Bail Bonds Articles

A lot of the concern these days is turned toward carrying guns and the right to bear arms. The fact is that in North Carolina you are more likely to run into a person carrying a knife rather than a gun. So what kind of knives are legal and how should they be carried on a person? According to North Carolina State Law a Conceal Weapon is defined in the following statute

§ 14-269. Carrying concealed weapons
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person willfully and intentionally to carry concealed about his person any bowie knife, dirk, dagger, slung shot, loaded cane, metallic knuckles, razor, shurikin, stun gun, or other deadly weapon of like kind, except when the person is on the person’s own premises.

North Carolina statute defines a pocket knife as a small knife, made to carry in a pocket or purse, which has its cutting edge and point entirely enclosed by the handle, and that may not be opened by a throwing, explosive, or spring action.

When we get a call for a bail bond that involves a charge of a concealed weapon, most of the time is has to do with a knife of some sort. You should check with your local sheriffs department to find out what their interpretation is of the law on carrying spring assisted bladed knives since the statute does not clearly define the use of these knives.

These days everyone is on some type of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. With the ability to post your thoughts along with photos of just about anything, is this okay? Well in North Carolina the fist person to find out that it is NOT okay to post nude photos of a person online without their consent was a twenty year old girl from Apex, NC on April 1, 2016. This young lady was arrested and charged with the new law called “Disclosure of Private Parts” and she had to post a bail amount of $3000 with a bail bondsman.The General Assembly passed legislation back in the summer of 2016 making such postings a Class H felony and allowing victims to sue perpetrators for damages. The complete wording of the new law that went into effect on December 1, 2016, makes it a Class H felony for anyone to post explicit photos or videos of a person without their consent, with the intent to harass, extort, or intimidate the victim. The law also addresses punishment for minors, making this crime a Class 1 misdemeanor for anyone under the age of 18.
While many people are thankful for legislators taking action to protect victims of revenge porn, some legal professionals have suggested that criminalizing revenge porn restrains the First Amendment right to free speech because laws that address revenge porn are “too broad,” i.e. the laws surround too many events not related to revenge porn.
While revenge porn laws typically will not affect First Amendment rights because these laws will deal mostly with civil action, there are still many questions as to if this law is too broad. Are these postings more than just a joke or momentary lapse in good judgment. A photo or video on the internet can last a lifetime for the victim and can have devastating consequences when applying for a job, maintaining a relationship, or simply being out in a public place. Maybe North Carolina’s new “revenge porn” law will persuade people to “think before they post” to avoid criminal and civil consequences. In the moment of posting this malicious content it may seem like revenge but when someone gets arrested and they need to be bonded out, its not worth it!

Misdemeanor Driving While Intoxicated has five levels. Level I is the most serious and Level V the least.
Level V
Punishable by a fine up to $200 and a minimum jail sentence of 24 hours and a maximum of 60 days. A judge can suspend the sentence but upon completion that the driver spend 24 hours in jail, perform 24 hours of community service or not operate a vehicle for 30 days.
Level IV
Punishable by a fine up to $500 and a minimum jail sentence of 48 hours and a maximum of 120 days. A judge may suspend the sentence but after the driver has completed 48 hours in jail, and performed 48 hours of community service or not operate a vehicle for 60 days.
Level III
Punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and a minimum jail sentence of 72 hours and a maximum of six months. A judge can suspend the sentence only after a driver has spent at least 72 hours in jail, completed 72 hours of community service or hasn’t operated a vehicle for atleast 90 days.
Level II
Punishable by a fine up to $2,000 and a minimum jail sentence of seven days and a maximum of one year. A judge CANNOT suspend the minimum sentence.
Level I
Punishable by a fine up to $4,000 and a minimum jail sentence of 30 days and a maximum of two years. A judge CANNOT suspend the minimum sentence.
Level I and II drivers are usually repeat offenders, persons whose license has been revoked, impaired drivers, impaired drivers who were driving with young children in the car and impaired drivers who hurt someone in a wreck. Impaired drivers must complete a substance abuse assessment and comply with any recommended treatment as a condition for having their drivers license restored at the end of the revocation period.
Felony DWI
As for Habitual DWI offenders, these are drivers that have had three prior DWI convictions within the past seven years, a DWI becomes a more severe felony. But more importantly, the Habitual DWI statute now states that a minimum active jail term of one year this is a sentence that CANNOT be suspended. Offenders must also go through a substance abuse program while in jail or as a condition of parole.

What is a Transfer Bond? When a friend or family member travels to another state and ends up in jail for whatever reason this can be a big problem. Most bail bonding companies do not like to post bail bonds for people that are not local. When a person is arrested in another state they are looked at as a flight risk in fear that they will not return for court. This is when you will need to contact your local bail bondsman and request a transfer bond.

How does a Transfer Bond work? Once you contact your local bail bondsman he or she will contact their surety company to find a bail agent close to the county in the state where your loved one is in jail at. Since there are more people involed there may be additional costs but this is usually a flat fee for posting the bond by the out of state bail agent.

How do I start the process? If you need this service call our office or use our “Quick Bail Request” and someone will be glad to walk you through the process which can be done online even from a Smartphone!

