Bail Reduced from $150,000 to $30,000, Downtown Los Angeles

Our client, age 26, went to a Dodger game with four male friends.  She was friends with two of them and two others came along as well.

 

As the game progressed, our client had a beer.  After a few innings, she needed to go to the bathroom, so she left with one of her male friends, as he also needed to use the restroom.

The two separated to go their gender-specific restroom and the male returned to his seat, but noticed our client did not return.  After about fifteen minutes of waiting, he went looking for our client and spoke with a few security guards.  The guards said our client had been arrested after biting a security guard on the arm.

Our client’s friend was surprised about this, so he went to the Dodger Stadium security office and saw our client strapped to a gurney, her arms and legs restrained, with a clear plastic bag over her head.

Our client’s friend asked what had happened and a security officer explained that our client had bitten a security officer and was going to jail.  It was later learned that our client had been yelling at other fans, “where you from?  I’m from New York and we kick your butt!”  She was getting in the face of certain fans who had not even bothered her.  Police then came and tried to get her to return to her seat, but she told them, “I’ll kill you guys.  Do you know who I am?”

The guards then attempted to arrest her to remove her from the area to prevent the continued situation and in response, she pushed one security guard and bit another one in three locations on his arm.  In one bite, she almost took out a large chunk of flesh from the guard’s arm.

Indeed, our client was arrested on charges of mayhem (Penal Code § 203).  She had a prior strike conviction for residential burglary (Penal Code § 459) six years earlier and she was on probation for a possession of drug paraphernalia charge.

Bail for mayhem in Los Angeles County is $100,000.  There is a $50,000 bail enhancement for anyone with a prior conviction for a serious or violent felony, which residential burglary certainly was. 

Our client’s family called Greg Hill & Associates on the weekend and retained him on a Saturday.  Greg then visited the client the following day, a Sunday.

The client remembered nothing of the events of the evening, sadly.

Greg then appeared the following morning at the arraignment and reviewed the police report.  It appeared that our client had possibly ingested a drug of some sort that affected her behavior.  Thankfully, the jail had taken a urine sample, which would be evaluated for the presence of various drugs.

Bail was the big issue at the arraignment, where our client was charged with violating Penal Code § 245(a)(4).  Bail was set at $80,000, due to $30,000 for the charge and $50,000 for our client’s prior strike conviction.

Greg then argued bail to the judge, proposing under In re Humphrey, a recent decision out of the San Francisco are, that the judge could consider alternative measures to ensure public safety.

In this case, the judge did lower bail to $30,000, but on condition that our client be fitted with a SCRAM device to detect any alcohol or drug use and that she attend three Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings per week.  The client was overjoyed at this ruling by the judge, as it would allow her to return to work and keep her job as a barista.

For more information about bail, please click on the following articles:

1. Will My Bail Go Lower After In re Kenneth Humphrey?
2. If My Case Is a DA Reject, Do I Get My Bail Money Back?
3. I Need to Get a Bail Bond – What Information Helps?