So You Got Arrested

Understanding the Texas Bail Bond System with Sal Martinez

• BRCK Criminal Defense Attorneys

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The Texas justice system can feel like a maze, especially during high-activity times like Fiesta in San Antonio. In this episode of So You Got Arrested, the attorneys at BRCK Criminal Defense sit down with Sal Martinez—a former DPS trooper, DEA agent, and bestselling author of Narc—who now operates as a bail bondsman.

We break down the financial and legal realities of getting a loved one out of jail. Sal explains the difference between a surety bond and a cash bond, why the first 24–48 hours are critical, and what happens if you miss a court date. Whether you are dealing with a $5,000 misdemeanor or a $200,000 felony, this episode provides the "real talk" you need to navigate the bonding process and protect your rights.

Welcome And Fiesta Arrest Reality

SPEAKER_00

The Texas justice system is messy. So let's break it down. You're listening to So You Got Arrested, the podcast that tells you what really happens after an arrest. Hosted by BRIC Criminal Defense Attorneys. We talk to the people who've lived it, worked in it, and been shaped by it. Whether you're facing charges or just want to understand your rights, your options, and the smart moves that could change everything, we've got your back.

SPEAKER_02

This is so you got arrested from BRIC Criminal Defense.

Meet Sal Martinez The Bondsman

SPEAKER_02

Uh we have our guest today, Sal Martinez. Now, I like having Sal on the podcast because Sal's an interesting individual. Sal was a former DPS trooper, uh former DEA agent. He's a best-selling author. He has a book, NARC, Convictions of an Undercover Agent, uh, that you can get on Amazon. Uh 1999. He also uh is a bellboxman, uh, which is what I want to talk about today. So we have Fiesta going on in San Antonio. This is the now second week of Fiesta. Um, and uh during fiesta, people tend to get arrested a little more frequently than they might otherwise. Uh Sal, you know, given that you were a DPS trooper and a DEA agent, now you're a Bell bondsman, I'm sure you've received calls from friends or friends or family at times saying, hey, you know, my uh son got arrested or my little one got arrested, uh friend got arrested. What do I do?

SPEAKER_03

Do you ever get those calls? Oh, constantly. And uh literally I get maybe three or four calls a day. And I'm a small bell bondsman that handles Wilson County, Atiscosa, and Live Oak, not south of San Antonio. But I get calls from other areas and then friends or whatever associates, even law enforcement and uh uh judges and attorneys will call me because they know how I I take care of my clients. I pride myself on making sure that they know what the process is because it again, it could take two, three years before this whole nightmare is over with. So uh, as for me as a bail bondsman, my primary focus is to empower my client. I need to let them know this is what you're responsible for, this is what you're you're you're getting bonded out for. You have my regulations to be uh following through with, but at the same time, the judge has or magistrated you who uh issued some uh restrictions and you need to follow that. If you don't, and somebody finds out, the cops, the judge uh, or the victim, they can come at you and re-arrest you for violating the bond conditions.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you know, it's interesting because um as a practicing criminal defense attorney, um, I had a family member a couple of years back uh get in trouble in Houston, Harris County. And the first thing I did was look for a bell bond company because to me, um, that's always number one priority is get them out, get them out of jail, right? And so people get into this bell bond process and a lot of times they don't understand it. So I get uh plenty of calls from people, and during that first consultation with them, they'll ask me questions about their Bell bond and how does it work and what does it mean. And so that's what I want to address today is you know, questions that people have about the Bell Bond

What A Bail Bond Is

SPEAKER_02

system. What is a Bell Bond? Uh, what are my obligations on the Bell Bond? Okay, so to make it clear, um what a Bell bond is, is it's a form of financial collateral that you're gonna come back to court. So think about it this way. You get arrested for an offense, um, in theory, they could hold you in jail, in custody, until that offense, that allegation is resolved in court. Um, but we don't we don't do that, okay? Here in the state of Texas, we say, uh, with the exception of certain offenses, capital murder, you know, some serious sex offenses now with the the recent changes to the law. Um we say you can get out, but you have to promise to come back to court. And as a promise to come back to court, we're gonna make you put up financial collateral. And that's where a bail bondsman comes into play. Yes. The bell bondsman is actually the one putting up the financial collateral, right?

