She was arrested without incidence about 9:30 a.m. during a traffic stop near Third and F streets in Oxnard.

Dave Laut, 52, died from multiple gunshots to the head.  At first, his wife told police the family heard noises and that her husband went out into the back yard to investigate. Oxnard police chose not to comment on any details for fear of compromising the case, but they have been working closely with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office since the shooting.

Some neighbors weren’t surprised by Jane Laut’s arrest; others were shocked.  In the quiet suburban neighborhood where the Lauts lived, everyone said they were friendly and outgoing.  Their next door neighbor, Eileen Laurie, described Jane Laut as “the nicest person you’d ever meet.” Laurie said she knew Dave Laut drank yet she never heard any stories of abuse. 

Jane Laut faces 50 years to life in prison if she is found guilty on all counts.  Jane Laut is scheduled to appear on Tuesday in Ventura County Superior Court and is now being held on $3 million bail at the Ventura County Jail. Jane Laut intends to plead not guilty and request a lower bail.

How Credit Card Bail Works

The Ventura jail phone has a toll free 800 phone number posted near the phone.  An inmate or family member can call this phone number to bail out of jail.   Here is how it works:  Let’s say you have a bail for $20,000.    This credit card bail system allows the inmate to have the full bail charged (plus a 7% processing fee for Ventura County) to a credit card.  For example, on a $20,000 bail bond, an inmate would be charged a total of $21,400 for release from jail.  Once the defendant has appeared in court, they would be refunded $20,000.  The net effect of this transaction is that the inmate would be charged 7% to be bailed out of jail.   Who gets to keep the 7%?  It seems that the county takes a cut and the “third party” unlicensed processing entity makes a nice profit.

Ventura County is not the only county in California that enables inmates to bail out using a credit card.  In fact, several states now utilize some form of this process.  Over the past several years, credit card bail seems to be spreading like wildfire.

Why is this bad for California?

1. No accountability.  What happens when the defendant “fails to appear” on a credit card bail?  What incentive does the County or State have to find the defendant?  None.  When a bail bondsman is utilized, the bondsman has the financial incentive to locate the defendant.  The bail agent is in a much better position to ensure justice and public safety. 
2. What happens when the cardholder decides to dispute the charges?  It’s not very difficult to dispute charges on a credit card.  Often, it only takes a phone call to the credit card company.  Now the County is saddled with a disputed credit card account as well as a potential fugitive.
3. It seems contrary to public policy and law.  For example, the California Department of Insurance (DOI) is the regulatory agency for bail bondsman.    In California, only licensed bondsmen are legally able to profit by posting a bail bond for somebody to get out of jail.  Credit card bail allows “third party” entities to make a tidy profit without being licensed.  It seems to skirt the licensing issues.
4. It seems to me to be predatory on unwary consumers.  Even though the customer is being charged a stated fee of 7%–that does not include the “real cost”.  What about the 2% cash advance fee charged by many credit card companies.  What about the fact that the cardholder may not be able to pay the monthly credit card bill and be charged a 10-35% interest charge?  Had the cardholder simply used a traditional bail bondman, the true cost would have likely been a solid 10% of the total bail.

I think that credit card bail is bad public policy.  It is my hope that California can find a way to abolish is completely.

The incident occurred in Ventura on Saturday at the end of the game, when a fight broke out between the two teams. According to the Ventura County Star, the man involved, Efrain Flores, was brother of one of the players:

Police said a fight erupted around 1:30 p.m. at the end of the game. Flores ran onto the field and blindsided the 13-year-old victim, striking him in the face and nose area with his fist and knocking him to the ground. Other adults watching were able to stop the assault, police said.

The man was arrested for disturbing the peace and child endangerment. He was taken to Ventura County Jail and bail was set at $25,000.

When people hear that we’re in bail bonds, one of the first things they say is, “You must work with some interesting people.” Yes, we do work with interesting people, but probably not in the way that you would think. Most of our clients are regular people like you, your kids, or your grandparents. In this case, one of those regular people happened to discover a dead body. Of course, it’s not illegal to find a dead body. But it does become a criminal matter if you find one and wait several days before you call the police! Now, for the rest of the story…

The woman who had been incarcerated was quite shaken up and surprised at her charges. Like most of our clients, she was a nice, law-abiding woman who had lived in the area for years and been on her job for an extended time. Her home was in Ventura County, California, a lovely county on the beach with a rich agricultural community known for its strawberries. It’s not a place where you think much about crime and bail bonds.

Her friends and family were surprised to be calling about Ventura bail bonds (the story we hear everyday). The woman was a caregiver for an older gentleman who was in his final days. When he passed away, she was careful to honor his final requests… one of which was to let him rest for three days after he died. I was never clear if this was for spiritual reasons and he wasn’t around to answer. Unfortunately for her (and unbeknownst to her), when discovering a dead body, she was required to immediately report the death. This poor woman who was doing her best to honor a dying man’s wishes ended up in jail and paying bail. That’s typical of the “interesting” people that we meet everyday.

Now, if you’re like me, you’re wondering what happened to this poor woman? Well, like most of our cases, I have no idea. Once someone pays the bail bond fee, we generally don’t hear from them again unless they “skip bail”. That’s not the type of person she was. If I had to guess, I’d assume no charges were filed, but that’s just a guess.