Maybe now, they'll stay in jail for a while

Here's a shocker: the three men arrested in connection with the weekend robbery and shooting of an off-duty Miami-Dade police officer, have all been arrested before.

Dedrick Brown and Travares Santiago, 20, and Willie Barney, 19, have been arrested numerous times according to public records.

L. to R., Dedrick Brown, Willie Barney and Travares Santiago.

One of the men, Dedrick Brown was out on felony bond after being arrested just last month on a charge of carrying a concealed firearm.

Click to enlarge.

Willie Barney, the man who police say shot the officer, was convicted in 2009 on an armed robbery charge.

And, despite being just 20 years-old, Travares Santiago has racked up a string of arrests that include auto theft, sale and possession of cocaine and marijuana and aggravated battery on a pregnant female.

But, it took their latest brush with the law to finally keep them in jail...at least for the foreseeable future. Today, all were ordered held in jail without bond.

Today, I asked Miami Beach attorney Michael Grieco how it was possible that these three could be walking the streets despite their criminal pasts. Here's his response:

Our criminal system, not just in Miami-Dade, but everywhere, is based upon an innocent-until-proven-guilty model.

Unless one is charged with a non-bondable offense (facing life in prison generally) or was either out of custody on a previous case or in violation of probation, he or she is entitled to a bond/pretrial release as a matter of right.

Carrying a Concealed Firearm is a third degree felony and usually carries no more than a $5000 bond (10% to a bondsman gets him out).

I am sensitive to a law-abiding citizens concern for safety, but an arrest does not necessarily mean guilt, and a Defendant is entitled to his day in court without sitting jail while he waits. In the case of the subjects in this case, they are young and have had very little contact with the system previously. They will be held without bond now because of the nature of the charge.

By the way.... here's a prediction: You probably won't be reading about the criminal pasts or seeing the pictures of these thugs in the pages of the Miami Herald anytime soon.