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Have you ever been so hungry, you could punch someone? Or firebomb a fast food restaurant? (Okay, that escalated quickly!) If so, you’re not alone. Here are five situations where food triggered attacks, made people thirst for revenge, or was straight up used as a weapon.

The Ill-Gotten Moon Pie

Moon pies are delicious, and nobody would agree more than Louisiana councilman John Givens. After being caught on tape eating a moon pie he hadn’t bought, the councilman flashed his ID at the store clerk and said, “You must not know who I am.” It didn’t matter; Givens was charged with theft and paid a $1000 bond. Wouldn’t it have been easier just to buy the pie?

The McChicken Disturbance

Marvin Hill of Iowa was sleeping one afternoon, when he awakened by his pregnant girlfriend and presented with a McChicken sandwich to eat. As it turns out, Hill hates McChickens, so he threw the sandwich at his girlfriend, then picked up the bun and forcefully smashed it into her face. He was charged with simple domestic assault.

The McNugget Rampage

Well, plenty of people do like McDonald’s food — maybe too much. When Melodi Dushane of Ohio showed up drunk to her local Mickey D’s, she became furious when she learned that the restaurant had stopped serving McNuggets for the night. Dushane was caught on video punching the drive-through worker, swinging at another, and punching the drive-through door until it broke. That’s just rude!

The Most Popular Taco Truck

Maria Arellano of Denver operated a taco truck that sold more than just delicious food. Apparently, Arellano was part of a drug ring that used the taco truck as its base of operations to sell meth. She and her customers had worked out code words to establish how much meth each customer wanted. It’s safe to assume she had lots of repeat business!

Vengeance Bell Grande

Hunger can make some people overreact. Maybe that played a part in a Georgia man’s decision to firebomb the Taco Bell that didn’t put enough meat on his XXL chalupa. The man discovered the stingy serving after he got home, and returned to the restaurant to ask for more meat. Unfortunately, the Taco Bell had closed for the night. Employees later smelled gasoline, and realized that the man had attempted to blow up the building! He was never caught.

Those were some humorous tales, but bail is serious business. If you need help posting your bond, ghttps://www.atxbb.com/contact.htmlive us a call so that we can get you out of jail fast!

Gathering up the funds to post bail may easily be one of the biggest concerns you may have about the bail process: how much do I pay up front? Is bail something I can afford? The team at ATX Bail Bonds offers financing and 24/7 assistance to secure your freedom on bail precisely when you need it most. Here we walk through the basics of financing bail to help you navigate your legal situation.

Posting Bail: Planning for Payment

When the courts consider a legal situation and setting a bail bond, the amount of bail is typically set at a significant amount so the defendant risks losing a large sum of money if they skip trial. You have several options when posting bail: paying the full amount in cash straight to the court, possibly mortgaging your property to cover the cost, or working with a bail agent to post a fraction of the total bail amount. Not only does working with an agent make bail more manageable financially, but a bail agent is able to swiftly and efficiently guide you through the bail process.

As we are dedicated to securing your freedom on bail, the team at ATX Bail Bonds offers financing to those who qualify. Call us today at 512-834-2245 for fast, affordable bail service.

Oscar Pistorius, the famous South African who became known as the first double amputee sprinter to compete in the able-bodied Olympics, is now also known as a convicted murderer. Pistorius killed his girlfriend in an incident in their home in 2013 and was first found guilty of culpable homicide. After serving one year of his 5 year sentence, South African prosecutors appealed his sentence and convicted him of murder in 2015. As Pistorius agreed to wait for the remainder of his trial under house arrest, he was considered a low flight risk, and a judge set his bail at $688.

Bail in the U.S. is also set by a judge. Many factors surrounding the charges are taken into account and this influences the amount that bail will be set at, or in extreme cases, if it will be allowed at all. Judges examine the nature of the charges, who the crime was committed against, where the crime was committed, and most importantly, if the defendant would threaten the safety of the community if released or if they would likely flee before trial.

Posting bail fast is our specialty: if you or a loved one need bail ASAP, call our team today at 512-834-2245. We post nearly bail 24/7 to help you when you need it most!

Facing charges for drug possession, cultivation, trafficking, or distribution can be incredibly frightening. The penalties for drug charges can be quite severe with long ranging, life altering consequences. It is crucial to post bail and seek assistance from qualified legal professionals. To help you access your right to posting bail and seeking council, we have briefly outlined drug charges here.

The Drug Enforcement Agency of the United States classifies drugs into schedules to help provide a more uniform system to monitor and control their use. These schedules categorize drugs based on their risk of dependency and their use in the medical field. They range from I to V in decreasing abuse potential. Schedule I drugs have no presently accepted use in the medical field and have a high risk of dependency, including LSD, methaqualone, ecstasy, heroin, marijuana, and peyote. Schedule V drugs have the lowest risk of dependency, and include drugs such as Lyrica, Robitussin AC, and other cough syrups.

Drug Charge Penalties

There are many factors that affect the penalties for drug charges. The nature of involvement, the amount, and the schedule of the drug are all considered. But no matter the charge, seeking legal counsel is critical when preparing for trial. Post bail today to secure your freedom and consult qualified legal professionals! Call us today at 512-834-2245 for fast, affordable bail. 

Innocent until proven guilty. This is one of the staple ideals that makes our country great. However, without the right to bail, this ideal would be meaningless. Throwing a person in jail is no way to treat the “innocent”. Luckily, the 8th Amendment ensures our right to bail. You’re still a citizen with full rights until conviction, which is why we treat each client with respect.

