Being arrested in Menifee is a distressing incident for all the parties involved. Luckily, per the California bail system, once an arrestee posts bail, they can be released before their court date. Posting bail may be challenging for some people, and understandably so since it is an unexpected expense. If you have trouble posting bail either for yourself or your loved one after an arrest, Menifee bail bonds can come in handy.
At Bail Bonds, we offer fast and confidential bail bond services throughout Riverside County, including Menifee. We boast reliable, experienced, and professional bail bondsmen who will work to ensure you or your loved one is out of jail within the shortest time possible. We also offer flexible payment and financing options and favorable discounts. Call us for a consultation and start securing your or your loved one’s release.
How Menifee Bail Bonds Work
Once arrested for a felony or misdemeanor, you are transferred into custody, booked, processed, and taken to a holding cell or jail. Meanwhile, the arresting officer will take your case to the district attorney, who will determine whether or not to file charges. If the district attorney sees the evidence is not strong enough to warrant criminal charges, they will drop the case, and you can be released.
However, if the district attorney decides you have a case to answer, they will file charges, and you will be arraigned in court. During the arraignment, the judge will read your charges and ask you to enter a plea, be it guilty, not guilty, or no contest.
Once you have taken your plea, the judge sets bail—an amount paid to the court to guarantee a jail release before the case is resolved and court appearances on the scheduled dates. You must pay the set bail amount if you wish to walk free before the court rules on your case. In essence, bail serves as collateral to ensure you will appear in court on the required dates.
Once the judge has set bail, you can contact a Menifee bail bonds service to help you post the bail or have your friend or family member contact the company and handle everything. Once you, your friend, or a family member has contacted a bail bond agency, the bail bondsman will need to know basic information about you and your arrest before processing the bond to evaluate the risk involved in the bond. For example, the bail bondsman will want to know:
- Your full name and booking number.
- Where you are being held.
- The period you have stayed in custody.
- The charges you face.
- Your place of work.
- The amount of bail set.
The bondsman will draw up a bond contract and application using the details you provided. After the necessary paperwork is filled out and the fee payment is made, the bondsman will go where you are held and post the bond amount. In Menifee, bail bonds can be posted at jails 24/7. So, irrespective of when you start the bond process, you or your loved one will not have to wait for the jail business hours to be set free.
If you make all the required court appearances, the court will refund the bond amount to the bondsman at the close of your case, regardless of whether or not you are found guilty. But if you fail to show up in court, the bondsman will forfeit the bond amount to the court. Consequently, if you fail to make court appearances, the bondsman will try to track you down and return you to the authorities to avoid losing their money. The court usually gives the bondsman 180 days to track you down before they forfeit their bond money.
The Cost of Menifee Bail Bonds
The cost of bail bonds in Menifee is usually ten percent of the total bail amount set, as the law requires. So, the cost generally varies based on the amount of bail the judge has set. For example, if the judge sets your bail amount at twenty thousand dollars, you will pay two thousand dollars to obtain a surety bond. For someone whose bail amount is $50,000, their bail bond will cost $5,000.
Note that this 10% charge, also known as the premium, is not refunded whether or not you attend court as required, are acquitted of your charges, or the judge drops the charges. That is because this amount is the company's fee for their services in posting the bond for you. Apart from the 10%, the bondsman may request that you post collateral to secure the bond so that if you fail to show up in court, the bondsman can sell the collateral to recover the bond amount. Collateral could be anything valuable, including real estate, jewelry, a car, and collectibles.
Another point worth noting is that while the law requires every bail bond service to charge a 10% premium, some companies charge a slightly lower amount, for example, 7%, while others offer discounts to teachers, military members, AARP members, union members, homeowners, law enforcement members, government workers, family members, and existing clients.
Still, some companies may charge a higher premium amount, while others may charge hidden fees like processing, credit card, notary, finance, electronic monitoring, administrative, and traveling fees. Other companies also charge interest on the premium. Thus, before signing a contract with a bail bonds company, ensure you have researched and know all the costs the company charges.
Cosigning Menifee Bail Bonds
Cosigning a bond means someone else signs an indemnity agreement or promissory note, financially obligating themselves to repay the whole bond amount if the accused does not make court appearances. Generally, a cosigner is necessary during the bond procedure to warrant that the accused will make court appearances as required. They vouch for the arrestee and ensure they receive the support they need once released from jail.
Theoretically, a cosigner can be any party who knows or is close to the accused. The more stable the relationship is, the higher the bondsman's chances of accepting the cosigner. Domestic partners, spouses, long-term friends, family members, and work colleagues are usually ideal. If a person lives elsewhere, far from the arrestee (perhaps in a different state), they may still cosign a bond in California.
