Sierra Madre

When the police arrest you in Sierra Madre city, gaining your freedom becomes your topmost priority. You can post bail if the court sets an amount you can afford. However, if the bail is beyond what you can comfortably raise, you do not have to fret as you can contact a bail bond agent to help you set your bail.

You must choose a bail bond company to deliver on its promises. At Alomar Bail Bonds, our agents will take your case and walk you through the entire process. We pride ourselves on having excellent customer care who will guard your interest and ensure you retain your dignity. We aim to ensure you are free from a Sierra Madre jail or any other jail in Los Angeles County.

With our hard-earned experience, we will diligently work hard to ensure you gain your freedom within the shortest time possible. When hiring us, you should rest assured that your rights will be well protected.

Arrest & Seizure in Sierra Madre City

Once the police or any other law enforcement officer arrests you in Sierra Madre city, they will take you to a detention facility. Sierra Madre jail holds people who have allegedly committed any crime and is a temporary holding facility. Since Sierra Madre jail is a temporary holding facility with a capacity to hold only four detainees at a time, your stay at this facility does not exceed 24 hours. If you are a minor, your stay at this jail will not exceed six hours.

If you are not arraigned in court after the given time, you will be moved to other jails in Los Angeles County like Pasadena Jail or Los Angeles County Jail. Before moving to other prisons, the arresting officer will book you at Sierra Madre Jail.

Booking Process At a Sierra Madre Jail

The arresting officer will keep you inside a pre-booking cell as they collect relevant information from you to determine your identity. The arresting officer will follow these steps while booking you into their system:

Takedown your information like name, date of birth, address, and physical characteristics.
Take note of the crime you allegedly committed.
Take your fingerprints and also your photo.
Assess if you have any health issues.
Take away your personal belongings like your purse, keys, or phones.
Place you in a holding cell.

If you or your bail bondsman posts your bail, you will be released after the booking process.

Understanding Bail Bond Process

Bail is the amount of money that the court requires you to pay as a guarantee that you will honor all the court hearings if it sets you free before your trial. The court usually sets the bail amount on the higher side, and you stand to forfeit this money if you fail to show up for your court hearings. The court can sometimes deny you bail depending on the crime you allegedly committed and the circumstances surrounding your case.

After your arrest in Sierra Madre, CA, you have several options regarding securing your freedom before your trial. You can post your bail if you are in a position to afford it, or you can hire a trusted bail bond agent like Alomar Bail Bond to secure your bail. You do not have to worry if the court sets a high amount for your bail, as you can secure the premium by using an asset. Choose a bail bond agent who will post your bail and allow you to pay them back at an amount you can easily afford.

Determining Your Bail Amount

Sometimes you can determine your bail amount in Los Angeles County, but in most cases, the court will hold a bail hearing to determine your bail amount. During this hearing, the prosecution and defense attorney will present evidence and arguments for and against your bail. When determining your bail amount, the court will put the following facts into consideration:

Your employment status
Your employment history,
Your reputation,
Your standing in the community,
If you are a flight risk,
Your mental health,
If you are a threat to the community at large,
The nature and type of offense that you have committed,
If you are likely to commit a similar crime.

Sometimes the court can release you under your recognizance. The court grants you your freedom without paying or posting bail. For this to happen, you must promise the court to honor all your hearings without fail. At other times, the judge may impose conditions on your release to protect the community and ensure you appear in court for all your hearings.

Is There Any Possibility of Having The Court Reduce Your Bail?

Your criminal defense attorney can request the court reduce or eliminate your bail. You should not be surprised if, during this hearing, the prosecution asks the court to maintain or increase your bail amount. It is crucial to note that your bail bondsman in Sierra Madre is not a defense attorney and, therefore, can not request a reduction on your bail amount. If you feel that your bail is too high, you can hire a defense attorney and have them ask the court to reduce the amount. If your defense team requests to have the court lower your bail, the judge can impose some conditions for your release like:

Placing you under house arrest.
Surrendering your driving license or passport.
The judge may ask you not to leave the state.

