Malicious Prosecution/Harrassment/False arrest?

[Tonyb1968]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas

I am asking this for my youngest son, who lives in Kansas. He seems to have gotten himself in a bit of trouble in the small town that he lives in with his pregnant wife and small daughter. Any help would be appreciated.
He was arrested on a criminal trespass and driving while suspended. The municipal court released him on an O.R. bond and fined him. They put him on a payment plan. With very few jobs available in the town, he eventually missed a payment. They issued another warrant and arrested him again.
This has progressed for almost two years. They always issue the warrant on Friday and the judge releases him on Monday...and they charge him $35 per day for spending time in jail. Every time!
He recently paid it all off, in full with his tax refund--several thousand dollars in fines and charges. A few days later on his next court date, they extended his probation(that he had just paid in full), and added another year to it, and some other things....anyway, he is back up to almost $6000 in fines and has to pay for home arrest for 88 days and cannot get a job.
As far as I know, during his time of incarceration, he is a ward of the State/County and should owe nothing. They make it so that he cannot get and keep a job in that poor town because he is always being arrested for almost anything that they can add to it.
They have him on some kind of revolving door and are milking him for money he doesn't have and cannot get except through me. He is not the only one being done this way.
If someone can give us some sort of advice, I will get more of the details. I really do not think it is all legal and proper. He has a public defender who has lied and kept him in the dark about a lot of this. That, in itself should be illegal.

 

[TigerD]

Thank you for sharing. Did you have a question?

DC

 

[Tonyb1968]

Thank you for sharing. Did you have a question?

DC

Yes. How can he/we fight this and get him in a situation that allows him to be able to leave the area and actually get a job to support his family? Any ideas?
This is always set up as a "Pay or Appear". Recently, he paid. Then appeared. And it was all extended and he was sentenced to 48 hours incarcerated, and 88 days house arrest. He served his 48 hours and was charged again for that. They were not going to release him unless he could pay $220 right away and then have himself put on a monitoring program.
He PAID all fines due and should ONLY be required to keep in contact with his Probation Officer until the end of his initial probation period....about three months. How can they legally take all his money and not give him credit for it or add charges?

 

[TigerD]

Yes. How can he/we fight this and get him in a situation that allows him to be able to leave the area and actually get a job to support his family? Any ideas?

Loan him the money to pay his fines. Keep him on the straight and narrow and then get out of that "small town."
Hire an attorney to review his file.

Is it possible that he has been doing things he hasn't told you about?

DC

 

[commentator]

Yes, it doesn't take long for the police in a small town to get to know their "problem students" and if it's a slow time, they can always go check and see what old so and so is up to. This isn't malicious prosecution, or false arrest or harassment or libel. If he's not up to anything he shouldn't be, then he's fine. But if they catch him doing something almost every single time they check on him, it's almost guaranteed they'll continue to do it. Excellent suggestion to have an attorney go through his file. Deal with what he's being charged with. Is there a serious drug or alcohol problem in this unaddressed? Treatment, perhaps an option?

And then figure some way to get him out of that town. It sounds like a place he has really burned his bridges and destroyed his credibility. Made a bad impression on law enforcement and the court system, perhaps? And a place where he has bad friends who will doubtless bring him more bad luck.

 

[Tonyb1968]

Not sure I explained it properly...

Thanks for all of the advice, but I seem to have mislead you guys somewhere. He used his tax refund to pay off all of those fines BEFORE his most recent court date. All of them. He was still required to appear on the scheduled court date and that is when the court extended his probation, confined him for 48 hours and gave him 88 days house arrest. He now has to pay a total of $742 a month to that city until Feb 2015. All of this is AFTER he had paid it all off.

 

[eerelations]

Thanks for all of the advice, but I seem to have mislead you guys somewhere. He used his tax refund to pay off all of those fines BEFORE his most recent court date. All of them. He was still required to appear on the scheduled court date and that is when the court extended his probation, confined him for 48 hours and gave him 88 days house arrest. He now has to pay a total of $742 a month to that city until Feb 2015. All of this is AFTER he had paid it all off.

Were you present when he paid it all off? Were you present at court? Or is this just what he told you?

Also I note more than a few discrepancies between your original post and your latest post. For example, you previously indicated he spent multiple weekends in jail ("This has progressed for almost two years. They always issue the warrant on Friday and the judge releases him on Monday...and they charge him $35 per day for spending time in jail. Every time!") and yet now you've reduced that to 48 hours only. Which is it?

It also seems like your son is getting arrested a lot. What is he doing to get arrested a lot? You did say once was for criminal trespass - is this typical? You know criminal trespass is pretty serious, if this is typical of the kinds of things your son gets up to, maybe that's the good reason behind all this "harassment" by the police.

 

[Mt_Vernon]

Also I note more than a few discrepancies between your original post and your latest post. For example, you previously indicated he spent multiple weekends in jail ("This has progressed for almost two years. They always issue the warrant on Friday and the judge releases him on Monday...and they charge him $35 per day for spending time in jail. Every time!") and yet now you've reduced that to 48 hours only. Which is it?

There is no discrepancy. The son spent multiple weekends in jail during a two-year period. At the end of this two-year period, he paid off all of his fines, charges, etc. But then, after everything had been paid off, the judge sent the son to jail for *another* weekend.

It also seems like your son is getting arrested a lot. What is he doing to get arrested a lot? You did say once was for criminal trespass - is this typical? You know criminal trespass is pretty serious, if this is typical of the kinds of things your son gets up to, maybe that's the good reason behind all this "harassment" by the police.

