With Bail Set, Teen Mom has a Way out Thru Tarrant County Bail Bonds
“Sweet Seventeen” isn’t exactly true right now for teen mom Alexis Botello, at least not until her trial day comes and she gets cleared for good. Arrested by Arlington police after being involved in a murder case which claimed the life of her 18-month daughter Tylea Moore, Botello has a temporary way out of serving jail time thanks to services like Tarrant County bail bonds providers. Star-Telegram’s Sarah Bahari reports:
Alexis Botello, 17, was in the Arlington jail facing charges of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and injury to a child, Lt. Christopher Cook, a police spokesman, said. Bail was set at $125,000.
Two days after Botello’s arrest, her boyfriend Joshua Beard was also nabbed by authorities, and the young couple is now facing murder charges for Botello’s daughter, Tylea, last July 4.
According to Texas state law, the 17-year-old Botello is still classified as a “child” and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of a juvenile court. With the charges against her pointing to delinquent conduct, Botello can be found guilty of crimes that violate both the criminal law of Texas and the United States, which is punishable by imprisonment. On the other hand, the 20-year-old Beard is subject to the conventional legal process for legal-aged individuals.
A bail of $125,000 is a bit high, but can still be handled much easier with reliable bail bonds around Tarrant County or other areas. Offered by companies such as Just Bail Bonds, Botello and other accused juveniles like herself still have a chance to escape jail time (albeit temporarily) until trial day comes and all is laid before the eyes of the court for judgment. So how exactly do these bail bonds work?
Bail bonds are agreements made between an accused individual and a bail bondsman. The bondsman’s job is to settle the accused person’s bail amount for a fee, which is often 10% of the total bail amount. Once the bail bondman presents the court with the bond, the defendant agrees to not miss any trial dates along the way.
However, if the defendant chooses not to appear in court on a specified date (otherwise known as skipping bail), the bail bondsman can pursue the defendant with the aid of bounty hunters in an attempt to surrender him/her to court. Aside from hiring bounty hunters, the bondsman can also sue the defendant for the money he paid in settling the defendant’s bond. In order to compensate for the money, the bondsman’s agency also has the right to recover unpaid dues by claiming assets the defendant owns.
(Source: Arlington Police Arrest Mother, 17, in Death of Toddler, Star-Telegram, July 9, 2014)