Posting Your Bail in Sierra Madre, CA

After your bail hearing, the court will set your bail amount, which it expects you to pay immediately. You can post your bail by paying in cash or via money order. However, if the court sets an amount you can not afford, you can contact Sierra Madre's bail bonds companies to secure your bail. Once you have paid the bail, the court will issue a directive ordering your immediate release from jail. Ensure that you choose a bail bond agency that allows you to have a flexible repayment plan.

Types of Bail Bonds

After your arrest, it is essential to understand the bail bonds available in your case. There are several types of bail bonds in California. You need to know that every bail bond has different rules and regulations. Some of these bail bonds include:

Cash Bail Bonds

In this type of bail bond, you pay the amount set by the court in total using cash. You can deposit this amount with the court's clerk or arresting authority. There are several payment options for cash bail, and you can pay via bank cashier's check, money order, cash, travelers check, or personal check.

The court will refund this amount after honoring all your court appointments. If you fail to meet your obligations, you will forfeit your money. If you decide to pay your cash bail using cash, you should note that the court may fail to accept your money if it is suspicious of its origin. The court can refuse to receive your money if it suspects the money to be proceeds from an illegal business.

If you are paying your cash bail using cash, you will need to establish the source of your money. Sometimes even if you have enough money to cover your bail, it is advisable to hire the services of a reputable Sierra Madre bail bonds agent to post your bond and avoid all the hustle.

Surety Bonds

When it comes to surety bonds, your bail bondsman will pay your bail amount in full. The bail bond agency will pay your bail, assuming you will repay the total amount. When it comes to this type of bail, the bail bond company expects you to pay at least 10% of the total amount up front as a way of guaranteeing to repay them the full bail amount later.

Property Bonds

If you decide to go for a property bond, you will use your property as collateral for the bail. Property bonds require the authorities to inspect the asset you will use as collateral, which may take time. Therefore if you are in a hurry to secure your release, you should try to use the services of a trusted bail bond agent in Sierra Madre, as they will guarantee your freedom quickly.

Recognizance Release

If the court can trust you, the judge will set you free. This type of release is the best as you will gain your freedom without paying any money. You should ensure you attend all your court hearings to show that the court's decision to trust you was not misplaced.

Immigration Bail Bonds

If you are a U.S non-citizen, you can contact an experienced Sierra Madre bail bonds agent to assist you in setting your bail. This type of bail is very challenging due to international laws.

Citation Release

For citation release, you will need to pay the amount a citation officer writes you in full to gain your freedom. It is effortless to secure your freedom with this type of bond. This bond does not require you to attend a bail hearing. All you need is for the arresting officer to write you a citation.

Federal Bail Bonds

You can have a federal bail bond if your arrest is due to an alleged federal crime. One to note is that federal crimes are usually complicated, and you will need to closely work with an experienced Sierra Madre bail bond agent to ensure you gain your freedom.

Understanding How Bail Bonds Work

Since the court usually sets the bail bond amount to be higher, you may be unable to post bail. If this is your case, the alternative is to engage the services of a bail bond agent. When contacting a reputable bail bond agent in Sierra Madre, obtaining their services should take less than 30 minutes.

The bail bond agents will ask for the following information before they can agree to render their services to you:

Your Full Names

The bail bond company will require you to furnish them with your full legal name, and when you are posting bail for someone else, you should also provide your legal name and their legal name.

Your Contact Details

The bail bond agent will request that you provide them with your contact information, including your address, phone number, email address, and employer's contact. The bail bond agent may also ask you to provide them with your social media contact details.

Legal Documents

The bail bond agents will request some of your legal documents to verify the information you gave them. Also, most bail bond agents will use these documents to check if you have any criminal record in Sierra Madre. Some of the legal documents they may ask you to provide may include:

Your birth certificate,
Identification card,
Social security number,
Driver's license.

Physical description

Depending on the offense you are facing charges for, the bail bond company may require you to provide a physical description of your car if they think you pose a flight risk.

