California has a bail system that primarily allows offenders to attend court hearings from home instead of jail. Therefore, many Ventura County residents who face charges for various violations have a right to obtain pretrial discharge through bail. Depending on the cost of bail set for your violation, you will require a San Buenaventura bail bonds service. At Bail Bonds, we will make the pretrial discharge process seamless and cost-friendly. Our bondsmen will explain the bail process and discuss the best way to exit police custody while awaiting trial.
The Apprehension and Booking Procedures
No one intentionally plans to be arrested. It comes unexpectedly. However, you should know what to do after being arrested to regain freedom in the quickest way possible.
When police suspect you have committed a crime, they will recite the Miranda rights before placing you under arrest. The officers will explain your rights and inform you of the right to stay silent until your legal representative is present. Therefore, whenever officers apprehend you, your first call should be to your attorney to protect your rights and avoid incriminating statements that could increase the chances of a conviction. If the police fail to follow the procedures in the law for an arrest, your attorney can petition for your release without any formal charges.
An arrest can also happen when officers search your property. When you find yourself in a situation like this, request that the officers produce a valid search warrant before allowing them into your property, home, or vehicle. If the police search is done without valid authorization, any evidence obtained will be illegal and inadmissible in court, which will help your case. However, if the search is conducted and evidence is found, the police can lawfully arrest you and submit your file to the district attorney to file formal charges.
However, before filing criminal charges and appearing in court, the officers will take you to the nearest jail or police station, Ventura County Pre-trial Detention or Ventura County Jail, for booking. The officers likely to arrest you in San Buenaventura are from the Ventura Police Department or Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. When you arrive at the jail or station, you should expect the following:
- The officer will key in your name, birth date, physical description, and the alleged crime in the Ventura County Digital database.
- The booking officer will then take a mugshot. The photograph is necessary in case you allege that the apprehension was unlawful or that the police used excessive force if you sustain facial injuries in the police cell or jail.
- The officer takes your personal belongings or items, like money and clothing. These will be returned to you after discharge from custody. However, if you possess an illegal firearm or narcotics, you will not receive them back because the court will use them as evidence for additional charges.
- The officer takes you through fingerprinting to include them in national databases or check if you have active arrest warrants. If you have a pending warrant, the court will deny you bail.
- Conducting a full body search to ensure you do not smuggle drugs, weapons, or contraband into jail.
- Establish if you are a gang member, affiliate, or need protective custody. If this is true, the officer will place you in a separate cell for your safety and that of other inmates.
While you await a court presentation, the police place you in a large cell with at most twenty inmates. This is the most dangerous part of an arrest because some of these inmates are violent or under the influence, awaiting booking and arraignment.
Understanding Bail
Bail is a system that guarantees the court that once an accused has been discharged from jail awaiting trial, they will attend all their scheduled court proceedings. It gives you, the accused, a discharge from incarceration pending case determination, but only if you have the cash or an asset to deposit with the court.
You can receive bail at any stage, immediately after arrest or after you have been presented in court for the bail proceeding. For minor offenses, the processing officer issues you a citation, promising to appear in court on the indicated date. After that, they release you without paying bail.
Alternatively, the officer can check the amount provided as bail on the Ventura County bail schedule and have you post bail without a hearing.
However, when you face a severe criminal charge or dispute the bail figure provided in the schedule, you must attend a bail hearing where the judge rules on whether to grant or deny a pretrial discharge. Also, the proceeding helps the judge set a reasonable bail figure depending on your finances and community ties. If you are a first-time offender and your crime is not severe, the judge will likely release you on personal recognizance. Here, you only promise to appear in court as required, and the court releases you without you having to pay bail.
In other circumstances, the judge can decline your bail application, meaning you must stay behind bars until the conclusion of your case. Offenses that can result in bail denial include capital murder, punishable by death. Again, the court has the authority to deny you bail when the charge is for a felony, the evidence is compelling, you committed the crime, or you intimidated the alleged victim with substantial physical harm and are likely to act on your threats after discharge from jail. Additionally, bail denial is expected if you commit a violent felony or felony sexual assault, and there is proof that you could cause the victim significant bodily injury after release.
