San Pablo Bail Bonds

FOR 24 HR. BAIL BOND SERVICES CALL: (925) 231-8103

Bail and Getting Arrested in San Pablo

If someone is arrested and charged with a crime in San Pablo, chances are he may have been granted bail. If he pays the bail, he is released with the promise of attending all court hearings of his case. If not, he has to stay in jail until his first court hearing (arraignment).

The amount of bail asked by the court to free the defendant is based on the California Bail Schedule and will also consider if the public is at risk with you at large, your prior criminal records or community standing, the seriousness of the charge and the chances that you’ll appear at the trial or hearing. In San Pablo, and elsewhere in California, this can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.

How does Bail Work?

Bail acts as an incentive for a defendant to attend all his case’s hearings and avoid being a fugitive from the law. If a defendant flees, he doesn’t get the bail back – the court gets to keep it.

As mentioned, the bail can go pretty high so that the defendant has no way to pay the bill all up front. The court does not accept installments. What to do?

Hire a bail bond agent.

What Does a Bail Bond Agent Do?

Professionally licensed bail bond agents take up the bail for you. In exchange for a fee called premium which, in California, is pegged at 10% of the bail (can be lowered down to 8% if you are a military veteran or on active duty, a union member or if you retained a private lawyer), the bail bond agent will draw up a contract between you, your co-signer, and himself. Once the premium is paid and the contract signed, the bail bond agent posts the bail money or submits a promissory note (bail bond agents are backed by banks that make cash available any time of day) to court. Then the defendant can be released shortly after.

The bail bond contract states that if you flee or fail to attend court hearings, your co-signer will be made to pay the full bail back. This is the reason why the co-signer, commonly the defendant’s family member, friend, or loved one, should have a regular source of income and should be able to put up a collateral.

What If I Cannot Afford the Premium?

In case even the 10% of the bail premium is too much to pay at one go, don’t worry. For those who qualify, we can help you out with an easy and flexible financing program tailored to fit your needs. We have been helping people get bailed out for well over 30 years. We have made the bail bond process easy and fast. Call us at (925) 231-8103 so we can help bail you out with reliable and trustworthy service.

What Happens if I Don’t Appear in Court?

If you deliberately flee your bail and fail to attend your court hearings, the court could declare you a fugitive. If you paid the bail in cash, this is forfeited in favor of the court. If you hired a bail bond agent, your co-signer will be obligated to pay the full bail back to the bail bond agent. If the bail bond agent also hires a bounty hunter (aka ‘fugitive recovery agent’), this expense will also be obligated to your co-signer. As such, fleeing bail will add to your family or loved ones’ legal expenses.

There are cases when a defendant merely oversleeps or forgets a court hearing date. If that happens, he can call his bail bond agent and co-signer so they can inform the court and reschedule a court hearing.

What Happens When You Get Arrested?

After the arrest, you will be taken to the local San Pablo jail or the nearest detention facility for booking. Booking simply means making a police record for you and find out if you should be criminally charged: Your personal belongings will be taken from you and kept for safety purposes. Your ‘mug shots’ and finger prints will be taken, you will be asked to state your name and disclose important personal information. You also will be allowed one phone call to a person who should be able to help you with bail or be able to contact a good bail bond agent. This is a truly stressful time and we at Leonard Padilla Bail Bonds understand that. That’s why we have made the bail bond process as easy and stress-free as possible. Call us at (925) 231-8103.