SPEAKER_03

Correct. Yeah. And what it is, these bonds are uh we have to get authorized in the in these counties through the sheriff. Uh there's bail bond board counties like uh San Antonio or Bear County, and and you have to get uh approval from a board that's a little bit more strict. So I'd rather stay out in the county. I'm a smaller bail bonds company compared to other these are the big ones. So what you do with the bond is I put up the financial amount. Let's say the bond is $10,000. So I have to show the sheriff who was already approved, I give him a surety bond, and it's a piece of paper, it's like an IOU. Sheriff, I'm gonna put up $10,000 to get Johnny out, and uh and I'll be liable for him if he doesn't show up to court. So what I do is uh uh I get hold of the uh somebody who's gonna be responsible, like a third party and indemnity who's going to sign a promissory note to Freedom Bail Bonds and say, hey, Sal, I promise that Johnny's gonna go to court. If not, I'll be liable for the $10,000. So I get that, get their identification, file that away, get some more information on them too. So I'm going kind of fast on that part. But what it does is I need the indemnity, the person signing out Johnny is more important to me than the actual defendant because if the defendant uh uh runs off again, I'm gonna be focusing on the person who who signed that piece of paper. So uh uh after a year, if I don't catch them, which I turn into a bounty hunter or uh uh they call that hunter.

SPEAKER_02

Let me ask that. Well, what is a bounty hunter?

SPEAKER_03

There's no such thing actually. Legally as a bounty hunter. They're called private investigators. And uh in my so dog the bounty hunter is not a Well, they call me Chihuahua with a bounty hunter, but I'll go bite their ankles. So you you go after these people and and I I'd like I take it personal. I'll go after them, I'll do surveillance, I'll do uh uh a lot of research on the individual, and and the first place I find people is on Facebook. Right. So I'll find out when they're bragging about where they're hanging out at.

SPEAKER_02

So you understand that you're telling people how to avoid you if they run from your phone.

SPEAKER_03

I like the hunt.

SPEAKER_02

So these are people that have run away or absconded. Yeah, I guess I jumped ahead. You're you're financially responsible for them.

SPEAKER_03

That's right. $10,000. I lose sleep at night. So uh but again, within 10, if I don't catch them within uh a year, the person who signed Johnny out is gonna be liable for that 10. But I don't like to do paperwork, so I try to catch them the sooner the better. Yeah. And uh and before I uh once the bond has been submitted to the sheriff's office, we'll go back to that process. Uh sheriff, I'm I'm getting Johnny out, I'll be liable. Johnny comes out of the jail, and he's gonna have some restrictions made by the judge regarding traveling and uh uh no uh maybe it's like restraining order. No drugs, no drugs, he can't do this, he can't play with guns. And and yeah, certain restrictions. As for me as a bondsman, I'm a lot more lenient. I just want them to be reporting uh sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly, depending on how what kind of risk they are in my mind. That's my judgment. Other bond companies are a lot more strict, they want them to be there in an office every week, and and and I don't I don't like to play like that. People have a life to live, and and I tell people when I get them out, hey, listen, uh, you you know, don't take advantage of my kindness. You report by texting or calling me and letting me know what what where you're at. Okay, I always want to know where they're at and where they're working. Uh if anybody changes address or phone number, I take that person. I say, listen, why are you trying to be sneaky? These little signs will tell me that they're gonna be higher risk. So we get them out of jail, and then he's gonna they gotta get their car out of impound, or the family's already working on that, and then from there, then I explain to them how to get hold of uh the people uh in the court system, whether it's gonna be the the the district court or the county uh court, they need to find uh who the court coordinator is or the clerk's office, and I give them the points of contact to call monthly to find out if they have a court date. If their case has been filed. That's right, if it's been filed or it's for felonies, it's indictments. And for the county court, uh it usually takes about maybe six to eight months minimum before they go to court. And then from there, the process lasts, like I said,

Rules After You Bond Out

SPEAKER_03

anywhere from several months to several years. Sure. And I've got I've had clients out for four or five years trying to resolve their cases.

