I'm Shea Candella. I run SheaBails LLC in St. Augustine, and if you or someone you love is out on bond right now especially on a violent charge you need to hear this from me before you learn it the hard way. Florida changed the rules on October 1, 2026, and the new rules are not forgiving.
What changed
The new law is called the Victim Safety in Pretrial Release Act (House Bill 397). It covers people arrested for violent offenses charges like assault, battery, stalking, robbery, kidnapping, and other felonies involving force or the threat of force who were released with a court order of no contact with the victim or another named person.
Before this law, breaking a condition of your release mostly meant a judge could revoke your bond and send you back to jail. Now it is worse: willfully violating a no-contact order is its own separate crime, on top of your original case.
Zero contact means ZERO
A no-contact order means no communication of any kind with the protected person:
No calls, no texts, no DMs, no social media messages, no showing up
No messages passed through friends or family having someone else deliver your message counts exactly the same as sending it yourself
Staying at least 500 feet away from their home, their car, and their workplace, unless your judge has ordered something different in writing
"She texted me first" is not a defense that keeps you free. Do not reply. Screenshot it, and call your attorney or call me.
The penalties are real
A first willful violation is a first-degree misdemeanor: up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine in addition to whatever happens in your original case.
A second or later violation is a third-degree felony: up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Officers can arrest you without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe you violated the order.
And if you are arrested for a violation, you cannot bond out that night. The law requires you to be held in custody until you see a judge at first appearance and that judge can revoke your original bond entirely.
Wearing an ankle monitor?
Separate law, same seriousness. Cutting, disabling, or tampering with a court-ordered electronic monitor is a felony all by itself, and the court must revoke your pretrial release not "may revoke." Must. You go back to jail, and only then can a judge even consider a new bond.
What I tell every one of my clients
Your bond conditions are not suggestions, and guessing is how people end up back in a cell over a thirty-second mistake. If you need to pick up belongings, arrange anything about children, or handle any situation that involves the protected person, we do it through the court never on your own.
If you're out on one of my bonds, call me before you guess. I answer 24/7: (904) 417-8196.
Shea Candella, SheaBails LLC, 190 Registry Blvd, Suite 105, St. Augustine, FL 32092 Florida License #W472799 Agency License #B000694