As Pinellas court shows, cases for lowering bail can go quickly

LARGO — The red-haired woman stands before a judge, looking scared, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"The bottom line," she says, "is I don't want him to get out.''

Her boyfriend was locked up on a charge of domestic battery by strangulation, allegedly choking her during an argument. Now his attorney is asking to lower his bail from $7,500 to $2,500, making it easier to get out of the Pinellas County Jail before trial.

Judge Paul Levine has an idea: He would lower the bail, but insist he stay away from alcohol and wear a device that instantly alerts authorities if he doesn't.

"What about me?" the woman asks, sounding panicked. "He tried to break my neck. ... He told me he knows he's going to prison."

Now Levine pauses. "I'm just a little concerned," he says, because of the additional threat, and denies the request to reduce bail.

Ten minutes. That's what it took to decide whether this man should get lower bail — and a better chance of getting out of jail. It was only one case in a three-hour whirlwind of deals, drama and decision-making known as the "bond reduction calendar."

This twice-weekly rite in the Pinellas criminal courts complex is seldom watched by anyone except attorneys and two unfortunate groups of people: crime victims and family members of the accused.

But these hearings play an important part in the safety of your neighborhood. They help decide who gets out of jail, and who's too dangerous to risk it, while defendants await trial.

The process recently came into the spotlight because of three Cuban men charged with stealing a sleek, $225,000 go-fast boat, the type often used by human traffickers. Even though the case seemed to have flight risk written all over it, a judge in the Pinellas-Pasco circuit in March reduced bail for two of the men from $50,000 to $25,000.

The men posted the reduced bonds and disappeared.

• • •

When people get arrested in Pinellas County, officials set their bail at the jail according to guidelines. Soon after, they go to a judge for a first appearance.

A week or 10 days later, if they are still being held, they can ask to have their bail reduced.

And a lot of people do. The St. Petersburg Times attended the bond calendar on a recent Friday morning, and the attorneys ripped through 91 cases. In 31 of them, attorneys, victims or family members offered arguments. In the 60 others, Assistant State Attorney Gary White and Assistant Public Defender Jonathan Saunders agreed to reductions without requiring a decision from the judge.

According to the newspaper's unofficial tally, bail was reduced for 77 defendants that day by a total of $653,000.

Of the 31 cases argued before the judge, Levine denied 14 requests to lower bail. Attorneys also withdrew a handful of other bail reduction requests when Levine hinted he would probably deny them.

Why not refuse to reduce bail at all? Wouldn't that be the safest thing?

"No. 1, you'd have jail overcrowding," said Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett.

Although his office regularly objects to lowering bail for violent and repeat offenders, he said nonviolent offenders can sometimes be safely released. So prosecutors will agree to reductions in those cases, and put their efforts into keeping others in jail.

Besides, the defendants are presumed innocent, said Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger.

He said people have a constitutional right to reasonable bail — and what's reasonable for a millionaire is different from what's reasonable for a homeless person.

"We have to let some people out," added Levine, a Pinellas County judge, citing jail crowding in recent years. "The question is, which ones?"

The answer to his question: people who have strong ties to the community and are likely to show up for court hearings; and people who aren't likely to be violent or commit new crimes.

The testimony is designed to help the judge decide.

During the recent bond calendar, one father pleaded for an 18-year-old son he has hopes for, who was being held without bail. "He's got college lined up, he just graduated from high school a couple months ago, and he's set to go off into the service."

But Assistant State Attorney Gary White said the young man helped set up a meeting in which two men confronted another over drugs, and one ultimately shot the victim in the head.

"These charges don't get much more serious," Levine said. He set the bail high, at $350,000.

In another case, a tall, sandy-haired man stood up. His girlfriend is accused of stabbing him with a 10-inch screwdriver and was being held on $10,000 bail. He asked the judge to let her out.

"You could have been killed, you know that?" Levine asked.

The man nodded silently, and added, "I just don't want her in jail."

Based on the man's plea, Levine ordered the woman released on her own recognizance.

One attorney tried to reduce bail by explaining that his client is stable and hardworking, and that 47 supporters wrote letters attesting to his good character.

But that wasn't enough for Levine to lower the man's $111,000 bail for sexual battery and other charges.

The victim also appeared in court and said the man assaulted her, stalked her, showed her a big knife and said "he will cut my head off."

"I think," Levine said to the attorney, "this might be a little premature."

Tuesday, Levine and the attorneys will be back at it. The calendar for the hearings is up to 75 pages, with a total of 95 defendants, and possibly more to come.

Curtis Krueger can be reached at ckrueger@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8232.