Frequently Asked Questions About Bail Bonds In Walhalla SC

The South Carolina Legislature recently passed a law requiring bail bondsmen to charge 10% of the face amount of the bond. This was due to systemic undercutting by a contingent of the bail bond industry that got away with posting $100,000 bonds for as little as $25. Drolet Bail Bonds has never done that, and we follow the law with each bond posted. Undercutting the industry is predatory and trashy, and how we carry ourselves as bondsmen matters.

The answer is: A good bondsman has a code of ethics that they follow. How we carry ourselves as bondsmen matters. We hold tremendous power as bail agents in South Carolina; we don’t need a warrant to arrest a defendant if they decide to jump bail. We can also cross state lines to return them to jail. In order to respect that power and not abuse it, we have a no drugs, no alcohol policy for our agents.

Our bondsmen are 100% sober. The reason we carry ourselves to that standard and feel the need to say it is because it’s an open secret that a small segment of other bondsmen engage in illegal activity. These irresponsible, reckless people give bail bondsmen a bad name, which isn’t fair to those of us who conduct business in an honorable way.

Part of our job is to set an example for the people we bond out instead of partaking in the same behavior that got them locked up in the first place. If you don’t think your bondsman can pass a drug test, you shouldn’t use them! They have no business posting bonds.

Once we post the bond, release time can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour. In my experience, most defendants are released from custody within 20 minutes of me leaving the jail. Remember, the speed of release is out of our control once we post the bond. If you’ve been waiting for your loved one for some time, it’s best to call the jail at 864-638-4228.

If we agree to post your bond, we’ll need some basic details to start the application on our end. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Name + Date of Birth
• Length of residency in Oconee County, or length in the state if from out-of-county
• Phone numbers, including questions about how often the defendant changes their number
• Current and past addresses. If the mailing address is different from where they lay their head down at night, we want to know both!
• A list of the defendant’s closest associates, including family and friends
• Your basic info as co-signer and relationship with the defendant. How long have you known them?

No, it is not. The premium you pay to us is for the service we provide in bonding out your family member or friend. Once the bond is posted, the premium is fully earned. It works the same way regardless of the bail bond company you use, and any surety bond application you sign will clearly state the premium is nonrefundable at this point.

We take on tremendous risk with every bond we write. To state it plainly, if a defendant misses court, we may have to hire a bounty hunter to track down the defendant and return them to jail. Furthermore, the 10ᵗʰ Circuit Solicitor’s Office demands us to pay 50% of the face amount of the bond if we cannot locate the defendant within the 111-day grace period. We deserve to be compensated for this risk.

No. But we are available at all hours of the night to answer your call, another advantage we have over bondsmen who don’t get up in the morning. You get the best of both worlds with us: Early morning bond postings and late night business calls.

This is what Drolet Bail Bonds specializes in; it’s our bread and butter! A surety bond is set when the judge decides that you, the defendant, are a potential flight risk or a high enough risk to the community that a bail bondsman is needed to get you out. When we give the judge our power of attorney and post the bond, we are given a Bail II Proceeding Form. The judge checks one or more boxes that describe the reason for a surety bond, and a set of conditions (if any) are noted on the document. Failure to abide by court-ordered bond conditions can put you on the fast track back to the Oconee County Detention Center.

The best way to describe a surety bond is to view it as a contract between the court/state (the obligee), the bondsman (the surety), and the defendant (the principal). To protect their interests, bondsmen enter into agreements with indemnitors, who are close relatives or friends of the defendant. These agreements stipulate that the indemnitor will be responsible for reimbursing the bondsman if the bond is forfeited due to a defendant’s failure to appear. This is why you must understand what is at stake when you sign a bail bond contract. A responsible, above-board company will not act sneaky around these questions; we answer all of your questions, and we love to assure our Walhalla bail bond clients that we aren’t looking to financially bankrupt them. Ensuring the defendant shows up for court is a team effort.

A personal recognizance (PR) bond is set by a judge when the defendant is not considered to be a flight risk and isn’t deemed a serious threat to the community. Personal recognizance bonds are essentially bond contracts between the court (the “obligee”) and the defendant (the “principal”), without the need for cosigners or a surety bondsman. A judge decides whether to issue a PR bond or a surety bond during the defendant’s initial bond hearing. Note: PR bonds may be issued at a higher volume in some counties for political reasons due to pressure by liberal reform groups that wish to empty our jails into communities across the state.

A cash bond requires 100% of the bail amount handed straight to the clerk of court before anyone walks out of jail. While that money gets refunded when the case wraps up, very few families have that kind of liquidity sitting around.

Judges typically hand these down when they want total leverage — usually for severe charges, a documented habit of missing court, or if they view someone as an active risk to the community. (Think Alex Murdaugh in late 2021, who sat behind bars until he could produce the full $7 million cash bond ordered for his financial charges. Despite a history of stealing, he couldn’t come up with the money.) Furthermore, South Carolina law removes the judge’s discretion entirely under S.C. Code Ann. § 17-15-55 (C)(3): if someone already out on bond for a violent or gun-related offense catches a new violent or firearm charge, the court must impose a full cash bond to walk — a bill that routinely hits six figures.

Unless a judge strictly mandates cash-only under the statute, locking up your entire net worth in the court’s escrow is unnecessary. That’s where Drolet Bail Bonds comes in. Instead of tying up tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for months or years while the legal process grinds along, a licensed bondsman posts this power of attorney directly with the court for 10% of the total bond amount. You secure an immediate release, keep your family’s savings intact, and might be able to retain good legal counsel to fight your case.

Yes! We are on the list in both the men’s and women’s pods in the Oconee County Detention Center. If you need the defendant to speak with us before we post their bond, feel free to have them call our number on the wall. Remind them that outbound calls from the jail are recorded, and anything they say on that line can be used against them by the prosecutor’s office.