By Madison Whittemore
WOODLAND, CA – Judge Dave Reed increased a woman’s bail from $10,000 to $15,000 last Thursday here in Yolo County Superior Court after the accused failed to appear at her court date for a misdemeanor charge.
The accused was charged with using personal identity or information of another person to obtain goods on June 28, 2022.
The accused was previously released on her own recognizance for a one year term and was supposed to be participating in community service according to the terms of her probation, the court said.
However, during Thursday’s diversion review, the accused failed to appear in court and failed to appear over Zoom. The defense attorney also noted that she was not appearing “977” for her client (meaning that the accused’s presence was not waived in this case).
While this was the accused’s first failure to appear, Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Allen requested a warrant be issued with which the defense acknowledged and agreed.
“A warrant will be issued, bail bond is forfeited, and new bail will be $15,000,” Judge Reed ruled.
But the defense quickly interjected and questioned the $5,000 increase in the accused’s bail bond.
Note, most bails for misdemeanors are significantly less than $10,000—usually falling in a $1,000 to $10,000 range depending on the nature of the misdemeanor. $10,000 is the average bail amount for a first-time felony charge—not a misdemeanor charge.
“Your Honor, this is a misdemeanor. I don’t know if the $15,000…” the defense argued before quickly being cut off by Judge Reed.
The judge said he would not be lenient with the $15,000 bail since the accused failed to appear on her $10,000 bail bond, adding, “She [the accused] needs more encouragement by a larger bail.”
