Arrest warrent for friend going to fly. What should i do...

IrishLadMark

Hey all. Not sure what forum section to post this in so going to do it here and also the travel section as ive heard these two are the best to get answers/most traffic.

So the problem is in August myself and a group of friends are travelling to Australia for 'x' amount of time. We will probably apply for a working visa. One of my friends has bassically had a warrent out for his arrest since this time last year. It was for nothing major. He got caught doing a small scam selling rugby tickets in an Irish town and scammed about 600euro. Anyway he was arrested on the day and bailed at no cost (which was a bit surprising as he is a northern ireland resident and has never lived in the republic.

He was told that all he had to do was show up with the 600euro (which he still had) next week and pay it back and no further action would be taken. The idiot that he is he didnt do it and he has never given another thought about it.

Im worried when we get to australia or even a holiday we are taking to france next month, that he will be detained by customs or something and obviously that would be embarrassing. Ive told him many times to just go down and pay the money, make a small donation to a local charity around that town and nothing more will probably be said but he refuses.

Your help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

charlemont

If he hasn't attended court then there cant be a warrant out for him..

IrishLadMark

charlemont wrote: »

If he hasn't attended court then there cant be a warrant out for him..

Sorry i meant he was arrested, bailed, showed up at court, given an extension but told if he didnt show up and pay that time there would be a warrent out.

He then didn't show up.

As far as i know tho he has been arrested for being drunk and dissorderly in Northerne Ireland and just let go the next morning. Wouldnt that mean their computers showed no warrents?

Yahew

Bench Warrant.

COUCH WARRIOR

He's prob. away and clear in terms of going to Australia, but just in case, make sure you have independant tickets. So you can just leave him if he gets into trouble.

IrishLadMark

Yahew wrote: »

Bench Warrant.

What does that mean?

I really don't want him to miss out on the trip. I think he actually does want to go down and pay it but he's afraid of being sent away for a few months and missing out on the trip. For the record, before this he had never had a warning or been arrested for anything.

As much as he was an asshole for doing it he's been a friend for 15 years so i don't want him being embarrassed at the airport etc!

cursai

IrishLadMark wrote: »

What does that mean?

I really don't want him to miss out on the trip. I think he actually does want to go down and pay it but he's afraid of being sent away for a few months and missing out on the trip. For the record, before this he had never had a warning or been arrested for anything.

As much as he was an asshole for doing it he's been a friend for 15 years so i don't want him being embarrassed at the airport etc!

A bench warrant is an arrest warrant issued for breach of Recognisance(BAil). In this case he was bailed to a court date which he never showed up for.

Yahew

IrishLadMark wrote: »

What does that mean?

I really don't want him to miss out on the trip. I think he actually does want to go down and pay it but he's afraid of being sent away for a few months and missing out on the trip. For the record, before this he had never had a warning or been arrested for anything.

As much as he was an asshole for doing it he's been a friend for 15 years so i don't want him being embarrassed at the airport etc!

A bench warrant is issued by a judge when someone fails to turn up at court. Honestly you could have one for missing a parking ticket. Its unlikely that any of this is known internationally, so if he is in the UK, and flies from the UK I cant see much of an issue. And it is unlikely that the Australians have a list of Irish bench warrants ( you can get one of those for failing to pay a parking fine and then missing a court date - common enough if people move house).

Anyway, I am 90% sure he can fly from Britain and get there without problems. If not he gets deported back. Thats not the end of the world.

BrianD

He'll have to answer this question on the landing card for Australia.

"Do you have a criminal conviction? Yes/No"

We'll keep an eye out for him on future episode of "Australian Border Patrol"!

BTW, I wouldn't call taking €600 off people a "small scam". If true, your friend is a thief.

Yahew

BrianD wrote: »

He'll have to answer this question on the landing card for Australia.

"Do you have a criminal conviction? Yes/No"

He doesn't. By turning up he would have ( as paying would have agreed to his guilt).

We'll keep an eye out for him on future episode of "Australian Border Patrol"!

BTW, I wouldn't call taking €600 off people a "small scam". If true, your friend is a thief.

Hmm, I tend to agree, on the other hand there are a fair few people with greater theft than that in their record collection.

MagicSean

He can ring the Garda station he was involved with and arrange to meet the Garda at court to execute the warrant. If he brings the money as well as some more for the fine he can deal with it then and there. A good local solicitor should be able to get him off without a conviction if he has no previous. Best he could do is contact a solicitor he works in the court he was in.

gustafo

My mate went to oz on a whv and he was in prison for 10 months he just put down on the card that he has no convictions he never had a problem with oz immigration.

IrishLadMark

BrianD wrote: »

He'll have to answer this question on the landing card for Australia.

