What Happens If You Sign A Bond & They Run?
You signed a bail bond document stating that you are responsible for them. If they do not show up in court that means the money you put down on their behalf goes back to the bondsman or the court, and you do not get a refund.
You Paid The Full Bond Amount To The Court: If they run before the court date, for example, leaving the state or go into hiding; then you should take some responsibility in finding them yourself or you will lose the money you put up for the bond.
You Paid A Bondsman To Bail Them Out: If they run before the court date, for example, leaving the state or go into hiding; then the bondsman will send a bounty hunter after them, and unlike police, they can cross state lines and search sometimes without a warrant, carry a gun and use excessive force as necessary to bring them back into custody.
Bounty hunters have a high success rate at finding people. See what they are legally allowed to do. And the bail bonds company will go after them, their family and friends and workplace… and yours.. to get the money they lost back.
Bailing Out Friends & Family Checklist
- Have they ever missed court before?
- Are they scared enough to skip court?
- Do they know the consequences of missing their court date?
- Why can’t they afford to bail themselves out?
- Why are they coming to you and not someone else?
- Do you really feel like there is a 100% chance they will show up for court and not run?
It’s great that you talked about bonds and how bailing someone out of jail comes with many responsibilities. In my opinion, if a friend gets in such a delicate situation, we’d do anything in our power to help them. Nevertheless, I believe it’d be better to work with an expert bail bond agent rather than trying to bail your friend on your own. Thanks for the information on what would happen if someone won’t show on their court day.