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Indiana Arrest Warrants & Can you leave the state on bail?

"Curious about Indiana Arrest Warrants? Find Out if You Can Leave the State on Bail!"

What is an Indiana Arrest Warrant?

An Indiana arrest warrant authorizes police officers to take a person into custody because they are suspected of committing a crime. Generally, for an arrest warrant to be valid, there must be a sworn affidavit of probable cause that backs it up. When a warrant is issued for a person typically the defendant has a lot of questions regarding why this may have happened. Warrants can be issued for a variety of reasons be it a criminal offense, traffic offense, a family court related issue (ex: child support payment discrepancy) or even a failure to appear when summons for court for another purpose such as being a witness or needing to testify in a case. For whatever reason when a warrant is issued there is a protocol that needs to be followed and the sooner one contacts the court by turning themselves in to the courthouse and going through processing, the faster the issue can be addressed and rectified. So, some common questions we will address in this article are: Do I have to turn myself in to lift a bond? Can I bond out if I have a warrant? Can I pay my bond to a bail bondsman before I turn myself in? Can I leave the state of Indiana if out on bail? Let’s dive in and answer these questions and form a better understanding of how the warrant process works and what a defendants options are and how one should proceed in getting a warrant lifted lawfully and properly.

Do I have to turn myself in to lift a warrant?

Long story short, yes. When a warrant is issued for a person, there is a certain protocol that needs to be followed. At Smith American Bail Bonds, we understand that this process can be confusing and a bit scary for some people to navigate. However, just know there are options when turning oneself in and if a person does their due diligence to turn themselves in and satisfy the warrant the process overall can move along more quickly vs. not turning oneself in and risking being detained while doing daily activities which can be inconvenient, embarrassing, and possibly risk one’s job if detained at work. The best option is to either go to the courthouse and turn yourself in either alone or with an attorney if need be. If there is a surety bond attached to the warrant the defendant can always reach out to a bondsman and explain the situation. If the defendant doesn’t feel comfortable going to the courthouse alone your chosen bondman may accompany them to turn themselves in.

Can I bond out if I have a warrant?

If the warrant has a bond attached, then that bond can be paid. Not all warrants have a bond issued along with them so to find out if there is a bond contact Smith American Bail Bonds and one of our agents will look up the case and check to see if there is a bond and if so, what kind of bond has been assigned. There are two different kinds of bonds, and they can be handled in different ways, which leads us to the next question.

Can I pay my bond to a bail bondsman before I turn myself in?

As we just addressed in the paragraph above there are two types of bonds, surety bond and cash bond. A cash bond is a bond that must be paid to the jail directly. The way this is done is by going to the courthouse to the clerk’s office and making the payment there, in person. Now the defendant can’t pay their own cash bond because it cannot be paid until the defendant has turned themselves in and are showing up in the system as detained. In this case it is important to assign a trusted individual to check for updates on the status of the defendants processing and go to the courthouse and pay the bond on the defendant’s behalf once the defendant is showing up in the system. The next type of bond is the surety bond. When dealing with a surety bond attached to a warrant the defendant has the option of paying the bond before going to the courthouse to turn themselves in. They also have the option to wait until they turn themselves in and get processed and designate someone to pay the bond on their behalf.

With either choice, when dealing with a surety bond, the defendant must have turned themselves in and the warrant must show up in the system as being served/lifted before the bond will be processed. So, whether it is a cash bond (paid to the jail directly) or a surety bond (a bondman must be contacted and used) the defendant won’t be released until they turn themselves in, the warrant shows in the system as served, and the bond has been paid. This may seem like a lot to process but remember at Smith American Bail Bonds we are here to help aid our clients in making this process as easy and understandable as possible. We strive to stay updated on the status of all our clients so that they and their loved ones will have the most up to date information available.

Can I leave the state of Indiana if out on bail?

This is a question asked frequently and often a tricky one. To make it simple let’s break down how travel restrictions work. If a cash or surety bond are issued with a warrant, once the warrant has been satisfied and the bond paid, the judge will let it be known if there are any restrictions and what those restrictions may be. Some restrictions may include gps tracking or a home detention monitoring system, passport surrendering, and even no contact orders, or even no trespassing orders. In these cases there are travel restrictions given directly by the court stating where the defendant can and cannot go and who they may or may not be around. So, whether bonded out on a cash or surety bond any restrictions given by the court must be respected and followed in order to stay in compliance with the court. Now a judge may decide to not give any restrictions to travel, but when dealing with surety bail the bondsman does have the discretion to add stipulations depending on the seriousness of the case and what is in the best interest of the client. Remember all cases are different and at Smith American Bail Bonds we are here to help our clients stay in compliance with the court and complete their cases without any further hiccups or mishaps.

Our top priority is ensuring that our clients have access to the resources needed to pay their bonds, ensure they are staying compliant by doing weekly check-ins, and we are available 24 hours to answer any questions that may arise. Please keep in mind that we are Not attorneys, nor do we act in the capacity of an attorney. We will however answer questions pertaining to bail, warrants, missed court dates, and how one should proceed if they run into any compliance issues. All situations and cases are different so the assistance we provide, and restrictions are all done on a case-by-case basis.

Hopefully this article was helpful in shedding some light on what warrants are and the process of dealing with warrants. At Smith American Bail Bonds, we understand that dealing with warrants can be overwhelming which is why we are here to aid our clients in posting their bonds, staying updated on changes to the case/bond and instruction on how to move forward once their bond is paid/posted. The best thing to do when dealing with warrants is get them taken care of as soon as possible and when a surety bond is attached to a warrant we are here to help make that process more manageable and less stressful.

If you are currently looking for any bail bonds assistance just contact Smith American Bail Bonds at 317-531-5447. A Bail Bondsman is available 24 hours a day.