A Seattle domestic violence charge can get you sentenced to jail time, find many other penalties. It can also result in a restraining order which can lead to penalties if violated. The Seattle Times reports a story in which a man, Gabrielle Hernandez, who was in jail after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend in October was recently sentenced to 4 years of jail for violating his restraining order while he was incarcerated.

When Hernandez was arrested for assault, a restraining order was also issued to bar him from contacting his girlfriend. Soon after, Hernandez reportedly began contacting his girlfriend from jail by calling his own cell phone knowing that she would answer. He then moved on to contacting bail bond companies and asking them to call her for assistance. What's more is that the assault charges were eventually dropped because the victim did not appear in court. If an investigation was not done into his restraining order violations, Hernandez would have gone free. There was no report on why the victim (Hernandez's girlfriend) failed to appear in court, but it shows that Seattle police will work hard to crackdown on domestic violence suspects even if the victims are not willing to cooperate.

This case is also receiving attention because of the recent controversy over how misdemeanor domestic violence cases are handled in Seattle. District attorneys were concerned that misdemeanor cases were not getting the attention they required because detectives were only allocated to investigate felony domestic violence cases. As a result of these objections, police chief Jim Pugel announced that he would be taking steps to allow detectives to work on misdemeanor cases such as this one. Detectives were able to research the phone calls made by Hernandez and speak to the bail bond companies contacted in order to build the case against him.

If you are involved in a domestic violence case in Seattle, it is very important to contact an attorney right away. This case shows that, even if the alleged victim does not want to press charges, you can still face long periods of jail time and other penalties. A lawyer can help you fight your charges and make informed decisions .