i got caught driving without a license ..and i missed my court date and now i have a bench warrant..if i go to the police department and tell them about my bench warrant ..does that mean im going to go in jail that same day?...the paper says my bail is $5000 ..but i go to school and i dont work and if they take me in im going to get terminated from school and even worse in two weeks i have to go to court for petty theft ..are they going to know i have a bench warrant..man i hate my life!!..someone please tell me
Answers:
The police most likely aren't putting out an APB for you because you missed your court date for driving without a driver's license. Either go to the clerk of courts and tell them you missed your court date, or go to the cops during normal business hours so they can put into motion setting a new court date. Thing is, if you go to the cops, you may have to sit in jail until court. But this is a small charge, and they just may call the clerk of courts to set another court date.
Yes, when you go to court for your petty theft, they will know about the warrant. The longer you put it off, the harder the judge will be on you as far as punishment for the no license charge. He cannot consider the bench warrant when sentencing you for the petty theft. But at your petty theft hearing, if its your first court appearance for this charge, its just going to be a preliminary hearing.
That means they will ask you if you want to plead guilty at that time, or if you want time to consult an attorney. If you want more time, you may get held in jail because you've shown that you have it in you to skip out on court dates. Or you will have to come up with bail before they will let you go, unless they are going to keep you for the bench warrant anyway.
Bottom line is, get the warrant taken care of quickly, because it will come back to haunt you otherwise. Driving with no license is a small charge, you probably would have gotten just a small fine. And in most places, you have all the time in the world to pay a fine, like months. If you pay even just 5 dollars a week, they will leave you alone.
You should have just went to court.
Turn yourself in. Two crimes? Pay with the time!
Yes, you are screwed. The only reason why you weren't picked up before is because they didn't have your liscense to run through AFIS. AFIS would have told the officer via the computer that you had the bench warrant. The "Bench Warrant" states that you will be held in custody until said court date because you did not show up to your prior court date that you posted bail on. Bench Warrants have no bail offer! By the time you go to court for your petty theft, they'll know. They'll probably run your offenses together as far as jail time and fines. My word of wisdom about your life...stop doing what you've been getting in trouble for. If you are stealing for a drug habit, some judges can be leinient and allow you to go to court required treatment instead of a jail sentence, or one that is lessoned. Also, it sounds as if you've been in trouble before this. It may be that your petty theft charge may go from misdemeanor to a felony if you have had other convictions for the same thing before. Good Luck!
If you go to the court instead of the police, you might get it all handled without going to jail. Do not go on a Friday afternoon. Go on a monday morning. Tell the clerk you missed your court date and that you want to take of it. The judge will probably just quash the warrant and give you a new court date. if you do go to the cops, they have no such authority and will have to arrest you and it might be a couple days before you see a judge.
First thing, get a criminal attorney. IF you cannot afford one, they will be appointed for you.
First, with a bench warrant - that means that the judge issued a warrant without you there -- because you weren't there. If you are found for anything, you will be taken in immediately. But I think they generally get you before a judge pretty quickly. Likely, if you plead guilty on the two charges, they will drop the Failure to Appear charge.
As to school, I would just quit now. Chances are, if you don't show up in two weeks -- they will come after you. Better to drop now (and hopefully get SOME money back) than to drop later.
Use this as a step up -- Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Go to the police department, explain your situation and take what is coming to you. Then, make an effort to live a better life.
WoW! Stealing, driving with a suspended license, not showing up for court, and unemployed. You dug a real bad hole for yourself. I would suggest getting a damn good lawyer. But without a job, I doubt you have any means. Turn yourself in. Do not confess to anything. Do not even speak to the cops aside from providing your identity. Ask to talk to a lawyer. Maybe you can plea out to misdeaminors, once the prosecutor gets involved.
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