Keep Bailing

Mendez was once a Long Beach Police officer and now finds himself in jail. Orange County District Attorney’s office gave a statement according to the Orange County Register that the problem started in October when Mendez saw his ex-girlfriend and two other girls driving around at 3:30 in the morning. He pulled a gun on them, ordered them to pull over, fired shots in the air, yanked the ex-girlfriend out of the car, continued to fire shots in the air, and beat up on the ex-girlfriend. Meanwhile, the other girls ran for their life and called 911.

Mendez got 6 months in jail, 3 years probation and a 52 week treatment program. And, of course, now he’s lost his job.

Sometimes it seems like there’s a fine line between breaking the law and enforcing the law Read more »

“What’s Wrong With Bail in Los Angeles?” I’m thinking about making this a category here at KeepBailing. Bail is a great Constitutional Right. The system is really quite good and costs nothing to John Q. Public. Release on Own Recognizance is another story…

Recently, I had a call from a woman who’s brother was arrested and was at the Van Nuys Jail. He had been in an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. His bail was $30,000 and their mother agreed to bail him out. As our bail agent arrived at Van Nuys (and was illegally approached by street solicitors looking to cut him a 5% deal on a bond – also illegal, but that’s another post), he went into the jail with bond in hand and the jailer told him, “Sorry, the guy just had an O.R. approved.”

My guy tells the jailer, “Well, I have a bond, wouldn’t that be better for everyone?”

“Sorry, gotta O.R. him,” the agent was told. (Note that I recognize that the officer was doing what he’s told to do.)

You might be thinking, that’s great for the defendant and his family; they don’t have to pay. Well, not so fast. What are the facts about O.R. versus bail when it comes to appearance in court? Read more »

Santa Ana Police Chief Addresses Jail and Bail with OC Bondsmen

The monthly meeting of Orange County bondsmen welcomed Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters, Mike Edwards, his legal counsel, and Russ Davis, Santa Ana PD Jail Administrator. Police Chief Walters began the meeting with an interesting recount of how he came to the Department nearly 20 years ago and evolution of the Santa Ana Jail.

Apparently, many years ago, the Santa Ana Police Department made the decision to release all misdemeanors on a citation (known as “O.R.” or “Cite Out” and also called a “promise to appear”) and house only felony arrestees. According to Chief Walters, the Santa Ana experience was that 95 to 98% of bailees returned to court to address the charges compared with only 25% of defendants who were cited out. In the case of non-appearance, a bench warrant is issued for the defendant which, in the case of Santa Ana at the time, put additional duties on an already stretched-too-tight police force. The results of this practice carried a clear message: Read more »

Last week, I did a dumb thing… which turned into something unexpectedly fun for me. Some people get excited about rare coins and books or other antiques. What would you suppose thrills bail bondmen?

I was meeting friends in San Clemente for an annual get together. Every year, I make the long drive on a Friday in horrendous Los Angeles and Orange County, traffic through the San Fernando Valley across the 101 and down the 405 South. Quite possibly the worst traffic in the world on a hot August afternoon in my estimation! (If you don’t live in So Cal, the traffic is every bit as nasty as the movie Falling Down where Michael Douglas gets out and leaves his car on the freeway out of frustration.)

This year, I realized I could take the Amtrak Surfliner to San Clemente Pier and sit back and relax. Yes, what a lovely way to go! All fine and good until I got off one stop too soon. I had been listening to the stops and heard the next one to be San Juan Capistrano. The train stopped for about three minutes and I knew San Clemente was after San Juan, so I got off when the train stopped again. Apparently, we had stopped to let another train pass. I was feeling incredibly stupid! I may be blonde, but no one ever accused me of being air-headed. The next train being an hour later, I called for a ride. Hey, live in L.A. We don’t wait around; we drive. Pathetic, I realize… Then I discovered this lovely little neighborhood surrounding the train station. Read more »