Fiancee arrested for violation of probation

[tara9934]

Texas - My fiancee was pulled over a month ago for a routine stop. The officer ran his license and he had a warrant out for violation of probation. This pertained to assault on a public official and him being placed on a ten year probation. He was transported five hours to the city this occurred in. This happened in 1997 and they are saying the last time he reported was in 2006. He was injured very badly on the job during that time and was in and out of the hospital for surgeries. They kept picking him up and taking him back to jail. He thought he was through with his probation because the officer "told" him it was over. He never got anything in writing. Here is his story. He was leaving a bar and had been drinking. He went out to his car and someone had broken into it and stolen his radio, etc. A security guard approched him and thought he was the one who broke into the car. A police officer arrived and he was arrested. My fiancee mouthed at him the entire time. The officer pulled into a corner in the parking garage which did not have any camera (the only one) and sprayed him with pepper spray and knocked him unconscious. My fiancee said when he came to, everything was blurry and he saw someone coming at him. He kicked the officers belt off of him, but did not hurt him. I found out this same officer was fired for assaulting a girl. I have lost my job and he has now lost his of course. Can anyone tell me what I need to do or can do? His court date is next week. He requested a court appointed attorney. How long will he be in jail? They said he has 7000.00 in court fines also. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It does not look great that all these problems are stacking up.

Make sure you have counsel involved and frankly private counsel would be better than a public defender.

You can try to argue to avoid any jail time and you should--but it would seem a bit of time is possible here.

[tara9934]

Thank you for your input.

[jjones8601]

OMG...

It is impossible to fight police and win without some kind of Rodney Kind type of evidence. It does not look good.

Interview his court appointed attorney and ask many questions. You want to know how dedicated he will be. Many “regular” attorneys” do volunteer and are the court appointed attorneys. Sometimes these are not the best because they have an agenda.

Get prepared for a tough run. The Texas court system likes to make the “big wheel” spin and obtains a lot of revenue from the judicial system.

[tara9934]

His hearing is scheduled for Tuesday and he has still not spoken with the attorney. They have not shown up. I will be driving 5 hours to attend. How important is it for me to be there and what will take place? He said they are saying he did not report for 6 months and his fines total around $8000.00. I thank everyone for their input.

[jjones8601]

Are you kidding! By him not reporting or paying each month is HUGE...

Look, by him "getting out" with a simple condition of paying a fee every month and making the minor sacrifice of visiting a Probation Officer after assaulting a PO should be a walk in the park. It is the whole point of doing this exercise. If you can not abide to these simple rules, you are not a "Changed Person”.

I am truly sorry, but he needs to make a decision. Either conform or go to jail. He dug this hole and needs to become responsible for his own actions.

Whatever the outcome, keep your head up and your eye on the big picture. Life moves on with or without people. You can NOT let this issue affect your life negatively. Most importantly, if you have children, be truly strong and explain the situation with them. Sometimes good people have hard times. Just continue your “good life” and do the right things. Make good and wholesome decisions for everyone around you. Things will work out for all.

[tara9934]

They moved his court date to a couple of weeks from now. He said the court appointed attorney told him it will probably be dismissed?

[jjones8601]

Well... sounds like good news. Rare... but very good!

[tara9934]

I spoke with his attorney today and he said he may be dismissed or he could serve 2 to 10 years in prison. Knew it sounded too good to be true. He said the major problem is his court fines.

[jjones8601]

Money is what makes the judicial system go round and round. Trust me, I’ve seen it first, second, third hand and then some.

Money is the key to his cell door. See, they get paid for each day he spends in jail by the state. I would suggest begging for a payment plan and due to his non-employment, ask for a reasonable time to begin making payments. Go to any and all relatives or friends and try to gather as much money for the court date and throw at their feet then.

Remember, this problem occurred when he dismissed the severity of the original punishment. He needs to understand how to play this game. They want their money…