"Do you have a criminal conviction? Yes/No"

We'll keep an eye out for him on future episode of "Australian Border Patrol"!

BTW, I wouldn't call taking €600 off people a "small scam". If true, your friend is a thief.

Yeh guys im 100% not trying to justify what he did. He fell into the wrong crowd and before this he had no record what so ever. AFAIK the judge even said this would not go on his record if he paid the money. He is such an idiot for not going and paying it.

Considering what you hear on the news most irish jails are overloaded so i very much doubt he will get jail but he doesnt believe me. I know for a fact he does want to get it cleared up. There was not even a fine to pay. He just had to pay back the 600 for the tickets.

If he turned up at the garda station would they arrest him and detain him until the next court session is available or what? Thanks for the feedback and hopefully there will be more when i check back later!

IrishLadMark

So does anyone want to sum it up and suggest what the best thing to do is....

Thanks!

Yahew

Ok.

There is a bench warrant out for his arrest in Ireland. There are millions of bench warrant around the world. Its not a proof of conviction, or guilt, so he can legally say he was not convicted of anything in Ireland, and they almost certainly dont have anything on record in Oz. Going to the Gardai to "clear it up" may be the right thing to do, but would result in a guilty plea, and record, although he probably wont go to jail. I assume his passport is UK.

There is almost 0% chance that Australian immigration know anything about your friend. Just go.

BrianD

gustafo wrote: »

My mate went to oz on a whv and he was in prison for 10 months he just put down on the card that he has no convictions he never had a problem with oz immigration.

There will always somebody who gets through - I wouldn't rely on your friends experience. The Aussies can be quite thorny at their border.

IrishLadMark wrote:

Considering what you hear on the news most irish jails are overloaded so i very much doubt he will get jail but he doesnt believe me. I know for a fact he does want to get it cleared up. There was not even a fine to pay. He just had to pay back the 600 for the tickets.

This sound like the outcome of a court case but you say he hasn't been to court. Can you clarify? Has a court hearing been held in his absence?

IrishLadMark

Hi brian. For yourself and others, this is what happened step by step

NO PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS/WARNINGS/ARESTS

Arested
kept overnight in local cell
court next morning
bailed
showed up to court hearing next week when expected to pay
didn't pay so given a month to come back with no bail required
hasent showed since

This took place a little over a year ago in ireland and he is a northern Ireland resisdent who has and probably will never live in Ireland. He has a uk passport also.

MagicSean

You don't get a new bail each time you go to court. It's just extended. Your friend could either have a bench warrant or penal warrant. Only way to find out is contact the gardai. Both are easily sorted.

IrishLadMark

Ok so it turns out he actually has to get his passport renewed! Its a british passport so assuming he applies will he get rejected?

BrianD

Was he convicted of anything when he got to court?

Surely the judge made a decision that was recorded by the court?

Even if he travels on another passport he still has to answer the question on the landing card which applies to anywhere in the world.

What he would need to ascertain is does he have a conviction.

IrishLadMark

No not convicted of anything... Just ordered to pay back the money he scammed from the fake rugby tickets

PCPhoto

if he was ordered to come back in X amount of weeks to pay off the money he stole ...then he must have pleaded guilty.

Chances are the judge would have given him the "benefit of the doubt" if he had paid but its more than likely due to his non appearance a bench warrant would have been issued - and most likely not executed (so he could be in trouble if he ever has to deal with the Gardai in the future)

Simple solution would be for your friend to contact the Gardai and see if they can assist him in finishing the matter - as long as he has the money to pay up everything should be alright (like a lot of court appearances in Ireland .... if you "make a donation to the poor box or garda benevelent fund" you face getting a lenient judge.

Reloc8

charlemont wrote: »

If he hasn't attended court then there cant be a warrant out for him..

In fact not attending court is exactly why there is a warrant out for him (and if he hadn't shown on the first day due, again a warrant would have issued).

That said, it is necessary here to establish whether in fact there is a warrant.

It's clear that the person in question turned up day one and admitted guilt to the charge/charges.

In an Irish district court, where a person is given a chance to pay compensation etc. in respect of a criminal charge, on foot of which no conviction will be recorded, the judge will often if not usually indicate the sentence which they propose to impose if the money is not paid.

If a person doesn't show up for the next court appearance, that order is generally just made in their absence. Could be convict and fine a certain amount, could be convict and imprison (i.e. there will be a committal warrant out) or a penal warrant if a fine was imposed and unpaid.

However where a prison sentence is contemplated it is more usual/best practice to issue a bench warrant for arrest prior to sentence. Where no alternative consequence has been indicated by the judge dealing with the matter on day 1, again a bench warrant is usually issued as opposed to finalising in the absence of the defendant.

Victor

Have your friend go to a solicitor and have hte solicitor arrange to make enquiries / have the money paid.