Once you cosign a bond, you assume financial responsibility for ensuring the accused attends court at every scheduled date. You should always check on the accused and ensure they honor their promise of making court appearances. Therefore, you would be forced to pay the bonds company the full bail value if the accused person fails to attend court as required, regardless of the cost. Due to this, you only want to cosign a bond for someone you trust 100%.
Before becoming a cosigner, you should have an excellent credit history. This way, you can make routine payments if necessary. Having property or collateral and savings will also make you a good cosigner, as you will have financial backing if you must pay the bail bond amount.
You must also have a stable job history in addition to an excellent credit history. If you receive a paycheck regularly, you can be confident that you can pay the bond amount if the accused person fails to make court appearances.
Another qualification to become a cosigner is that you should be responsible. Cosigning a bond is accompanied by various responsibilities, one of which we mentioned is to ensure the accused attends court. If they do not attend court, the bondsman will seek you out to refund the bond amount, so it is in your best interests to ensure the defendant appears in court. Another responsibility is paying the premium, which must be done, or a payment arrangement made before bond posting.
Also, it is crucial to note that should the accused skip bail, the bail bondsman could charge recovery fees to locate them and bring them to law enforcement of the jurisdiction from which they fled. As the cosigner, you may be required to pay this fee.
Alternatives to Menifee Bail Bonds
Instead of contacting a Menifee bail bonds company to post bail for you, you can pursue other means of posting bail. These are cash bail and a property bond.
Cash Bail
Cash bail entails paying the total amount of the bail set with cash from your own pocket, friends, or family members. Some courts and jails accept credit and debit cards, money orders, traveler's checks, cashier's checks, et cetera.
Cash bail is the easiest way to post bail. However, the option is not common in Menifee. This is because judges set bail at higher amounts (usually between $10,000 and $100,000), and since no one plans for an arrest and therefore no one expects to post bail suddenly, not so many have so much money readily available to make bail. Raising the bail amount from friends and family members is also not convenient because it will take a long time, which in turn means the defendant will have to stay longer in jail.
If you have posted cash bail, the court will refund the money to you or the person who posted it, provided you make all court appearances. However, some criminal cases can remain pending for over a year, and you will be incapable of using the cash. Should you fail to attend court, you will forfeit the cash bail.
Note that the court will refuse to accept cash bail if the money’s origin is suspicious, like originating from a criminal activity or enterprise. This is particularly true if a considerable amount of money is involved. If the D.A. has charged you with fraud or a drug crime, for example, and you post $100,000 in cash bail, the court might suspect that the money did not originate from a legitimate source. You will then have to demonstrate that the money source is genuine. Failure to do so could result in the court declining your cash bail.
Property Bonds
With a property bond, the court does not take money as bail payment. Instead, it places a lien on your property. If you do not attend court as required, the court will seize your property and may sell it to recover the bail amount.
Posting a property bond is time-consuming. First, before the court accepts a property as bail, there is a long process of appraising it to ensure it is valuable enough. Usually, the court requires that the property value be twice the bail amount to be acceptable as a bond. For example, if the bail amount is $50,000, the property value should be $100,000. The court must also prove that the property is yours before accepting it.
Since posting a property bond is time-consuming, this type of bond is rarely sought since defendants want to secure their release as fast as possible. But if you lack the funds to pay a Menifee bail bonds company for their service or make cash bail, this type of bond can come in handy.
Considering the pros and cons of every option for posting bail, purchasing a bail bond is the most convenient. Firstly, it is affordable since you will only have to pay ten percent of the total bail amount, and your bail will be posted in totality. Secondly, the process is faster and more convenient, unlike property bonds. Lastly, most bail bond companies offer discounts, flexible payment plans, and affordable financing options.
Court Information
Superior Court of California, County of Riverside—Southwest Justice Center
Phone No.: 951-704-7634
Jail Information
Menifee Police Department
Phone No.: 951-723-1500
Southwest Detention Center
Phone No.: 951-696-3050
Find a Professional Menifee Bail Bonds Service Near Me
At Bail Bonds, we offer fast and reliable Menifee bail bonds. If you or your loved one has been arrested and needs help posting bail, we will be delighted to help you. Navigating the bonds is usually challenging, but our reliable and professional bail bondsmen will make it easier for you. The bondsmen are available 24/7 to help secure your release within the shortest time possible. Call us at 323-579-1415 for a consultation and learn more about our bond services.
