When a person is arrested or charged with a crime in Fort Collins, Loveland, or Estes Park, a judge can order Pre-Trial Services (PTS) to look into and monitor them throughout the duration of the case. If someone is in custody and awaiting a bond hearing, Pre-Trial Services is tasked with looking for any issues that might make the person unlikely to appear in Larimer County Court or not follow through with bond conditions. The red flags PTS looks for include:
- Any past failures to appear
- Lack of ties to Colorado
- Prior criminal history
- Current employment or lack there of
- Relationship to victim in case
- Nature of the crime (violent, domestic violence, etc.)
- Financial situation
- Property ownership / assets
- Information verification from people in Colorado
All the information Pretrial Services gathered is compiled into a report and given to the courts. The judge or magistrate will take this report and use it to set a bond, issue any protection orders, and assign bond conditions for a person’s release.
The Purpose of Larimer County Pretrial Services Upon Release
In most felony and some misdemeanor cases in Larimer, Boulder, and Grand County, a judge will order the person released to report to Pre-Trial Services for monitoring while on bond. This gives the court reassurance that the accused is likely to stay out of trouble, show up to court, and follow all the conditions of bond. A PTS case manager is assigned to the case and may require a daily or weekly call in and a call after every court appearance. Any violations with Pretrial are reported to the judge.
Pre-Trial Services Monitored Sobriety in Fort Collins
For most cases that involves Pretrial Services, the court will mandate no drug or alcohol use while on bond. This can be a condition even if the case had nothing to do with alcohol or substance abuse. Pretrial Services is in charge of monitoring the person’s sobriety. This can be in the form of daily or random breath analysis (BA) or urinalysis (UA) tests. For random BAs or UAs, PTS will provide a number to call daily which notifies the person if they have to report for a test. All results are provided to the court, including a no show for the test or a dilute result – not just the positive or negative test result.
If you or someone you love has been charged with a crime and is required to report to Pretrial Services, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys form the O’Malley Law Office at 970-658-0007 today. Together, we can protect your future.
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