I believe that the first arrest was for criminal trespass and driving on a suspended license. The punishment was a huge fine, to be paid in installments. The son missed a payment and was arrested. The son was held in jail for a weekend, and was charged money for his jail stay. Thus, the money he had to pay increased. Whenever he missed a payment, he would get arrested, and his "tab" would increase.

He finally paid off everything. But then, the judge decided to jail him for 2 more days, and to order house arrest and possibly more fines.

So, it seems that the judge is similar to a loan shark. A loan shark loans money to you, and then charges more and more interest on that initial loan. In the OP's case, his son was initially arrested for two crimes and had to pay an initial fine. But then, there was more and more money to be paid.

 

[Ohiogal]

There is no discrepancy. The son spent multiple weekends in jail during a two-year period. At the end of this two-year period, he paid off all of his fines, charges, etc. But then, after everything had been paid off, the judge sent the son to jail for *another* weekend.



I believe that the first arrest was for criminal trespass and driving on a suspended license. The punishment was a huge fine, to be paid in installments. The son missed a payment and was arrested. The son was held in jail for a weekend, and was charged money for his jail stay. Thus, the money he had to pay increased. Whenever he missed a payment, he would get arrested, and his "tab" would increase.

He finally paid off everything. But then, the judge decided to jail him for 2 more days, and to order house arrest and possibly more fines.

So, it seems that the judge is similar to a loan shark. A loan shark loans money to you, and then charges more and more interest on that initial loan. In the OP's case, his son was initially arrested for two crimes and had to pay an initial fine. But then, there was more and more money to be paid.

Who are you in all this?

 

[mmmagique]

Who are you in all this?

They say he is their youngest son, so I'm guessing either mother or father.

 

[Mt_Vernon]

Who are you in all this?

Were you addressing that question to me or to the OP?

I am simply a poster who was trying to clarify what the OP was saying.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas

I am asking this for my youngest son, who lives in Kansas. He seems to have gotten himself in a bit of trouble in the small town that he lives in with his pregnant wife and small daughter. Any help would be appreciated.
He was arrested on a criminal trespass and driving while suspended. The municipal court released him on an O.R. bond and fined him. They put him on a payment plan. With very few jobs available in the town, he eventually missed a payment. They issued another warrant and arrested him again.
This has progressed for almost two years. They always issue the warrant on Friday and the judge releases him on Monday...and they charge him $35 per day for spending time in jail. Every time!
He recently paid it all off, in full with his tax refund--several thousand dollars in fines and charges. A few days later on his next court date, they extended his probation(that he had just paid in full), and added another year to it, and some other things....anyway, he is back up to almost $6000 in fines and has to pay for home arrest for 88 days and cannot get a job.
As far as I know, during his time of incarceration, he is a ward of the State/County and should owe nothing. They make it so that he cannot get and keep a job in that poor town because he is always being arrested for almost anything that they can add to it.
They have him on some kind of revolving door and are milking him for money he doesn't have and cannot get except through me. He is not the only one being done this way.
If someone can give us some sort of advice, I will get more of the details. I really do not think it is all legal and proper. He has a public defender who has lied and kept him in the dark about a lot of this. That, in itself should be illegal.

Is there a reason that sonny, who is married with child and a child on the way, can't "man up" and deal with his own legal issues? Is he mentally unstable ?

 

[aardvarc]

This isn't malicious prosecution, or false arrest or harassment or libel

Nope. A large part of police work centers around preventing, detecting, or deturring crime. Crime is committed by criminals. Most criminals are one of two types: either the one time offender who makes a single screw up and never has police involvement again, or, the type who for whatever reasons don't learn to STOP their criminal behavior. Guess which of these two types is going to be on the radar of local law enforcement.

If he's not up to anything he shouldn't be, then he's fine.

But apparantly, that's not what's happening. He KEEPS doing things that get him arrested. Super slow learner, apparantly. And why SHOULD he learn? Someone's always there to bail him out.

But if they catch him doing something almost every single time they check on him, it's almost guaranteed they'll continue to do it.

Of course. That's like shooting fish in a barrel. The key isn't to change the police doing their job...the key is for HIM to STOP BREAKING THE LAW. If you're his PARENT - this is something YOU should have tought him a LONG time ago. Get your OWN head around this idea, and then bang it into his head BEFORE a judge finally decides that your son should be locked away for a very long time as the only way to stop him from his repeated violations of the law. It really IS that simple.

And then figure some way to get him out of that town.

Greyhound goes just about everywhere. But again, what makes you think that a change in geography is going to change the BEHAVIOURS that keep getting him arrested? He's not being arrested for sitting on the couch at home yanno.

It sounds like a place he has really burned his bridges and destroyed his credibility. Made a bad impression on law enforcement and the court system, perhaps?

Perhaps, but keep in mind that police and the courts in his NEW environment will have 100% access to his past in his current town, and the FIRST time he gets onto their radar in the new town, he's going to find himself in the same pattern, unless he modifies his behavior to be law abiding instead of law breaking.

 

[Dave1952]

So why was he in court for his last appearance? You say that he paid off all of his fines which is great. No reason why the court can't fine him for something new.

 

[CJane]

So why was he in court for his last appearance? You say that he paid off all of his fines which is great. No reason why the court can't fine him for something new.

I suspect that even though he "paid off" his fines, the court found that he wasn't compliant with his probation due to the fact that over the course of TWO YEARS, he missed multiple installment payments, spent a significant amount of time in jail due to missed payments, accrued additional monetary penalties due to his time in jail (which he also didn't bother to pay), and I would guess violated his probation in other ways.

So, the judge is actually giving him another chance to either successfully complete probation - this time with more restrictions - or completely hang himself and do time for whatever violations he gets up to over the course of the next 8 months.