SPEAKER_02

During that time, they're out on that bond.

SPEAKER_03

They're still reporting to you. Well, yeah, I get people saying, hey, I paid you your 10% and say, I'm done. No, no, no. You wait a second, you're you're out because of me, and you need to follow through with these regulations. So I need to uh enlighten them and re-remind them that they're uh that not, they would be in jail. So if we don't bond them out within a misdemeanor, you can get a what 30 days, you get a PR bond. If it's a felony and it's not it's a nonviolent offense, it's 90 days.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So when somebody calls, let's say, you know, uh little Johnny gets arrested and he had a vape pen when they were pulled him over and he got scared and freaked out and drove off and picked up an evading, right? And they searched the car, he's saying he's got a third degree felony, he's got a state jail felony for the vape pen, and his bail is something crazy, fifty thousand dollars, right? Is the family giving you the fifty thousand dollars?

SPEAKER_03

No. Well, what bond companies do is generally charge 10 percent. You'll hear some of them say, oh, we'll only charge 2 percent. No, that's they'll they're trying to reel you in. You give them the 2%, it's gonna be part of the 10% or even more.

SPEAKER_02

That's like a down payment, that's what it is, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So that's why they get in, they think, oh, I want to find a place that's 2%. There's nobody's gonna do that for 2%. Bond companies wouldn't make any money like that. So it's 10%. As for the actual money, that's all the family owes. They don't owe anything on the $50,000. Like you said, in this situation, I'm liable for that. Um my my financial backers are. Uh so as for the fee, that's the only thing coming out. Now, people coming out of jail now have been getting scammed in the middle of the night. I've had several people call me the next morning, hey Sal, why'd you call me at three in the morning asking for more money? So what do you mean? Well, somebody said they call from Freedom Bail Bonds, and and uh you uh we owed you another thousand dollars, so I had to go to Walmart and and get a card, and they got scammed. Wow. So I tell people, hey, once you come out of jail, you're gonna deal directly with me, nobody else. And and be careful with scammers, they're they're they're slick. Yeah. Uh so again, if you get bonded out, uh make sure you're talking to the right people and then uh don't take uh don't fall for that. So going back to that 50,000, that's just sitting there with like an IOU in the sheriff's office or district attorney's office, actually, they're holding on to that. If that uh again, if Johnny doesn't show up, that's when they stick it in my face after a year and say, hey, you owe us 50,000. Right. So I don't want to deal with that. So I try to nip it in the bud by doing my bounty hunting and stuff.

SPEAKER_02

Right. So if uh you know a family calls and they say, hey, Johnny's got bails set at 50,000, and they give you the 10 percent and you submit

How Long Release Takes

SPEAKER_02

that bail bond, how long does it take before the person actually gets to come out?

SPEAKER_03

Oh usually uh okay, it depends what jail. It's several hours down south of here. But if you're in Barrett County, it could take anywhere from 12 hours to 24 hours. They can be a long time, yeah. And they have a magistrate there overnight, which is in the small towns, the judges show up around maybe 10, 11, and then they'll read everybody who got arrested, they'll read them their rights, they'll set a bond amount, and that's when I come in as a bondsman and I get together with uh Johnny's family and we get them out. And that after you I submit the bond, I said maybe a couple hours, sometimes maybe about an hour if you're lucky.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. I always advise people, especially in these more rural jurisdictions, to call your call the bell bondsman as soon as possible when your loved one gets arrested, because the magistrate, it's just the local judge that's gonna go and set that bail so that your loved one can get out. Um, they they arrive at a certain time and then they're gone. Um, you want your loved one out as soon as possible, and your local bell bondsman will know, you know, what the best time is to go do this, how quickly they can get it done, and kind of guide you through that process.

