Bail Bond Prices in Monterey County

My sister was in Monterey and was with a group that set fire (they say by accident) to a building. They thought it was abandoned, but it wasn’t. The janitor was inside and he was hurt. My sister says she did not set the fire, but she was arrested anyway. Her bail is set at more than $100,000 and I can’t get her out because I don’t have the money. Is it normal for bail to be this high and what can I do?

Your situation is rather common. The good news is that your sister can expect to have a day in court, in which she will be able to tell the judge that she did not set fire to the building, but was merely there. Because she was there, however, she is an accomplice.

When it comes to determining bail amounts, there is something that you should know about called assumptive bail. Assumptive bail is an approximate bail amount that is determined based on a schedule of penal code violations. The exact penal code violation that your sister is in jail for is probably a violation of penal code 451a, which is arson causing great bodily injury. The assumptive bail amount for this violation is $100,000.

The good news is that the structure they set fire to does not appear to have been in inhabited structure. If it had been (such as an apartment building), then the assumptive bail for your sister would start at about $250,000 and go up with each injury that was incurred because of the arson. Both crimes are felonies.

In order to get your sister out of jail, you have to put up the bail amount. If the bail is too great for you to afford on your own, then you can consult with a bail bonding agency. The way bail bonding agencies work is that they pay the full amount of bail in the form of a bond to the court. In doing so, they also assure the court that the defendant will show up to stand trial for the offense. If the defendant does not show up, then the bail bonding agency loses the money that it put up for the bond. However, if the defendant does show up, then the bonding agency will get a full refund, less administrative fees.

However, in order to use the services provided by a bail bonding agency, you will have to pay a fee. Most bail bondsmen charge a down payment of about ten percent of the amount of the bail. If your sister is in jail on a $100,000, then you will have to pay at least $10,000 to get her out, in most cases. This amount is non-refundable.

If you cannot afford the down payment, then your other option is to appeal to friends and family members for help. Many bonding agencies also accept credit card payments. If all else fails, then you can let your sister stay in jail until the day of her trial, which is a course of action that many people are forced to take when they cannot afford bail.