When you are pulled over by a police officer in Wilmington as you sit there watching in your rearview mirror as the officer walks up to your car a lot of thing are running through your head. At this point the officer has a reason to pull you over which could be a number of things such as a expired tag, speeding, weaving, etc. Once the officer comes to your car window and you roll the window down he will be observing you for things such as your slurred speech, clarity of your eyes, and smell of alcohol. Once the officer has reason to suspect that you may be intoxicated he may ask you to step out of your car to conduct a field sobriety test. If you do not pass this test, you will probably be asked to give a breath, blood, or urine test.
In North Carolina, you can be charged with DWI for driving any vehicle when your blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, is at or above legal limit OR while you are under the influence of an impairing substance. DWI is usually defined by your BAC:

21 or Older: 0.08%
Commercial drivers: 0.04%
Younger than 21: Any alcohol concentration
Prior DWI: 0.04%

If your test results show that your BAC is above the legal limit, or if you refuse to allow them to test, the officer may arrest you right there.
At this point you should be read your right and then you will be handcuffed and put into the back of a patrol car and taken to police station or sheriffs detention center. Once you arrive at the detention center you will be given the chance to blow into a alko-sensor that will determine your BAC. If you refuse to submit a breath analysis your license could be revoked for one year. Once a blood alcohol level has been determined you will be taken before a magistrate or a judge to determine if you will be given a secured or unsecured bond. If it it determined that you qualify for a unsecured bond you will be released without having to pay any money. If it determined that you are to be placed on a secured bond you will need to pay the full amount of the bond or hire a bail bondsman. Once a bond has been given we hope you will call us at Off The Hook Bail Bonds to help you or send us a bail request from our website.

We frequently get calls from people that ask, ” what do I do if I think I have a warrant for my arrest?” Well recently most of our surrounding county jails have gone to the policy of not giving out warrant information over the telephone since a lot of the people that find out that they have warrants don’t want to turn themselves in. It is in your best interest to act quickly and get this warrant served on your terms and not get a surprise knock at your door from a police officer.
What we suggest is for you to contact a friend to come with you then call Off The Hook Bail bonds .
Once you call, we will have a friendly bail agent meet with you and have the warrant served and immediately bond you out without you having to worry about putting on those “lovely” county jail outfits.

During the holidays it can be lonely to be without a loved one that may have gotten arrested due to poor judgment. We here at Off the Hook Bail Bonds understand that you want to be with your friends and family over the holidays so we are offering 10% off the bond fee for any bail bond until January 3rd 2016! In order to take advantage of this offer mention this ad to any of our New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, or Onslow County bail bondsmen when you call!

We are excited to announce that we will soon have a new location in Brunswick County to assist local residents with their bail bonding needs! With the sheriff’s recent decision to make it mandatory for all bail bond companies that wish to be listed inside the jail, they must have a office to be on that list. In a effort to better serve our bail bonding clients that have gotten to know us over the years, we decided to secure a office within a mile of the Brunswick county government complex. When the sale of the property is complete look for our sign to appear off Old Ocean Highway, Bolivia NC.

As of July 1, 2015 the Brunswick County jail is going to remove the current list of bail bonding companies and replace it with a list of bail bonding companies that only have offices in Brunswick county. The purpose of the change is to prevent what is known in the industry as “Trunk Bondsmen”. A “Trunk Bondsman” is a bondsman that travels to different counties working from their car trunk instead of a office. When a person is arrested, the first contact they are allowed to make is from the jail phones. From these phones inmates can call bondsmen from the provided list so that they can start the process needed in order to bail out. If a inmate calls a “Trunk Bondsman” there is a good chance that they will be waiting for hours until that bail bondsman can get to them. In most cases these “Trunk Bondsmen” have their company name added to as many county jail lists as they can in hopes of getting a large bail bond call which can earn them more money. The problem with this is that they usually will not make the trip to get you out of jail if the bond is too small. In fairness to to the inmates I think this is a good policy.

As a bail bondsman I constantly get calls from people in jail that have missed court here in Wilmington NC. We understand that things happen and people miss court from time to time. But when you miss your court date the second time and wind up back in jail this is a problem. This situation is known as a Bond”C” to bail bondsmen and clerks of the court.
Each time a bail bondsman goes to the jail to bond someone out they have to get a “conditions of release and release order” form from the jailer. This form has been filled out by the magistrate that explains what a person has been charged with, conditions of them being released, court date, and bond amount. The state of North Carolina has added wording to this form that can be checked if it applies which reads, ” This was the defendant’s second or subsequent failure to appear in this case.” This is also known as Bond “C”. When this box is checked the bail bondsman has been given notice that IF they write that bail bond and the defendant does not appear in court for the third time, the bail bondsman MUST pay the full amount of the bail bond! The bail bondsman has no recourse to save the bail bond from forfeiture as he would in normal circumstances. This is why you will you will always get a “No” from a bail bondsman when they learn that you have a Bond “C”.
The moral to the story, don’t miss court! If you do happen to miss court don’t miss it more than once because you just may be staying there until your next court date!