SPEAKER_03

I had people waiting there overnight and and they they call me in the morning. I put my phone on vibrate. I used to keep that thing on all night, but man, I would get calls from meth heads or people who were drunk. Hey, I gotta get my loved one out. No, no, hey, sit tight. We can't do anything until tomorrow morning. So I started putting my phone on vibrate. So when I wake up around eight o'clock, 7 30, if it's early, and then I'll I'll start looking at the calls and I'll call these people back. I said, hey, listen, we gotta sit tight. Well, I've been here at the jail waiting to get them out. Nobody's answered my questions. I said, nobody's gonna answer the question because he hasn't seen the judge. It's not official of what he was actually arrested, and there's no bond amount set, so nobody can do anything. So a lot of people are are anxious to get their people out, but they have to wait for the process to fall into place, and it usually takes several hours.

SPEAKER_02

Right, right. And and just so you know, um, if you're in that situation where your loved one's been arrested, like in Bear County, like Sal mentioned, they have judges working 24 hours to set bail. Even then, it takes a while. But in these smaller areas, they don't. Uh the judges don't come in until the morning. So if your loved one gets arrested at nine o'clock at night, they're not gonna have bail set until the morning. And there's nothing that the bondsman can do about that. The bondsman can't get the magistrate there. Uh there's nothing I can do about that. I get people asking, well, can you call, you know, a magistrate and get them over there? No, they're not gonna call it.

SPEAKER_03

They'll be burning the phone at the jail too. And I get booking calling me, guys, people have been calling me all morning. Sal, I said, I just they don't understand. They didn't talk to me. So once I I tell people just wait uh to get with the bondsman. And some attorneys have the authority to go on and bond too. So uh they want to do that round. But I tell a lot of people to hold off on the attorney situation until we let the dust settle and then we decide what kind of legal representation is going to be needed. Uh some things they could be like a class C misdemeanor, or you may get a PR bond. Right. Uh so uh again, I just tell people to sit tight and wait and wait for for for for them to be uh seen by the judge. And then usually what 24 hours is uh you uh by law, uh you have to see uh actually or actually 24 is usually, but 48 hours is max. Okay, that's right.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. I had an issue with one of uh the counties down in the 81st about that a while back because they were Is it from the time of the arrest or from the time you get booked, actually?

SPEAKER_03

From the time of the arrest.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, really. From the time you get down in testing.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So um but yeah, and so when uh you call a bell bondsman,

Holds That Delay Release

SPEAKER_02

there are also times where there may be a hold on your loved one. So nowadays we see a lot of immigration holds um or in a domestic violence situation, they can institute, you know, a 24-hour, 48-hour hold.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, the assault on family violence. And I think it's is it mandatory? Because uh everybody's been held for four hours minimum.

SPEAKER_02

It's up to the judge and up to the magistrate, and but it starts at the time that the bond is posted.

SPEAKER_03

That's right.

SPEAKER_02

So uh a lot of times, you know, if somebody's in a domestic violence situation and the magistrate has said no, they're gonna sit in here for an additional 24 hours. That 24 hours starts from the moment somebody like Sal posts the bond. That's right. So you don't want to wait the 24 hours and then call the bondsman, because a 24-hour clock doesn't start until the bond is actually. That's right.

SPEAKER_03

Everybody's ready to come out. And it's kind of like a cooling off period, I guess. Maybe that's the theory behind it. Uh and and it goes from four hours, twenty-four. I've had even, I think, 72 hours. 72 hours. They can do up to 72 hours. And that's from the time I submit the bond. So people are anxious to get to get them out, or that person's anxious to get out. We got to wait for the bond to be submitted before that clops are full of the biggest. Before the bond starts.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah. So um we're up against our break, but when we return, we'll answer more questions about Bell bonds in Texas and how they work with Sal Martinez.

SPEAKER_01

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The 10 Percent Fee And Scams

SPEAKER_02

So what I find that a lot of people don't understand is that the 10% that they're paying to the Bell Bondsman is a premium. It's a fee for a service. And once you post that bond, that's the service that you've provided. And the reason that I mentioned that is on I've had uh you know two types of situations pop up. I've had one where after, you know, the person posts the bond, let's say they're doing a payment plan and then the case gets dismissed and they still owe money to the bondsman on the payment plan, they ask me, Well, do I have to finish paying the bondsman? And I always explain, well, look, you paid for a service of getting your loved one out. That service was done. Um, contact your bondsman, but my understanding is you're still gonna owe that money.

