How do bail bond agencies work?

Question

i have protection order on my ex (for domestic abuse), he violated it twice. now there is a warrant for his arrest. he has no money, this i know because he never had any but it could still be an assumption...

however, if he turns himself in to a bail bondsman without being arrested first by a cop what happens? what is the process if he goesthru a bail bondsman rather than letting a police officer get him?!

And will the court let him out of jail sooner than the punishment needed if he turns himself in? what happens and what is the process,,!??

Answer 1

a bail bondsman cannot do anything until he is in custody. then someone will have to guarantee (cosign) the bond to get him out for a fee unually 10 percent of the bail. and the cosigner is responsible for getting him to his court dates.

turning himself in may or may not have any influence on the sentence that is up to the judge.

Answer 2

In Texas, if he's arrested for violation of a protective order, you have the right for the jail to attempt to notify you before he gets out. Check with the jail. They have a simple form to put in his file. They won't hold him very long trying to notify you, so give them some contact number that will always be answered. You may also be able to ask the magistrate to order that he be held for a day or two after making bail. See the victim services people at the law enforcement agency working the case.

As you were told, he can't "turn himself in" to a bondsman. He can, however, turn himself into the jail with a bondsman who could have the bond already made out.

Being arrested is just being arrested. It's not sentencing. That will happen a good bit later. You can talk to the D.A. or county attorney, whichever will be prosecuting the case. You can have some input on sentencing deals and such.

The order stays in effect if it's a "permanent" order. If it's a magistrate's order for protection, you need to get with the D.A. to begin the process of it becoming a long-term order, if it isn't already.

Get in touch with the local women's center. The police department can provide the number, and you should have been given a list of resources, including their number, when you made the first assault report.

If he truly has no money and no friends willing to put up money, he won't soon get out. Bondsmen get paid up front, although they might take title to his car, if any.

When you talk to Victim Services, ask them if they can find out if there's a preset bond on the warrant. If now, ask if they can talk to the magistrate who will be seeing him when he's arrested. He will be setting bail. It should be set high, since he's already violated a protective order. It is entirely up to the magistrate if he is willing to listen to arguments for higher bail. He can't deny bail, but there's no practical upper limit on what he can set. I used to set these guys upwards of $25,000, since they'd already shown they weren't safe and were ignoring the court order.

He will ultimately get out, though. He can only be held so long on account on inability to make bail. 30 days for a Class A misdemeanor, which this is. So you have to plan for the long run. Often, a very high bail and a 30 day stay in jail makes it sink in.