to track them to the prison they are being detained in. An arrestee is not allowed to have a mobile phone while in custody, making it even harder to find them. Nonetheless, your Palmdale bail bonds agent has the expertise to track your loved one within a short time. Also, the operators have established a network they can easily liaise with to find a defendant.
Talk to a bondsman when your financial position does not allow you to pay cash bail. Even if you can consolidate the funds, the hassle involved is overwhelming, hence the need for a bond operator. Your bond operator will streamline the process and make you and your loved ones comfortable. You are only required to deposit 10% of the bond sum as a premium fee, and they will immediately ready surety to foot the entire bond money. Additionally, these companies can use your valuable assets like vehicles and jewelry as collateral, thus speeding up the process.
If you are fortunate to learn of an impending arrest, your operator recommends you turn yourself in to hasten the jail exit. Surrendering to the authorities indicates you are ready to comply with their stipulations, and there will be no reason for the court not to set you free on your recognizance or a less expensive bail. After bail has been set at a low amount, leaving custody awaiting scheduled court processes will be easy.
Lastly, your bail bonds service is in business to pay bail for you. Therefore, when you use these services to secure an exit from prison, there is less or no scrutiny of the money used to pay bail. Licensed bond operators meet all government requirements. However, when you post bail upfront without help, the court quickly becomes suspicious of the money's source. Even if the money has been obtained legitimately, the court will require bank statements, tax compliance paperwork, and evidence of buying various assets, which take time to process, delaying your freedom.
Hold on Bail in Palmdale
Per PEN 1275.1, when the state is doubtful of the cash or property used to pay bail. They can order an investigation to establish if the resources are proceeds of criminal activity. The money deposited will be placed under a 1275 hold by any party involved in your apprehension or prosecution. Some of the reasons your cash can go under a hold are:
- If the funds are believed to be from gang activities or narcotics business
- Embezzled funds
- Money from theft
- Extortion money
Until an investigation is completed on the source of the funds, you remain behind bars until you can provide evidence. Avoid this lengthy process by contacting your agency to pay the bond on your behalf.
Skipping Court After Obtaining a Palmdale Bail Bond
When you successfully exit jail with the help of your bonds professional, you must observe the release conditions, one of them being appearing for planned proceedings. Nonetheless, when you jump bail, there are two possible outcomes. The first outcome is that the court will issue a California bench warrant. The warranty gives police officers the authority to search your home or property and make an arrest.
You need someone to suppress the warrant before the lapse of 30 days because if this happens, the prosecutor will file additional charges against you for failure to appear (FTA). Also, an arrest warrant will be hanging over your head, and a conviction for FTA will lead to incarceration and financial court fines. In these circumstances, the best action is to appear in court.
Turning yourself into the authorities is not the best move because you will be placed in police custody pending presentation in court. You will not be lucky this time round because the court will likely deny bail and detain you pending trial. However, when you contact your criminal lawyer, they will request a proceeding to explain to the court valid reasons why you skipped court. The judge will recall the warrant if you have a good reason for missing court.
Alternatively, your bonds service will send a bounty hunter after you because they have placed a surety on your bail, and by FTA, they will forfeit the funds. Usually, they will seize the collateral deposited with them to raise the money lost. And if it is not enough to cover their losses, they will send a bounty hunter to arrest and bring you to court.
Court and Jail Information
Palmdale Sheriff’s Station
Antelope Valley Courthouse
Find an Experienced Palmdale Bail Bonds Company Near Me
When you find yourself in police custody for a crime in Palmdale, a bond operator will help you exit jail. Our operators at Bail Bonds Company will prepare a financial contract, and once you agree with the terms and pay the premium fee, we will play our role in securing your freedom. Further, we will explain the court stipulations and your responsibilities when you return to normalcy. To arrange a meeting, contact us today at 323-579-1415 for a free consultation.