SPEAKER_03

Well, they're different rates. Again, I I've mentioned that some of the bond companies will lure you by saying it's only 2%, but in fact, uh it's gonna be generally 10%. And some will even go higher. They'll come up with reasons or excuses of why to bump it up to 15 or 20 percent.

SPEAKER_02

I've had I've seen Bellbond companies that have asked for 100%.

SPEAKER_03

That's ridiculous, man.

SPEAKER_02

Which is that's to me, it's unethical.

SPEAKER_03

That's right. And nobody can uh tell them anything. If anybody, the sheriff should be telling these companies to stop ripping people off. And I've had bond companies go over there and take people's uh property at home, you know, their TVs or and I had a lady, a grandmother, who signed for her grandson to get out of jail and he missed one court date and the bond company took that grandmother's house.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Poor lady died several uh months later. I mean, just that was hard. She was heartbroken that the bond company did that. But that's the yeah, there's some there's some bad bond companies out there. But as for the money itself, it's a service fee as well. I I literally have a checklist and I and I go down the list weekly and I make sure that people are checking in. If not, like I said, the the lower risk, I just have them check in monthly. But people at the end of the nightmare, they're thinking after the case is dismissed or or it uh they they get they played out, they're asking for the money back. But uh think about the time and effort we put in. And also we put up collateral of ourselves of our company because we have a limit for the sheriff's office, so we have to to pay for those services as well. And the money that we invested on that one client, we we might have uh denied other people. So they have to consider that, but they don't understand that part.

SPEAKER_02

So I think where people get confused is there are different types of bonds. And so um, when you're using uh a Bell bondsman like Sal, you're doing what's called a surety bond. You have somebody, a surety, who is saying, Hey, I promise this person's gonna appear for court, and if not, I'm responsible for the money. But there's another type of bond called a cash bond. And a cash bond, your family puts up the entire amount. So, like in the situation with Johnny, the family would have to come up with $50,000.

SPEAKER_03

That's very rare. Sheriffs don't want to be dealing with that kind of cash. They're not cashiers. They're not gonna have a officer say, okay, bring in the money order and here's $10,000. They're not gonna do that. They prefer to let us handle that financial aspect because and the matter of the fact is most people don't have that.

SPEAKER_02

Most people don't have $50,000 laying around that can be tied up for three years while a case goes to court. So most people go to a bell bondsman and that's the service they're providing. They're saying, hey, we'll put up the $50,000. Our fee for doing that is the 10%.

SPEAKER_03

That's right.

SPEAKER_02

So, and and again, it just comes up because people ask, hey, when the case is over or whatever it is, do I get my money back? The other circumstance where it comes up is if they get acquitted at the end of a trial, they say, Well, can I reach my bell bondsman and get the money back? And it's like, well, wait a minute, he posted a bond for you. Yeah. So uh and I feel bad.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, there's times that the cases have been dismissed within within weeks or certainly, and I'm going to think, man, you know, but I have to, I can just refund money because of a uh judicial outcome. I have a business to run and it's time and effort on our part. And again, with the financial backing, I need to have to cover that for that bond that we originally put in. So the bonds could be anywhere from $1,000 to $200,000. And then I said bond companies generally charge 10%. So let's say it's a $200,000 bond. I'm not gonna ask these people for $20,000. That's that's ridiculous. And I'll do payment plans. But this is me personally. I I I don't want to take so much money from these people because they're gonna be suffering enough financial hardship. So I'll I'll give them discounts, I'll work out a payment plan. But uh a lot of these other companies will take collateral or they'll uh or they'll take the entire amount,

Cash Bonds And Collateral Dangers

SPEAKER_03

and that's just that's that's not right.

SPEAKER_02

Well, let me ask you this in in a circumstance where maybe somebody does post-collateral, let's say um they, you know, say, oh, I have this land or whatever, and their loved one makes all the court appearances and then the case is over, maybe it got dismissed, maybe they took probation, you know, whatever it is. What happens to the collateral?

