There is undoubtedly a lot about being arrested that most people do not know. After all, most arrests happen unexpectedly, and most arrestees do not wake up knowing the police will arrest them as offenders in criminal cases. When the police arrest you, they will put you in jail pending your first court hearing to determine whether you qualify for bail.
However, if your crime has a predecided bail on the bail schedule, you can pay your bail at the police station immediately upon an arrest. Whether your crime has a predecided bail amount or not, you would want to work with a bondsman to make the bail bond process seamless.
Aside from offering you fast Waterbury bail bonds services, our reliable bondsmen at 24 Hour Online Bail Bonds can offer you relevant legal advice before you speak with your attorney to increase your odds of winning the case
An Overview of the Booking Process
Once a police officer arrests you as a suspect in a criminal case, he/she will not send you straight to jail. First, the officer will help you go through the booking process, where the officer in charge will put your information in the system or database for easy identification in the future. In a nutshell, during the booking process, the officer in charge will do the following:
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Record All Your Vital Information
The officer will record your legal name and all vital information on the case, including the time you committed the offense and the offense details.
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Take Your Mugshots
Afterward, the officer will take a series of photos, also known as mugshots. These photos help point out your height, skin color, hair color, eye color, hair color, and other information tying you to the case.
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Take Your Fingerprint
Next, the officer will take an impression of your fingerprint (all ten fingers) from side to side. If the alleged charges have fingerprint evidence, the judge or jury will match them with yours at the trial hearing to determine whether you are guilty.
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Check Your Health Status
Before sending you to the detention facility, the incarceration staff will check your health status to ensure:
- No immediate medical assistance is necessary
- You do not have a health condition that can put the health of the officers and other arrestees at risk
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Check Your Body For Contrabands and Any Foreign Object
Before allowing you to enter the jail, the officer in charge must thoroughly search your person to ensure that you do not have any illegal drugs or lethal weapons. Even if the alleged offense does not involve violence or drugs, the booking officer must search your person before sending you to jail.
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Put You in Jail
Unless your charge has a predetermined bail price, you will stay in custody pending your charge trial hearing.
How You Can Post Bail Upon an Arrest
Unless the offense the alleged charge is a capital crime or you are a public threat, you could qualify to post bail after an arrest for any alleged offense. Bail is every arrestee's legal right because the court presumes you are innocent if the prosecutor has not yet secured a conviction against you.
In a few words, bail acts as security for your freedom as your case proceeds through various stages of the legal justice system.
Upon an arrest as a suspect in a criminal case, you can secure a pretrial release from the detention facility through any of the following ways:
Posting Cash Bail
When the judge sets your charge’s bail, you can pay the required amount using cash to secure a pretrial release from jail. While it could seem like a convenient way to secure your freedom upon arrest, you cannot do so if you do not have the required total amount. That is particularly true if your charge is grave, meaning the court requires a high bail amount.
Posting Property Bond
To avoid discriminating against indigent defendants, the court will allow you to post a property bond if the property's value is twice your bail price. The court will hold your property as collateral for your release. When you skip bail, the judge will forfeit and sell the property.
Posting a Bail Bond
Fortunately, if you cannot post a property bond and cannot afford the required cash bail, you can work with a bondsman to secure Waterbury bail bond services. A bail bond is a surety bond that a bail bondsman posts with the court to guarantee that you will appear at all the scheduled hearings after securing your freedom.
In exchange for the speedy Waterbury bail bond services, the bondsman could require ten (10) percent of the offense's total bail amount as his/her premium.
How the Court Will Determine Your Unique Case Bail Price
As mentioned above, if your charge has a predetermined bail price, the arresting officer can refer to the bail schedule to determine the amount you should pay to secure your freedom. A bail schedule is a list containing common offenses and their predecided bail amounts, giving arrestees a chance to secure their freedom immediately upon arrest while at the police station.
Unluckily, if your unique offense does not have a predetermined bail price, you will have to wait for your first court hearing, where a judge will determine your case’s bail amount based on the following factors:
- Your criminal history
- Whether you have a record of jumping bail
- Your unique charge’s seriousness and sophistication
- Whether you have community ties
- Whether you have family ties
- Your conduct in court
- Whether you can afford to post the bail
- Your attorney’s mitigating arguments
What the Court Considers When You Request an Own Recognizance (O.R.) Release
After an arrest, the judge could allow you to receive a release from jail without bail, also known as O.R. release. Unfortunately, not every arrestee qualifies for an O.R. release. The court will consider the following factors when determining whether to offer you an O.R. release:
- Whether the accuser or victim was threatened or injured
- Whether you are a flight risk
- Type of crime
- Whether you are a first-time offender
- Your financial ability to ay bail
- Whether you pose a danger to public and ommunity safety
- Your community and family ties
- Your attorney's mitigating arguments
When you are ineligible for bail, your attorney can help you request a lower bail amount at the arraignment hearing. With proper and convincing mitigating arguments, the court could agree to lower your bail to make it hassle-free to secure your freedom, pending the charge's outcome.
Criminal Penalties You Should Anticipate When You Skip Bail
Once the court allows you to receive your freedom on bond, you must adhere to all the required terms and requirements. One of the most critical requirements for securing your release from jail on bail is an agreement to make future court appearances. When you fail to make your court appearance or skip bail, the judge will issue an arrest warrant, allowing them to arrest you and hold you in custody.
According to General Statute Section 53a-173, failure to appear in court will attract Class A misdemeanor charges if the underlying charge is a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor conviction under this statute is punishable by not more than one year of jail time and up to a $2,000 maximum fine.
However, when your underlying charge is punishable as a felony, the prosecution team will file a failure to appear offense as a Class D felony, carrying the following penalties upon conviction:
- A jail sentence of up to five (5) years
- Felony probation
- Up to $5,000 maximum fine
To avoid more legal issues after securing Waterbury bail bonds services, you should adhere to the terms of your release, mainly showing up in court to aggressively challenge the alleged offense. If you are unsure what to do while out of legal custody on bond, your attorney or bondsman can help.
Jail and Courthouse Details You Could Need for Waterbury Bail Bonds Service
For quick Waterbury bail bonds services, you could require the following jail and court information:
Jail Address
Donald T. Bergin Correctional Facility
251 Middle Turnpike,
Storrs, Connecticut, 06288
Courthouse Address
Waterbury Courthouse
300 Grand St,
Waterbury, Connecticut 06702
Find Waterbury Bail Bonds Services Near Me
You do not have to manage everything alone. When you are behind bars as a suspect in a criminal case, working with a bail bondsman is as important as working with an attorney. Although a bondsman will not offer you legal assistance in this case, he/she will offer you bail bond services to receive your freedom immediately.
Aside from securing the freedom to move on with your life, securing your freedom on bond upon an arrest gives you ample time to work with an attorney to prepare defenses to challenge your charges. Our reliable bondsmen at 24 Hour Online Bail Bonds are here to help if you or a beloved friend need speedy Waterbury bail bonds services. Call us at 800-930-8999 and let us handle every part of the bail bond process.