Even though it is unconstitutional to deny any defendant bail or set a colossal amount that makes it impossible for one to afford, denying bail is necessary to keep the public safe. Before arriving at a bail figure, the judge considers several factors, including your capacity to consolidate the funds. Therefore, even when you lack sufficient funds, the judge should release you unless you have committed a crime punishable by death or are a danger to the community.
Other factors that determine the judge’s decision in a bail proceeding are:
- Flight risk.
- The threat you pose to the general public.
- Your crime’s severity.
- History of skipping court.
Even the judge relies on the figures provided in the bail schedule. However, depending on the case's circumstances, they have the discretion to increase or reduce the amount. Therefore, when the arresting officer relies on the predetermined figures but your attorney disputes seeking a lower amount or believes you are eligible for a personal recognizance discharge, you must appear for a bail hearing.
Ways of Paying Bail
Per PEN 1269, you can post bail using cash if you can consolidate the funds or post a cashier’s check. Very few individuals can afford cash bail, and even when you have the money, it is best to speak to a San Buenaventura bail bonds service to pay the funds for you to avoid delays associated with cash bail. Usually, when you post the funds upfront, the court will want to investigate the source of the money, delaying your release. Also, when they discover the funds are the proceeds of felonious activities, the judge could cancel your bail and seize the money as evidence.
Similarly, you can pay bail through a property bond provided under PEN 1276.5. The property you use to post bail must be double the bail.
Lastly, you can pay bail through a bail bond as provided for under PEN 1276. You use this option if you cannot afford to pay a property bond or cash bail. Posting bail through a surety bond is the quickest and most effective way to exit jail through bail.
San Buenaventura Bail Bond Definition
A bail bond is a surety bond offered to accused persons by bondsmen. The funds help guarantee your discharge from custody. San Buenaventura bail bonds can be civil or criminal. Civil bail bonds help assure you will repay debt and other costs from a civil court proceeding. Conversely, criminal bonds guarantee your future court appearances.
How San Buenaventura Bail Bonds Work
The state licenses bondsmen to offer bail bond services. Your San Buenaventura bail bonds service is the intermediary between you, the arrestee, and the Ventura County Superior Court. The bondsman demands that you pay a nonrefundable fee, usually 10% of your total bail. Even if the court drops your case or you successfully attend all hearings as planned, you will not receive the fee back.
Your bondsman is guaranteeing your discharge by paying the bail for you. When you miss planned court proceedings, the bondsman will lose their money. Therefore, you must deposit collateral with the bondsman. However, if you lack collateral, you can talk to a friend or family member to co-sign the bond and use that person's title deed, car, or jewelry to secure your bond. That way, when you skip court and the bondsman forfeits the bail funds, they can seize the collateral and auction it to recoup the lost funds.
The Process of Obtaining Bail Bond
After bail has been set, you can call the bondsman directly or have a loved one contact them for you. When you contact your family or friends after apprehension to try to raise the bail funds but cannot, they will contact the bondsman to help finance your pretrial release. The bondsman will require the following information to expedite the release:
- The accused person's name.
- The accused's birth date.
- The accused's address.
- The accused's workplace or employer.
- City or county of apprehension.
- The detention facility.
- The accused's charge.
- The bail figure.
Ensure you furnish your family with these details to make it easy to trace you. However, if you cannot provide the details, the bondsman hired to finance your release can find the details themselves, although this could delay your discharge, extending your stay in jail.
Once the bondsman obtains your information, they will analyze the risk associated with your pretrial discharge and draft a contract. Your co-signer will then pay the premium fee and sign the agreement for the release process to commence. After finalizing the documentation, a bondsman will be sent to the jail, where you are held to pay the bond for your release.
Your bondsman has a vested interest in the case past the premium fee. Their money's on the line, and they risk losing it when you jump court. Therefore, they ensure that you appear for scheduled court proceedings. If you skip town, the bondsman hires a bounty hunter to track you down and present you in court. If the efforts are not successful, they will sell the collateral.
