An apprehension for a crime can be upsetting and disruptive to your life. Jail being the last place you want to find yourself, you must feel confused and hopeless about your future. Although spending time in jail can seem like the end of the road for your freedom, it is possible to regain your freedom to recommence your daily life and spend time with family and friends. At Mr Nice Guy Bail Bonds, we commit to bailing you out of Solvang Sheriff Station if you have been arrested in Los Olivos, even when you are not financially ready to cover the cost of bail.
The Arrest Procedure in Santa Barbara County
After a criminal act has been committed, police launch investigations to establish possible suspects. Once the suspects have been identified, the police present their evidence to a judge, who reviews it to issue or deny an arrest warrant. If the judge grants the request for a warrant, they go ahead with the arrest.
Alternatively, you can be arrested in Los Olivos if law enforcement finds you commissioning a criminal act. Additionally, an apprehension will happen if the officers have probable cause that you were committing a crime, probably because you match the account given by the witnesses of the perpetrator's identity. In these two scenarios, the officers do not need an arrest warrant.
Note that even if officers have the mandate to make arrests, they must follow the regulations put in place by the state. Use of physical force or handcuffs is not mandatory. You just need to present yourself to court once you learn about an active arrest warrant against you or when the arresting officer informs you that you are under arrest. Try your best not to resist the arrest because the actions can result in additional charges on top of the baseline count.
You can ensure apprehension procedures are as smooth as possible and your rights are protected, by observing to see if the police adhere to the law, including reciting the Miranda rights. These constitutional liberties include:
- The right to stay silent until your defense attorney is present, meaning you can lawfully decline to answer the officer’s questions.
- Whatever you say can or will be used against you in court. The officers are required to make this remark to prevent you from making self-incriminating statements that the prosecution will use to obtain a guilty verdict in the case.
- The right to legal representation. You should only talk to the police if the legal representative is present and have a right to legal representation for future interrogation.
- The law court will employ one for you when you can’t afford an attorney. However, note that claiming you can’t afford legal counsel alone is not enough to be assigned a public defender. The court of law will need facts to verify your financial situation to decide if you are eligible for a public defender or not.
- If you have already answered a few questions from the law enforcers, you have a right to pause anytime until your legal counsel is present.
It is worth noting that the law enforcement agency will not always recite these Miranda rights, especially in DUI arrests or traffic stops. They are mentioned in police custody, but this doesn’t mean your arrest was illegal. It can only be unlawful if, after taking you into detention, they fail to read them. In these circumstances, you can have your legal team file a motion to subdue proof. That way, any self-incriminating statements that you will have made and been used as proof against you will be removed from the evidence, strengthening your case.
Once you have been arrested and detained in Solvang Sheriff Station, the arresting officers will conduct a legal search and seizure of your property to find evidence required for your criminal case. Again, the officers will impound all the paperwork or assets relevant to the crime and use it as evidence in criminal proceedings.
Arrests come when you are least prepared, and if an apprehension finds you, keep calm and don’t fight back because you will put yourself in more trouble. Remain silent and exercise your right to answer questions only when your attorney is present.
Before placing you in custody, the police will frisk you and seize any weapons you will be carrying. After, you will move to the booking stage.
Los Olivos Booking Process
Once in police custody, what follows is the booking process. Here, you must provide personal info and record information regarding the alleged crime.
What follows is the recording of your visual information through a mugshot. Typically, the officers take two photos, one for the front outlook and the other for the side view. On the shots, they record your stature, the alleged criminal act, and further relevant details of the alleged crime that led to your apprehension.
After the mugshot, your clothing will be taken away and replaced with a jail uniform. Further, other personal effects will be taken and placed in a marked carton for easier identification and you can only retrieve these items when leaving custody. Nonetheless, if any contraband like drugs or illegal weapons is found within your belongings, it will be impounded and added to the discovery.
The next phase of the booking process is fingerprinting. The prints are taken from your fingers and used to connect or eliminate you to the crime in question. Los Olivos local authorities have access to the FBI’s criminal database, which enables them to access your criminal history, if any, and find out if you have any pending charges, even in a different jurisdiction. Again, there are times when the authorities will need saliva, blood, or hair samples for DNA testing to tie you to or eliminate you from the list of suspects.
Furthermore, law enforcers will perform a strip search to search for contraband or drugs. Although invasive, the search is a necessary measure of the standard protocol to ensure contraband doesn’t find its way to jail.
Medical checkups are also necessary when booking you to jail to prepare the authorities for medical emergencies. Also, the test ensures you don’t take infectious diseases or viruses in custody, risking the lives of both officers and other inmates.