Retaining Inalienable Rights

Not only is it unjust to keep someone incarcerated before conviction, but it prevents them from working on their defense before trial. This is why the 8th Amendment, and ideals like innocent until proven guilty, are so important to our country. Not only do we treat each client with the same respect we reserve for every citizen, we put all of our energy into getting them bailed out as fast as possible.

Do you need to take advantage of a professional bail service? Let our agents help you. To find out more, please give us a call at (512) 834-2245.

While the right to bail is not established in the Constitution of the United States, freedom from “excessive bail” is provided under the Eighth Amendment. But what exactly is excessive bail? This is a question that our nation’s lawmakers have attempted to answer in a variety of ways. To begin the task of defining excessive bail, it is helpful to start by examining what the Supreme Court has to say on the topic.

There are two primary decisions issued by the Court that give us an idea of the limits on bail after an arrest – Stack v. Boyle (1951) and United States v. Slaerno (1987).

Stack v. Boyle

Overview

During the 1940’s and 1950’s, there was a great deal of fear regarding communist activities and sympathizers in the United States. One of the results of the widespread fear and anti-communist sentiments was the passage of the Alien Registration Act of 1940, also known as the Smith Act. The Smith Act established penalties for those who attempted to or advocated the overthrow the United States government.

In 1951, 12 members of the communist party were arrested for violating the Smith Act. The government set bail at $50,000 per defendant. The defendants petitioned to lower the bail based on their financial standing, arrest records, and other information. The government denied the request to lower bail. After appealing the decision, the case reached the Supreme Court who was left to answer the question: Does setting bail higher than usual for a group of defendants violate the Eighth Amendment?

Holding

The Court held that the bail set in Stack was excessive because it was higher than amount that was “reasonably likely to ensure the presence of the defendant at the trial” due to the financial standing of the defendants. This decision established the precedent that a court must have evidence that the defendant is a flight risk to set a bail amount that is higher than normal.

United States v. Salerno

Overview

Mafia boss, Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno, was arrested and indicted for violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as RICO. Salerno challenged his arrest on several fronts including that the 1984 Bail Reform Act was unconstitutional under the Fifth and Eighth Amendments. The Court was left to answer the question: Is the pretrial detention of a defendant punitive, and, therefore, a violation of the doctrine of presumed innocence – violating the defendant’s due process.

Holding

The Court dismissed Salerno’s claims that his detention violated his constitutional freedom from excessive bail. The Court reasoned that the government must balance individual liberty with protecting the greater society. In this instance, Salerno was proven to be a danger to others if released pretrial, making it a compelling interest for the government to detain him before his trial. Moreover, because the Act applied to limited circumstances, did not prevent a speedy trial and established a high burden of proof for the government, it was held to be constitutional.

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We occasionally hear of cases where accused persons are being held without bail. If the Constitution of the United States provides for the right to bail, how is it that bail is denied in some instances? Here we discuss a few of the many layers that are involved in the bail process and several factors that often influence how bail is decided.

Setting the Scene for Bail

When a judge is deciding how to set bail for someone accused of a crime, many factors surrounding the person and the nature of their charges are examined. If releasing the accused person will present a safety threat to the community, denying bail is especially considered. The chances that the person may flee the area to avoid trial is also highly considered.

The accused person’s mental and financial state, drug and alcohol use, their prior criminal history, ties to family and the community, the seriousness of the charges, and more are also examined when setting bail. If you or a loved one needs bail in Austin fast, call the professionals at ATX Bail Bonds at 512-834-2245. We post many types of bonds – any price, any time! We are available 24/7 to help you when you need it most.

Many states in the U.S. suspend certain rights from convicted felons. Texas is indeed in the practice of restricting the rights of felons, so if you or someone close to you has been convicted of a felony, understanding the rights of felons in Texas is crucial to living out your freedoms to their fullest extent. Here we have briefly detailed several rights that are typically restricted from convicted felons.

Restricted Rights

Texas often restricts several rights from convicted felons. Convicted felons in Texas lose the right to vote. Felons in Texas also lose the right to serve on a jury. For five years after the completion of a prison sentence, parole, or other condition, felons may not possess firearms. Felons may not possess body armor to protect from gunfire. In addition, certain occupational licenses may be revoked or denied as a result of a felony conviction.

It is important to remember that the individual terms of your sentence, parole, probation, or other condition are the authority on your rights as a felon. On a case by case basis, rights may be restored, or not revoked at all. This is indeed at the discretion of the sentencing judge. For further questions regarding the rights of convicted felons in Texas, call our team at 512-834-2245 today!

We all want to take pride in our legal system, considering how far it has come. However, between new laws and new interpretations of old laws, it changes constantly. If we want our voices to get heard during this change, we have to educate ourselves about the finer points. To that end, we’ve presented a little information about a current controversy: civil asset forfeiture.

How it works:

This practice allows cops to charge a piece of property rather than a person. When they do this, the owner has the burden of proof on him/her to persuade the court that they got their property through legal channels.

The purpose of civil asset forfeiture involves fighting the drug war. When cops don’t have enough evidence to charge someone for a drug crime, at least they can seize their profits.

Unfortunately, the costs of court generally outweigh the value of property taken, so most of the victims of civil asset forfeiture never go to court.

Opponents of this practice say cops have incentive (because they usually get to keep a portion of the worth of the seized property) to take property regardless of suspicion of a crime.

Proponents argue for the necessity of forfeiture in combating drug use and abuse.

Decide for yourself the direction you want this practice to go; as a voter, you have the power to affect this. If you ever find yourself in need of bail bonds, ATX Bail Bonds can help. To find out more, give us a call at (512) 834-2245.