And What are these Court Fees Being Charged?
No surer way to get sent back to prison or county jail than not paying your fees and fines, especially if you are committing other crimes and get caught or picked up on a traffic stop. They aren't going to be running around looking for you but if you come into their territory they will collect some money from you somehow. What are these fines and fees? They are set by the legislature and we are not adverse to collecting the costs of prosecution and adjudication from criminals after conviction but they doubled most of these fees in one of the last few legislative sessions. And the majority of criminals aren't paying anyway till they get old and clean up their act.
We looked at one case that came to our attention after TEEM gave the guy a conditional bond right after another bondsman had almost lost $2000 from forfeiting an appearance bond on the guy right before TEEM let him out. The bond had been forfeited and the bondsman paid the court the $2000 but they also tracked the defendant down and put him back in jail to recover their money. This is the huge taxpayer benefit of private bail, the criminals get caught and returned, someone IS looking for them.
Meet Preston Payne Hufstedler, pretty much a career criminal with a side line of beating the crap out of women and pretty much a dirt bag if you read what his ex wife, customers, ex girlfriend, and neighbors said about him when he was in Arkansas. But for this story's discussion we will focus on one arrest, charges of making a false declaration to a pawn broker in October 2012.
He pled guilty and was convicted October 2014. The sentence was a slap on the wrist, five years suspended, served concurrently with another felony case CF-12-696 supervised by DOC. That was a domestic battery case that caused grave injuries, eight years in prison, all suspended except for three years which of course means he will serve one year in prison. The guy already is serving a one year sentence in Canadian County Jail for a misdemeanor battery case so he serves that one year for all three crimes. Think about that, eight years sentence, didn't cost him another day in jail or prison because he was already paying for a previous misdemeanor crime. Neither of the two other victims got justice.
Here is a list of what fees the guy was charged over a three year period on this one case:
January 2014
Warrant fee $50.00
Court information system fee $25.00
October 2014
Court costs $103
DA assessment fee $25
Oklahoma court info system revolving fund $25
Sheriff service fee for court house $10
Medical expense liability revolving fund, $10
Cleet Penalty Assessment #9.00
Law Library fee $6.00
Forensic Science Improvement Assessment $5
Sheriffs service fee arrest $5
AFIS fee $5
CHAB statutory fee $3
DNA lab fee to OSBI $150
Public Defender fee $200
Victims Compensation Assessment $45
Fines payable to County $50
Court clerk admin fee on collections $42
Return Writ Habeas Corpus AD $185.38
Oklahoma Court information System Revolving Fund $25
He was released from custody by October 24th . But the Department of Corrections had him till March 2015 and he was ordered to pay beginning restitution and court costs by June 2015.
June 2015 he pays $100
July pays $100
August pays $155
Then nothing till he is dragged back in court on threat of revoking his sentence.
January 2016 pays $100
August 2016 pays $100
In August29th 2016 there is a motion to revoke the suspended sentence so the court has had enough it seems.
In September of 2016 a warrant issued and $2000 bond is set, leading to more fees:
$50.00 warrant fee
Oklahoma court information system revolving fund $25
In November 2016 the defendant is out on professional bond of $2000.00 and more fees are due.
Court fee $35.00 for posting bond
On November 18th 2016 he shows up in court with attorney asks for continence. He is out on professional bond so once again the court isn't in a hurry so it is almost six months before he pays further.
April 2017 pays $50.00
May 2014 pays $50
June 2017 pays $50
June 15th pays $50
In November 2017 he shows up with new attorney.
In May 2017 he shows up with another new attorney, or at least the attorney shows up but no defendant, so a bench warrant is ordered for revocation of suspended sentence. He is on the run from the law and the bail bondsman. The November 2016 bond is forfeited, $2000.00 and bench warrant issued causing more fees.
May 2018 Bench warrant fee $50.00
Oklahoma court information system revolving fund $25
Certified mail receipt fee $10.00
Certified mail receipt fee $10.00
In August 2018 the forfeited bond money was paid by bondsman. By October 2018 the Bondsman returns defendant to Oklahoma jail and the forfeited bond is asked to be returned to the bondsman.
November 2018 defendant pleads not guilty at the revocation hearing on the 2012 false declaration to a pawn broker charges. Bond set at $4000 but the defendant is set free on conditional bond through TEEM and ordered to pay restitution by February of 2019 and another fee is charged.
November 16th, 2018 Bond posting fee charged $35.00
In November 30th 2018, bondsman receives their forfeited bond money back and the criminal with a history of jumping bail is walking around free without a bond or bondsman to bring him back if he runs again. Will he pay another dime? With his record of payment, it is unlikely.
Not that criminals are always stupid but this one surely showed some lack of common sense. He was charged $1218.38 over a six year period, four years if you count after he was convicted, and paid $655.00 over a two year period, 2015 to 2017. Halfway there and he runs, having to pay $200.00 for the $2000 bond to get out of jail and hire two attorneys which likely asked for a retainer up front.
Would have been a lot cheaper just to pay every month. You see a pattern in a lot of these payments, the criminal is paying at first, then a family member, usually a woman, pays once or twice, no doubt trying to keep the turd out of jail. Most of these people have family that has long since given up on seeing them straighten up. They know better than to rake up bail money or co sign on a bond for someone they know is going to run away.
Yet the PTR programs and liberal judges and legislators think these criminals are going to behave on a pre trial release program and actually pay the costs?
And the other felony, the 2012 domestic battery resulting in grevious injury case? He received a thousand dollars or so in fees and fines in the case. The defendant paid three or four times, actually a woman paying the final payment and in June of 2017 an arrest warrant was issued for his arrest. That is actually one of the last entries yet he was allowed out of jail on a TEEM conditional bond and hasn't paid a dime since 2017.