Once you have undergone medical checkups, you will go to detention. Here, you can only spend up to 72 hours before being presented in court to face counts for your contravention of the law. However, police can choose to let you leave on a citation without any court appearance but with a promise to appear in specified court hearings. These releases, also called personal recognizance, help you stay away from jail during the various hearings.
Luckily, even if you are not released through a written citation, you won’t be staying in jail if you post bail. Depending on your crime, the officers will grant bail relying on the amounts provided in the bail schedule or appear before a judge in a bail proceeding to determine if you qualify for the procedure. When the court grants bail and arrive at the bail funds amount, you can post the full amount upfront, also known as cash bail. Still, all will not be lost if you cannot raise the bail sum. You can contact a Los Olivos bail agent to post the money for you, but after you promise to appear before a judge upon request.
Setting Bail in Santa Barbara County
The funds you or a third party deposit with the court to guarantee future court appearances is known as bail. You could deposit the fund in cash or purchase a bond from a Los Olivos bail agency. As mentioned earlier, you will not be required to make this deposit when you have committed a minor offense. The funds the court will set as bail depends on the severity and the characteristics of the said offense. Your criminal record can also play a role in determining whether your bail funds will be increased or reduced.
Contacting Your Los Olivos Bail Bondsman and Posting Bail
After the court sets the bail amount, it is up to you or your friends to consolidate the funds to pay it in cash. You can contact a loved one to deposit the money with the court clerk or Solvang Sheriff Station in Los Olivos when the funds are available.
Having the money to pay bail in cash is not bad, but the problem comes when the authorities begin to question the source of the funds. If this is the case, the judge will suspend your bail until they confirm the money is from a legitimate source. Money from legal sources will be accepted as bail. Still, if it has any links to a criminal enterprise, it will be impounded as evidence, and you could face embezzlement or drug trafficking charges.
Keep in mind that when authorities begin to investigate the legitimacy of your cash bail source, you and not the prosecuting team will carry the burden of demonstrating the funds’ legitimacy. You will only leave custody after the conclusion of the hearing to determine the source of the funds, which explains why it is critical to leave jail fast after posting the money.
Instead of having to waste more time in prison proving the legitimacy of your cash, you can opt to buy a bail bond from a bail agency. Authorities won’t doubt the source of the funds used by the bondman, smoothening your bailout.
Posting Bond in Santa Barbara County
Bail can be thousands or tens of thousands, making it impossible for many defendants to consolidate.
Raising this kind of funds in a short period could also raise suspicions. Therefore, instead of putting your private finances into public scrutiny or your loved ones under a lot of pressure to come up with the bond money, you should contact a bail bonds company to pay the money on your behalf.
You can reach out to the company in person or have someone you trust out there reach out to a bail company of your preference to begin the procedure of posting bail right away. Before arriving at a choice of a bondsman, you must understand their rates, hidden or additional costs that you should know about to avoid future disappointments. Also, you should ensure the bondsman is licensed to be on the safe side in terms of compliance with the law.
Normally, a bondsman will charge you a 10% premium on the bail money. Nevertheless, some agencies will offer discounts reducing the premium to 8%, but only if you have a low risk of skipping jail, defaulting your payments, or are working with a Los Olivos defense attorney. However, this shouldn’t mean you go for the agents offering their bail services at the lowest premiums because of compromised quality.
Like the standard loans, ensure to carefully read the contract provided by your Los Olivos bondsman to avoid commitments you cannot honor. If you have any concerns, ensure to raise them with the bondsman for answers.
Once you find the right expert for the job, they will post the funds required and deliver the necessary paperwork to a relevant court or the jail for release.
In instances where the bail is substantial, the Los Olivos bondsman will need some form of assurance in real or personal property.
Failure to Appear After a Bailout in Santa Barbara County
A bail violation occurs where you are bailed out but fail to appear in court as scheduled. If this is your case, the court could return your money and place you in jail until the next hearing. If you missed court for valid reasons, the court would reinstate your bail. Nonetheless, they could cancel the bail and order you to remain in jail until the close of the case.
On the other hand, if you fail to appear entirely, the bail agency will have the authority to hunt you down and return you to court. At this point, the agency will require the services of a bounty hunter. You will be brought back to court and most likely denied bail reinstatement when rearrested.
Jail Information
Solvang Sheriff Station
Courthouse Information
The Superior Court of Santa Barbara County
Find the Right Bondsman Near Me
No one ever saves for the unexpected expenses of posting bail after an arrest in Los Olivos, especially with the current economic situation. With Mr Nice Guy Bail Bonds, you need to worry less about consolidating the bail funds because we will work together to develop a payment plan to ensure you are comfortable with the financial commitment. You can call us via 844-400-2245 to explain how bail works and guide your case accordingly.
