Ventura County Adopts Steep Bail Increases

Aligning themselves with the toughest law-and-order counties in Southern California, Ventura County judges have adopted sweeping bail reforms designed to make it harder for suspects in violent crimes to get out of jail after arrest.

The steep bail increases reflect a hardening attitude toward those who have been charged with violent offenses but not yet convicted.

In the past, the purpose of bail was to make sure the defendant will show up for court. Now, the judges say, it is also to guarantee public safety.

Bail for many charges doubled. The cost of getting out of jail on a murder charge rose from $250,000 to $500,000. Bail for a rape charge increased from $50,000 to $100,000, while burglary went from $10,000 to $50,000.

One of the events that caused the judges to review the bail schedule was the death of Vicki Shade, 37, who was fatally stabbed by her estranged boyfriend last December. Roland Sheehan was out on bail at the time.

Bail in domestic-battery cases, spousal rape, and violations of a restraining order were also doubled. The changes give Ventura County the steepest bail on spousal rape cases in Southern California at $100,000 and the second steepest for misdemeanor domestic battery at $5,000.

“There’s no question that the decision to increase bail for stalking and to review the rest of the domestic-violence areas was the direct result of that tragedy,” said Superior Court Judge Vincent O’Neill, chairman of the county’s bail committee. “That one incident caused us to take a review, and we concluded we were too low. So for reasons of potential public safety we made the increases.”

Sheehan had violated a restraining order 15 times before he was put in jail for stalking Shade in early November 1998. He was released from jail, however, on Nov. 7 on $20,000 bail, despite repeated threats that he intended to kill the Ventura hairdresser.

One month later, Sheehan broke into Shade’s home and held her at knifepoint during a nine-hour standoff with police before plunging the knife into the woman. SWAT officers responded by firing at Sheehan 13 times, killing him.

County judges moved swiftly in the wake of the slaying to approve a fivefold increase in bail for stalking--from $20,000 to $100,000. The jump brought Ventura County more in line with surrounding counties, including Los Angeles and San Bernardino, where a stalking charge carries a $150,000 bail.

O’Neill said the incident left the county’s judges with a belief that more changes were needed, in the area of domestic violence and in other categories.

The six judges that make up the county’s bail committee decided to conduct a top-to-bottom review of their bonds, something that had not been done in three years, O’Neill said.

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“Since we did recommend increases in most domestic-violence offenses, we decided to go ahead and look at the other areas while we were at it,” he said.

The judges compared the county’s old bail guidelines with the seven other counties in Southern California, O’Neill said. But they also made changes based on their own opinions and courtroom experiences, O’Neill said.

Committee members met nine times since February before completing the changes. Usually, committee members only meet between one and three times annually, O’Neill said.

The recommendations were presented to the county’s judges during their monthly meeting last Wednesday. The changes received quick approval, judges said.

The bail hikes brought praise from Gina Giglio, clinical director for the Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, who noted that tougher bail amounts will give women “the time they need to get their lives together.”

Giglio said one of the biggest stumbling blocks for the more than 5,000 women she counsels each year is the fear that her attacker will easily get out of jail and return to her doorstep madder than ever.

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“So many times the police have put him in jail and he’s out the next day,” Giglio said. “But maybe that won’t happen so much now. This will give these women time to move out, find a job. . . . And if they know he’s in jail, they know they’ll be safe.”

One of the most significant changes, Giglio said, was doubling bail on repeat offenders, since batterers are typically convicted more than once.

“We who work in the field see it all the time,” Giglio said. “We see someone repeat and repeat and repeat the same offense and still walk away. Then the law becomes like a joke. This puts some teeth into it.”

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Shade’s family also was pleased with the tougher bails, which they saw as a fitting tribute to the slain woman.

“I’m happy they’re looking at this stuff harder now,” said Tiffany Baker, 25, Shade’s sister-in-law, from her home in Florida. “I’m just sorry it had to be my sister-in-law that had to lose her life for it. Maybe, if they were in place while she was alive, it could have made a difference.”

Baker said she would like to see authorities go a step further by notifying domestic-violence victims when their assailants are released from jail.

Ventura defense attorney Robert Schwartz said he wasn’t worried about the bail reform.

“Even if the bail schedule is high, usually the court always has the discretion to lower the bail or release the person on their promise to appear,” Schwartz said. “Obviously, if a person is very volatile and could do damage if released, the bail schedule could go even higher.”

Another important change, O’Neill said, was in the bail amount for offenses that could be filed as a misdemeanor or a felony. Felony offenses typically carry bails well over $20,000. But if a charge was later filed as a misdemeanor, bail plummeted to $2,500. Now, bail is half the felony amount.

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An additional $10,000 will also be added to the bail of any offender who commits a new crime while on probation, O’Neill said.

“Our most important goal here is public safety,” O’Neill said. “No longer is bail just used to ensure someone will return to court. We also want to make sure that the public is safe.”

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Revised Bail Schedule

This is a partial list of changes imposed by Ventura County’s courts.

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Violations 1998 1999 Murder $250,000 $500,000 Vehicular manslaughter $20,000 $50,000 Carjacking $50,000 $100,000 Assault with a firearm $20,000 $50,000 Rape $50,000 $100,000 Child abuse $20,000 $50,000 Burglary, first degree $10,000 $50,000 Sale of narcotics $20,000 $50,000 Possession of controlled substance $5,000 $10,000 Drunk driving with injury or death $10,000 $50,000 Domestic battery* $2,500 $5,000 Spousal rape* $50,000 $100,000 Corporal spousal injury* $10,000 $20,000 Violation of protective order (misdemeanor)* $5,000 $10,000 Stalking $20,000 $100,000

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* Bail is doubled for suspects with a previous domestic-violence conviction.

Source: Ventura County courts