I take pride in listening to my clients, and doing whatever it takes to protect them, protect their record, and protect their future. I will fight for you!
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Why Choose Eric Benavides?
Fewer Clients, Better Service
Flexible Payment Plans
10.0 AVVO RATING
Available 24/7
Need Your Record Sealed?
Criminal Record Sealing: You might have options even if you were convicted, placed on deferred adjudication, a juvenile or your case was dismissed! Remember, dismissed cases can follow you for a lifetime unless you expunge the record!
A criminal lawyer is your last line of defense. Sometimes a criminal defense attorney is the only person on your side. It is important to work with someone who you are compatible with, who understands the goals of the case, and who is willing to fight for you.
Being arrested can be terrifying, you are all alone, and it can seem like it’s you against the world. Often people are wrongfully accused, but no one believes their story of what really happened. That is why it’s important to have a lawyer who is willing to listen and jump into your shoes and understand what truly happened. I pride myself on doing the best job possible for my clients. I am always accessible, I give my clients my cell phone, and I have a policy that if someone calls me I call them back the same day. The one thing a lawyer and client should always have is communication.
If you have been arrested call me, we can set up a time for you to come in to evaluate your case. A lot of times people ask me how long the consultation will be. The answer is, as long as it takes. I firmly believe in listening to my clients, and working together on a plan of action that will help achieve the best possible outcomes.
Every case is different. There is absolutely no way I could tell someone what is going to happen with a case or what the goal is, until we sit down, look at all the details, and make a game plan. Sometimes we (my client and I) plan from the start to fight the case 100% with absolutely zero percent chance of ever admitting guilt. Sometimes the water is a little murkier and we plan to show the State the reasons why we feel like we should be able to earn a dismissal, and worst case scenario, we plan to shoot for a certain punishment that we feel will best fit the needs of that particular client.
No matter what the situation, believe that I will figure out the best option for you.
Criminal investigations almost always lead to individuals being arrested. It is NEVER a good idea to talk to a police officer who is investigating you for a crime. Believe me, if they have enough to arrest you they are going to arrest you. Why would they need to talk to you? The answer is, they either want you to put your foot in your mouth and give them what they need to arrest you, or they have what they need and they are trying to make their case even stronger. Trust me, you are NEVER going to talk your way out of getting charged if an officer is trying to interview you about an incident.
The best plan of action is, tell the officer very politely that you would like to cooperate, but you would feel more comfortable consulting with an attorney before that happens. And that is it; they can never force you to talk to them.
Many times I can help prevent charges from ever being filed! Getting in early on these investigations is a win/win situation for you. Either you don’t get charged, and if you do, well you already have your lawyer who is protecting your rights.
I have potential clients call me all of the time and a majority of the time they tell me that they are worried because they found my website too late and they just had a long talk with an officer about an incident. It is very easy for me as an attorney to tell people not to talk to the police. When you don’t know the system human nature tells you to tell your side of the story. And police are authority figures, some people feel cornered and pressured into talking. So if you are reading this and you have already talked to the police that is ok, call me, I can still help. And make sure that you do not talk to anyone from this point on.
Your lawyer has the right to talk to the officers and get to the bottom of the investigation and see exactly what is going on. If the worst happens and you end up getting charged with a criminal case, you can rest easy knowing that your lawyer is already working on the case.
The thing that most people are scared of is getting arrested either at home in front of their kids, or at work in front of their co-workers. This can be a huge problem, and many people have lost their jobs in this exact scenario. I can prep your defense while trying to get a bond posted for you as quickly as possible.
Sometimes you can easily go to the bond company of your choice and post a non-arrest bond if you already have a bond set. But sometimes the bond is set extremely high, and sometimes there is no bond at all. Certain cases, such as domestic violence cases, require the signing of a magistrate’s order of emergency protection before a reasonable bond is set. If you were to turn yourself in, or if an officer arrested you, you would end up in jail for a day or two until you see a judge, sign the document, and get your bond set. And then on top of that, it will likely take another 12 hours to process you out of the county once your bond is paid.
In these types of situations, many times I can call the court, and have them take your file on the day of your choosing. We can talk to the bondsman that you decided to work with and ask them to accompany us to court. Once we are in court, we can ask the judge to set a bond, and then allow you to walk out of court with your bondsmen to go pay the bond. This can save you from spending days in jail, and can keep you from potentially losing your job. Every case is very different, so please call me at 713-222-2828 and we can discuss your particular situation.