Skipping Bail
You risk several repercussions when you miss a court hearing without valid reasons. First, the judge issues a bench warrant for failing to appear in court. The warrant gives your San Buenaventura bail bonds service the green light to track you down and present you before a judge to avoid bond forfeiture.
If you receive a bench warrant, you or your co-signer risk losing the collateral you deposited for the surety bond. Therefore, you should present yourself in court and explain why you skipped the arranged hearing. The compelling reasons for skipping court are:
- Severe illness or injury resulting in hospital admission.
- Mental illness or deficiency that prevents you from understanding the weight of your charges, especially if you were admitted to a psych ward on the day you were expected to appear.
- you were in police custody in a different jurisdiction.
Ensure that any reason for jumping bail is supported by the necessary paperwork to avoid bail cancellation or forfeiture.
Setting Federal Bail
If you face federal charges, your bail hearing will happen in federal court. The judge in these courts does not rely on a bail schedule to set the funds you should deposit to exit incarceration. Instead, a Pretrial Services Officer interviews you and runs background checks on your criminal record, finances, community ties, family, and employment status to make recommendations on the suitable course of action on whether to grant bail and the figure the court should set. The United States attorney also makes recommendations on the matter.
After reviewing these parties' recommendations, the judge rules on your bail. Chances are high the judge will deny you bail or set a hefty amount if you pose a flight risk or danger to yourself and the community.
Appearance Bond Overview
When you face federal charges, you deposit a bond of appearance to assure the court that you will be present when asked. The federal court imposes the bond. An appearance bond can be secured or unsecured. Stock notes, cars, properties, bail bonds, cash, or bond deeds can be used to partially or fully secure secured appearance bonds. For unsecured bonds, you or your co-signer sign a contract agreeing to repay the entire bond amount if you skip court.
Understanding Appeal Bond
Even if you are found guilty of the allegations against you at the end of the court proceedings, you can avoid spending time in prison by posting an appeal bond if you have already appealed the court's verdict. However, the appeal bond is available if your conviction is not for a capital murder offense or any other crime whose punishment is a death sentence. For example, when you deposit bail with the court to exit jail pending trial, an appeal bond allows you to stay out of jail while the court hears your appeal case.
The judge in the appellate court considers several aspects when determining your appeal bond, including:
- The threat you pose to your victim and the public.
- Flight risk.
- Whether you are appealing the conviction to delay imminent incarceration.
- Whether the appeal is likely to result in a reversal of the conviction.
You will forfeit the bond if the appellate court fails to reverse your conviction or skip the appeal hearing. The decision on whether or not to grant bail lies with the appellate or trial court.
What to Look Out for When Hiring a San Buenaventura Bail Bonds Service
Ventura County has many bail bondsmen, all claiming to be the best. However, this is not true because, among these bondsmen, there are those only interested in receiving the premium fee and will pay less or no attention to your pretrial discharge. Others are operating without the relevant licenses and authorizations. Therefore, do your due diligence and check if the bondsman you are interested in is licensed.
Similarly, avoid bondsmen you meet at the detention facility or jail waiting for arrestees. These will solicit money from your loved ones. Instead, hire a bondsman that you have been referred to by your lawyer or a friend.
Lastly, read and understand the contract terms before signing to avoid hidden charges that can increase the cost of the services later.
Jail Information
Ventura County Jail Todd Road Facility
600 Todd Rd
Santa Paula, CA 93060
Ventura County Pretrial Detention Facility
800 S. Victoria Avenue,
Ventura, CA, 93009
Court Information
Ventura County Superior Court
800 S. Victoria Avenue,
Ventura, CA, 93009
Find a Competent San Buenaventura Bondsman Near Me
Discharge from jail after an apprehension in San Buenaventura can be costly and sophisticated. Partnering with a bondsman to pay bail for you is the easiest way to exit incarceration. At Bail Bonds, we can help with your release and follow up to ensure you abide by the release conditions, including appearing for scheduled court proceedings. Call us today at 323-579-1415 to commence your pretrial discharge process.