SPEAKER_03

That that again is is so financially they're the obligation that they had or the liability with with within with the bond company, they've got to make sure they get some kind of documentation, uh, documentation that they're done with the bond companies, because again, some of these uh guys can go on and try to take that house. That poor lady, the grandmother, the example I just gave earlier, uh, is something that uh you know everybody in the family says, come on, she didn't know what she was doing, she was elderly. Bondman didn't care, he took her house. You know, so uh again, it's that's a civil thing that could take uh resolved in the courts.

SPEAKER_02

But once the case is over, um that kind of danger of the bond being forfeited or whatever, that that ends. That the bond is valid until the end of the case.

SPEAKER_03

That's right. The prosecutor's not gonna come after me, so I'm not gonna go after the the client. And like I said, I hate even thinking that. Um the worst case scenario is somebody not showing up to court, and I've got to go on and and and and and let th not threaten. Uh would promise the person who signed them out, who signed out little Johnny, hey, I'm gonna sue you for this, and you need to go and take initiative to go on and find him. And and the one way I do it is is explaining to them what the attorneys are gonna be doing, all that stuff, taking them civilly for the amount that they they

Missing Court And Bond Revokes

SPEAKER_03

bonded out uh Johnny. And for me as a bondsman, when we're talking about the bounty hunting thing, I use some of my old law enforcement uh tactics, and I'll have people that know uh Johnny through uh uh associates in the in the underworld or wherever the king hangs out, and I'll say, hey, listen, you know so-and-so, and people uh will give me tips. Hey, yeah, so he's been hanging out at so-and-so place, so I don't make the arrest, I let the local authorities do that. Uh and uh yeah, they they they they uh so I'll notify uh the Bear County Sheriff's Office, hey, uh he's over here hanging out at the uh stop and rob. Can you go on and send a unit out here? Sometimes they'll do it. A lot of times if law enforcement isn't really being cooperative because they're stuck with other uh issues, or I I have a private investigator that I'll I'll uh phone and he'll go and make the arrest for me.

SPEAKER_02

And you know, one of the issues that uh you and I both deal with is occasionally uh I'll have clients who don't take their appearances in court seriously. Um I every day, you know, at the firm we have kind of a group chat um and you know we we have a lot of attorneys at the We have a lot of clients. And you'll just see, hey, can somebody check on so-and-so? He's not here yet. Can somebody check on so-and-so? Explain why, you know, missing court, even if it's just one court appearance, explain why that would be a big deal to a Bell Bondsman.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, for me, like I said, I'm always thinking about one step ahead. I'm thinking, okay, have they been responsible enough to be checking in with me? And now are they going to be responsible responsible enough to be uh checking in with their higher authority, which is the court system? If they disrespect the court, then again, the warrant's gonna be issued and everything uh uh hits the fan. So again, it goes back to them. Let's say uh I couldn't get a ride or or or I woke up late or oh I had to work. The judge is not gonna consider that. You disrespect a judge when you don't show up to court. So that's what happens on this.

SPEAKER_02

And then on your end, that promise that you made of hey, if this person doesn't show, I'm gonna pay you the 50,000.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, I get an ASD gram from the court. You know, this guy's not here, god dang it, so I gotta go after him. Yeah, that whole process starts. That's right. Yeah, and that's where again it gets ugly, and and then that's where the civil threat uh I said I hate saying threatened the people who sign him out. I said, listen, you are responsible for getting him out. So I told that loved one. I try to get family members involved. I don't try to have like the boyfriends and girlfriends because there's always break, they're always breaking up, or a friend of a cousin, a neighbor is gonna get this guy out. No, I want a family member because family members are a little bit closer to the to the defendant and I'll they'll know where to find him.

SPEAKER_02

Well, and the advice that I always give is like look, if your loved one misses court for whatever reason, let's say it really was an emergency or whatever, they just forgot. The sooner that you let your attorney know, and the sooner that I can get you into court, the better the outcome is gonna be. Okay, so if you blow a court date, you should never blow a court date. Um, if there's something going on, notify your attorney, notify your bell bondsmen. But it happens. But if it does, you need to notify your attorney as soon as possible, and you need to make arrangements to get back into court as soon as possible.