Employment Information

When providing your employment details, what the bail bond agents are after is the information that includes your immediate supervisor's name and contact details.

How Long Does it Take to Secure Your Freedom After Posting Bail?

After agreeing with your bail bondsman, they will take your bail to the court, securing your freedom. Once the clerk receives your bail, they will notify the officers holding you and have them release you. Since Sierra Madre jail holds only four detainees at a time, your release should take less than 30 minutes. However, if you are detained at other correctional facilities like Pasadena Jail, it may take up to four hours to secure your freedom. This delay will be due to the number of people waiting in line for their release with you, the employees at the correctional facility, and the jurisdiction.

When you engage the services of a bail bond company, you should note that they will post your bail, and in return, the premium you pay will be non-refundable. You do not have to worry about paying high non-refundable premiums as California has set the minimum to be at to percent. If the court sets your bail at $50,000, you pay $5,000 as the non-refundable premium.

Therefore, when choosing a bail bond agent, you should consider one that offers lower premiums and better repayment plans. If your bail bond agents ask for collateral, note the amount they expect you to pay as premiums.

Your bail bonds agent may call to remind you of your pending court hearing, ask your loved one to come up with collateral for your bail, or ask you to make regular check-ins at their office. If they do this, it should not raise any red flag as they are doing so to safeguard their interest.

What Happens If You Violate Your Bail Terms

When you violate your bail terms, a judge can decide to:

Have you been detained as you await your trial,
Offer you a second opportunity to be out on bond,
Charge you with contempt of court charges,
Forfeit your bail money.

In instances where you forfeit your bail money and have used the services of a bail bond agent to secure your bail, the bail bond company can use your collateral to ensure they do not lose their money.

What Happens If You Run Away After Posting Bail?

It is a crime to skip bail in California, and if you run away after posting bail, the following might occur:

Forfeit your bail,
Face criminal charges when you fail to appear during court hearings.
Continue facing your pending charges.

In a situation where you skip bail and you have used property bail, the court can report your property.

Sometimes you may skip bail due to reasons that are beyond your control. If this is the case, the court can forgive you and vacate your forfeiture order if you show up within six months after the date you forfeited your bail. Some of the reasons that a court may deem reasonable include and are not limited to:

Mental illness.
You were unwell, and you have medical documentation of your sickness.
You were unable to attend your court hearing due to incapacitation.

It is important to avoid skipping bail as it can result in severe consequences like having the court deny you bail or set it at a very high amount in any future offense.

How Long Will it Take To Have Your Bail Money Refunded?

Since the court uses bail money to ensure you honor your obligation and appear during your court hearings, the court should refund your bail money once your case concludes. After complying with your bail terms and conditions, the court should refund your money. However, the court will forfeit your bail money when you violate the terms and conditions for your bail.

If you posted your bail, the court should refund your money minus the administrative fees. The release of your money will depend on the type of bail you use and the jail where you posted bail. If you posted property bail, the judge will have to release the lien on your property which could take some time. On the other hand, cash bail will only take three months before you can have your refund.

If, on the other hand, you had used the services of Sierra Madre bail bond agents to secure your freedom, then you should pay their fee, which is usually ten percent of the bail set by the court. Once you have paid their fee, the bail bond company should surrender your collateral after the conclusion of your case. However, if you skip bail or violate your bail terms and conditions, your bail bondsman can take you to custody. Sometimes if you skip bail, your bail bond agency can hire the services of a bounty hunter to apprehend you.

Sierra Madre Jail Information

Once the police apprehend you in the Sierra Madre, they will book you in jail for a period not exceeding 24 hours if you are an adult and 6 hours for a minor.

Sierra Madre Jail

242 West Sierra Madre Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 91024

(626) 355-1414

The City of Sierra Madre Court Information

In Sierra Madre city, Kersting Court has the duty of dispensing justice in an impartial manner ensuring fairness to all. The residents of Sierra Madre can have their court sessions either remotely or in person. The court is located at the corner of Sierra Madre Blvd.

Kersting Court

Baldwin & Sierra Madre Blvd