(a) Any person who, having been released upon his personal recognizance or having been otherwise admitted to bail and released, and who shall willfully and without just cause fail to appear in Municipal Court, as and when it may be required of him, shall be guilty of the offense as hereinafter prescribed, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished in the manner hereinafter provided.
(b) If any such person was admitted to bail or released after being arrested for, charged or convicted of a misdemeanor and shall thereafter be convicted for a violation of the provision of subsection (a) hereof, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or confined in the County Jail for not more than thirty days, or both such fine and confinement.
(c) A law enforcement officer may issue a citation instead of making an arrest, if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person being cited will appear to answer the charge:
(1) The citation shall provide that the defendant shall appear within a designated time.
(2) If the defendant fails to appear in response to the citation or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that he will not appear, a complaint may be made and a warrant shall issue. When a physical arrest is made and a citation is issued in relation to the same offense the officer shall mark on the citation, in the place specified for court appearance date, the word “arrested” in lieu of the date of court appearance.
(Ord. 2016-14. Passed 9-6-16.)