SPEAKER_03

Do some damage control, exactly right.

SPEAKER_02

Because there's times where I'll talk to a prosecutor and they'll say, like, well, if you can get him here next week, that's fine. You know, we'll we'll you know, we'll let it go. But um, if you do what sometimes people do when they get scared and all of a sudden you're not returning my calls, you're not returning your bell bondsman's calls, uh, the situation just gets worse and worse. And then odds are you're gonna end up being taken into custody on a warrant at some point.

SPEAKER_03

That's right. And reputation is really important in small areas like the counties that I work at. I I'd like to say you give me a last name of somebody, I can pretty much tell you what kind of uh family they uh they are or the people they run with. So if you fail to appear one time and uh then you try to get bonded out again, a lot of bot bond companies won't do it or they're gonna try out charge a little bit more because they're a higher risk. Uh so uh again, uh the word gets out, certain people are always in trouble. And I've had people multiple uh I get them out multiple times. And but have they taken care of business with me? They showed respect to me, I'll get them out. But once the moment that you show that you don't go to court or you uh it's in your history, uh yeah, I won't deal

Bond Reductions And Bail Schedules

SPEAKER_03

with them anymore.

SPEAKER_02

Let me ask you this. Um can a bail bondsman get a bail amount that is set by a judge reduced?

SPEAKER_03

No, bail bondmen don't have that authority. They allow the the attorney, the representing attorney, go on to do that. And if you can do that, especially on these $200,000 bonds, I tell the family, you know what, let your attorney uh work something out with the judge and try to get the bond reduction. It makes it easier for us as well because I don't want to be thinking about a $200,000 a liability out there running around, whereas I would rather have something maybe a hundred thousand or even fifty thousand. If y'all can do that, that makes it a lot easier for us as well. Uh sure we could get more money out of that whole $200,000 deal, but I think it's more liability on there. I sleep a lot less.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. And one of the interesting things is, you know, when we go to court to try to get your Bell amount reduced, um, let's say, you know, to use Sal's example, Bell set at $200,000. And uh Sal is saying, hey, look, if you can get it down to $100,000, I feel more comfortable, I'll get them out, you know, for what the money does.

SPEAKER_03

Saves the family money as well, too. And then they feel a little bit more related. It's easier for them, but go ahead.

SPEAKER_02

And and so when we have that hearing, one of the considerations of the judge is has this person made all of their court appearances uh in the past. So if you've had a case previously where you failed to appear, that gets held against you when I'm going into court trying to argue that your bail should be reduced and that if the judge reduces it, you are going to make your court appearances. So failing to appear in court doesn't just mess up the current case that you're on, doesn't just mess up, you know, your bail bond with your bail bondsman. It messes up any hope you have in the future of getting bail reduced on your case.

SPEAKER_03

That's right. And and I think it's kind of like a tattoo or a scar on somebody. Let's go back to the DWI situation. You have people that are getting arrested for DWI and they said, hey, this is my second DWI for some reason. This was back in 1990. For some reason, the system keeps those old DWIs on their record. So this is gonna be your second DWI. The bond's gonna be higher, uh uh, and again, a lot more complicated regarding your driver license suspension and and and uh and very likely the more uh stricter punitive measures are gonna be applied at the end of the process.

SPEAKER_02

Well, and that raises another issue is um different counties you know set different bail amounts. That's right. A lot of people don't understand that. Um I'll get calls from families that'll say, well, my loved one got arrested for a DWI. Their bail is set at $10,000, but that doesn't seem fair because you know, my cousin got arrested for a DWI in Bear County and their bail was only, you know, they got a PR bond, or they the the bail was only $5,000.

SPEAKER_03

Why is that? For some reason, yeah, I I don't know. There's some kind of guidelines that they're following within these counties.

SPEAKER_02

There's a bail schedule.

