Was Mayor Henry granted preferential bail after OWI?

FORT WAYNE, Indiana (WANE) — Mayor Tom Henry received his own acknowledgment, or “OR,” bail Saturday night after he was arrested for operating under the influence of alcohol.

Henry’s first contact with police was around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. He was not released from prison until around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. Then he was released at his own request.

According to local attorney Michelle Kraus, who is not associated with Henry or Henry’s case, the OR bond is typical of first-time offenders of nonviolent crimes in Allen County.

“It’s not at all uncommon for someone who is a first offender in a nonviolent offense like an OWI, I estimate 95% of people in that position are treated with an OR,” Kraus said.

Allen County Chief Public Defender William Lebrato has nothing to do with Henry or Henry’s case, but he also said many people accused of operating under the influence of alcohol for the first time have been released of their own accord, noting that everything seemed fine with Henry.

He added that prison staff typically wait until someone’s blood alcohol content drops below 0.02 percent — the legal limit is 0.08 percent — to release them.

According to paragraph 14 of the attached court document, no acknowledgment is the typical bond for an OWI. The document is in jail to determine pre-trial bail for those arrested:

Bail for intoxicated offenses is own acknowledgment (OR), subject to pre-trial service conditions.

While the release on OR varies from county to county, it is a type of bond that does not have a fine but comes with some type of condition or promise.

“It’s subject to conditions such as ‘not committing a crime, not drinking or drinking excessively, not using controlled substances.’ Sometimes people have to get in touch in person or by phone,” Kraus said. “So it’s almost like probation, but it’s a pre-trial, which means you haven’t been sentenced yet.”

According to court documents, at least six other people were arrested this weekend on OWI charges, and those people were also released on their own.

“From what I’ve been told and seen, (Henry) has not received any preferential treatment,” Lebrato said.