I have a friend who is a private investigator and was doing some work down in Sarasota, Florida when he was arrested for an unpaid traffic ticket. (It was either speeding or parking I'm not sure which) When he called his fiance' from jail she was prompted to enter her credit card number for a $50.00 fee and also that bail is not available. We all live in Tampa, Florida so we really don't have any clue what the fee would be for and why bail wouldn't be available for just a single unpaid ticket...
2007-08-27 06:08:09 · 6 answers · asked by Jeebus 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
I understand why he got arrested. What i don't understand is why would the jail charge $50.00 for a phone call and why would bail NOT be available?
2007-08-27 06:26:32 · update #1
He got a no bail becasue he failed to appear for court on his citation. That REALLY pisses off judges. They can issue a no bail warrant whenever they want.
2007-08-27 07:35:41 · answer #1 · answered by California Street Cop 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The details you gave do not make sense.
Parking citation never end up in jail...they are not crimes, but ordinance violations.
Traffic citations can end up in jail, however if it was as speeding ticket it would take a long time for it to become that way, after several letters of non-payment have been sent, a court date set and missed, and then a warrant would be issued (probably after a year or more).
However, even if a warrant was issued for a non-paid speeding ticket, there would definitely be a bail.
Your friend is not telling you about the real reason he is in jail.
There is no reason for you to be paying $50 for a phone call unless you have a debt on your phone bill. All inmates are allowed to make as many collect calls as they want...so it costs them nothing. However if the person receiving the call owes the phone company money then the money needs to be paid first before more charges are added to the bill.
2007-08-28 04:28:04 · answer #2 · answered by Vindicaire 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The charge seems to be more than a traffic ticket. And yes, a $50 for a call is excessive. Most calls from jail are "collect" and not credit card charged, except possibly to a cell phone. You will need to contact the jail, or the clerks office for the bail. In some cases your friend may need to contact a bail bondsman to arrange release. There may be other charges, and warrants for this person, possibly in other states. If there is a risk of"fleeing", then bail may have been denied by magistrate, or judge which the offense was presented to.
2007-08-27 13:27:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
What I would suggest if you are attempting to get him out of jail is contact the court clerks office where he was arrested. They will advise you of his bail or the "pay out" which would normally be the amount of the unpaid ticket and any extra court costs and fines associated with the ticket.
Because a warrant was issued....he not only got a ticket...but he failed to pay the fine nor did he appear in court. Pretty bad for a "professional" private detective!
2007-08-27 13:14:51 · answer #4 · answered by KC V ™ 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Long distance charges from the phone company? He was picked up on a warrant, possibly for failure to appear for a hearing for the ticket, that is why it was a no bail warrant.
2007-08-27 18:22:44 · answer #5 · answered by joseph b 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I hear of scams like that in California, and not it's not normal for someone to ask for your credit card on a situation like that becuase you can only call collect from jails.
2007-08-28 01:03:05 · answer #6 · answered by Golden Girl 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