SPEAKER_03

There's a schedule. Okay, so I don't know. One of them's uh been very lucrative in one county that I'm working at. The other one's a little bit less lucrative, but uh uh again, I don't understand the the system and when they find the circumstances by this situation.

SPEAKER_02

There's a recommended bail schedule that gets put out by uh the DA's office because uh remember one time I was reviewing a case in the DA's office and the bail schedule was posted on the wall. Ten years ago, and I did, I took a picture of it just because uh yeah, it showed the recommended bail amounts for different levels of offenses. Okay. So there's a recommended bond schedule, but the magistrates are free to set it at whatever they feel is reasonable given the circumstances.

SPEAKER_03

And it's their discretion, too. I mean, they they they listen to whatever the defendant has to say, and also they look at the report of what the officer had written down and the complaint. And I think a lot of uh discretion is a very powerful thing, not only within the judges, but also in law enforcement regarding if they're gonna actually make an arrest or they're gonna let this person go. So uh again, I think it has a lot to do with it. I've had people that were uh egregious offenses that are usually 10,000, 20,000 minimum. 2,000. I'm like, why? The judge must have liked whatever the defendant said to the judge. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02

So uh as a bell bondsman, what is the you know most serious things somebody can do to upset their bell bondsman?

SPEAKER_03

Aaron Ross Powell, Uh I again I think just for me, I just like people check checking in. Just do me that favor and show some respect that I'm looking down on my checklist, and if I don't see you checking in the last either the last several weeks or last several months, then I call the person who signed them out and I say, listen, so-and-so hasn't been checking in. I'm gonna revoke the bond. Uh let me or where he's where first of all, I start asking questions about where the where the person is at. Well, I haven't seen him. He's not calling me anymore. There, there we go. He's running. That's the first thing I start thinking. I'm always thinking negative in my business. So if I don't get a call or he's not checking in, doesn't update his file, then I then I uh again I revoke the bond. I go back to the judge who initially magistrated him, say, hey judge, I'd like to get off the bond on sorry, my phone's ringing. Somebody wants to get out of jail, they gotta wait. Um so they hit I tell them, you know what, you if if they don't do that, then uh then I then I start taking the uh efforts to go on and get off the bond. And once I get off the bond, the judge grants it, then I the warrants are issued and I can go back after that person.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. And so it's a serious thing. So if you're out on a bond, check in with your bondsman, follow the rules that the judges set out for you, and you'll be able to stay out while your case is pending. Um failure to do those things means there's a good chance you're gonna sit in jail until your case is resolved, and that doesn't do anyone any good. Aaron Powell, Jr.

SPEAKER_03

No, and a lot of the bond companies will find any reason to get off the bond. So again, there's some that are very uh they they prefer just to have you rearrested and not even deal with you if you don't check in or pay the amount. So you you can go to a judge, bond companies kind of say, hey judge, this guy's not paying me, I want to get off the bond. Judge says, get out of here. You know, you have to give them uh other reasons besides that of why they want to get off the bond. So a lot of bond companies will uh try to get off the bond so that's less liability and for less things, less for uh less paperwork for them.

SPEAKER_02

And so make it easier on yourself and follow and do everything that you should be doing. That's right. And again, we've been talking with Sal Martinez, former DPS trooper, former DEA agent, uh acclaimed author of Narc, uh Convictions of an Undercover Agent that you can find on Amazon.

SPEAKER_03

Got the one with the gun and the coke.

SPEAKER_02

He's got fantastic stories about there in that book from his time as a DEA agent.

SPEAKER_03

Drug, sex, rock and roll.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, dealing with the cartels over in Mexico. Um, and he's a Bell Bondsman uh from Freedom Bell Bonds. So uh this is Britt Criminal Defense. You can always reach us at 210-874-5080.

Closing And How To Connect

SPEAKER_02

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00

Thanks for listening to So You Got Arrested. If you found this podcast helpful, share it with someone who needs to hear it. For more legal insights and real talk from the front lines of the Texas justice system, follow us and subscribe. And remember, Drew Criminal Defense has your back. For more information, visit us at brckdefense.com.