California
Basic information
-Friend(Tony) was arrested last Sunday (07/17/05) around 3 a.m and he’s still there
-He was pulled over a month before for lack or registration. The officer did not arrest him.
-He has not been up for arraignment yet
-All the information I know comes from his limited amount of phone calls allowed from inside. He’s only allowed to use the phone on some days at certain times.
-chronic illness leukemia (bone marrow cancer with the side effect: he may have compromised immune system) stuck in infirmary ward. He is kept solitary in a room all day with no TV or books.
-Was arrested May or June, 2002 for selling drugs. His case is supposed to be completed. He did do time and community service.
-this is the only thing Tony was arrested for as an adult (he was arrested for Ebay fraud when he was under 18 but that case is also supposed to be cleared up) He has not been arrested for any crimes since.
-while being arrested, the Officer told Tony the warrant had something to do with selling drugs. Tony is confused and unclear about this. He was told he had a no-bail warrant.
-he has not been offered a public defender (he hasn’t been arraigned yet)
-He does not have a lot of money. He is not allowed to work because of his leukemia and gets disability.
My friend Tony was arrested last Sunday early morning at around 3:00 a.m. to his surprise; he was pulled over for lack of registration. He also did not have his driver license on him, but he does have a valid one. The officer told him he had a warrant for his arrest, impounded the car, and sent Tony to jail. No one explained to him what was going on. Tony thinks this may be a mistake. Is there any way I or Tony can find out what the warrant was issued for? Can either of us get a copy of the warrant? Is their any means to find out why he’s there? Is there any way to figure out when they’re going to arraign him? The whole thing seems absurd to me that you can be arrested and put in jail for 5 days, not offered a public defender, and not know why you’re there.
What I’ve done so far
Friday (07/22/05)
-went to public defender’s office and explained the situation with Tony’s PFN and Case numbers. The front desk clerk seemed to think Tony may have violated his probation and he is in what she termed “dead-time”. She couldn’t pull up information about his case (she said this fact suggests that it has something to do with his probation violation since information can be restriced in such occurrences). She suggested going to the probation office and looking for information there. I told her I’m pretty sure Tony did not violate his probation. She said “sometimes people don’t realize they when probation ends, they make the defendant come in for court to officially end it.” She asked whether Tony was moving a lot and he has been.
-went to probation office where I spoke with a probation officer that was there. This was not Tony’s probation officer. I explained the situation to him and he said he couldn’t tell me anything because of privacy. He told me I could tell Tony to call (sometimes they accept collect calls) and that Tony could write a letter. However, this could take forever since Tony has only been able to call about once every two days. What’s the chance that the probation officer will be there and accept the collect calls.
More Questions
1. What is “dead-time”
2. What is a “no-bail warrant” and when does it usually get issued?
3. Can you explain what the Public defender said, is it true?
4. How long does probation usually last for something like selling ecstasy?
5. How much does hiring a lawyer for defense usually cost? The best way for getting one?
6. Can I or Tony find out if and when he has a court date?
Basic information
-Friend(Tony) was arrested last Sunday (07/17/05) around 3 a.m and he’s still there
-He was pulled over a month before for lack or registration. The officer did not arrest him.
-He has not been up for arraignment yet
-All the information I know comes from his limited amount of phone calls allowed from inside. He’s only allowed to use the phone on some days at certain times.
-chronic illness leukemia (bone marrow cancer with the side effect: he may have compromised immune system) stuck in infirmary ward. He is kept solitary in a room all day with no TV or books.
-Was arrested May or June, 2002 for selling drugs. His case is supposed to be completed. He did do time and community service.
-this is the only thing Tony was arrested for as an adult (he was arrested for Ebay fraud when he was under 18 but that case is also supposed to be cleared up) He has not been arrested for any crimes since.
-while being arrested, the Officer told Tony the warrant had something to do with selling drugs. Tony is confused and unclear about this. He was told he had a no-bail warrant.
-he has not been offered a public defender (he hasn’t been arraigned yet)
-He does not have a lot of money. He is not allowed to work because of his leukemia and gets disability.
My friend Tony was arrested last Sunday early morning at around 3:00 a.m. to his surprise; he was pulled over for lack of registration. He also did not have his driver license on him, but he does have a valid one. The officer told him he had a warrant for his arrest, impounded the car, and sent Tony to jail. No one explained to him what was going on. Tony thinks this may be a mistake. Is there any way I or Tony can find out what the warrant was issued for? Can either of us get a copy of the warrant? Is their any means to find out why he’s there? Is there any way to figure out when they’re going to arraign him? The whole thing seems absurd to me that you can be arrested and put in jail for 5 days, not offered a public defender, and not know why you’re there.
What I’ve done so far
Friday (07/22/05)
-went to public defender’s office and explained the situation with Tony’s PFN and Case numbers. The front desk clerk seemed to think Tony may have violated his probation and he is in what she termed “dead-time”. She couldn’t pull up information about his case (she said this fact suggests that it has something to do with his probation violation since information can be restriced in such occurrences). She suggested going to the probation office and looking for information there. I told her I’m pretty sure Tony did not violate his probation. She said “sometimes people don’t realize they when probation ends, they make the defendant come in for court to officially end it.” She asked whether Tony was moving a lot and he has been.
-went to probation office where I spoke with a probation officer that was there. This was not Tony’s probation officer. I explained the situation to him and he said he couldn’t tell me anything because of privacy. He told me I could tell Tony to call (sometimes they accept collect calls) and that Tony could write a letter. However, this could take forever since Tony has only been able to call about once every two days. What’s the chance that the probation officer will be there and accept the collect calls.
More Questions
1. What is “dead-time”
2. What is a “no-bail warrant” and when does it usually get issued?
3. Can you explain what the Public defender said, is it true?
4. How long does probation usually last for something like selling ecstasy?
5. How much does hiring a lawyer for defense usually cost? The best way for getting one?
6. Can I or Tony find out if and when he has a court date?
