Criminal Defense/Arrested on I-45
Arrested on I-45 in Freestone County?
Whether you’re reading this from the jail lobby in Fairfield or from a couch in Houston or Dallas, here is what happens next, and how one call to a former Freestone County prosecutor handles both the bond and the defense.
What Happens Next · Freestone County
From the shoulder of I-45 to the courthouse.
Most of these arrests start the same way: a speeding stop, an officer who says he has probable cause to search, and a drive to the county jail. Here is the road from there.
1 · The jail
Arrests in Freestone County go to the county jail at the Sheriff's Office in Fairfield. Leon County arrests go to Centerville; Navarro County to Corsicana.
- A justice of the peace usually comes by each morning to set bond
- Say nothing about the case to anyone but your lawyer
- Family can call Jacob before the bond is even set
2 · The bond
Jacob can post your bond himself.
- Faster than most bond companies: he knows the jail, the Sheriff and the paperwork
- Usually for less than a bondsman charges
- Bond and defense in one call, instead of paying twice
3 · The charge
What an I-45 arrest in this county usually is.
- THC gummies, vape pens and wax: felony weight, even from a smoke shop
- Pills, cocaine, methamphetamine
- Evading arrest in a motor vehicle
- Unlawful carrying of a weapon, added when there is a gun in the car
- DWI, by breath, blood or refusal
4 · The court
Misdemeanors go to County Court; felonies to the 87th and 77th District Courts in Fairfield.
- Cases are usually filed or indicted within two to three months
- An in-person arraignment, then monthly settings
- Hired early, Jacob can talk to the District Attorney before indictment: a lesser charge or pre-trial intervention is sometimes possible
- Leon County: the 87th, 278th and 369th District Courts and County Court
The THC Trap
Legal at the gas station. A felony on the shoulder.
The majority of possession arrests on I-45 are gummies, a vape pen, or wax, and most of the people arrested say the same thing: they bought it at a smoke shop or a gas station and the package said CBD. Texas draws the line at 0.3 percent THC. Under that, it’s hemp and legal. Over it, it’s a controlled substance, and the package doesn’t get a vote.
Around here the trooper makes the felony arrest on the roadside. The evidence goes to the DPS lab afterward, it comes back over the line, and the District Attorney does not weigh whether you knew. Gummies and wax are heavy, and the whole weight counts, so a bag from a smoke shop can be charged as a second-degree felony.
In Dallas or Houston the same bag often ends in an online class and a fine. Freestone County is ninety minutes from both and might as well be another state. Jacob has had to explain that reality to a lot of families, and it is the reason the defense has to be built here, by someone who knows how these cases are charged, how they are tested, and how the District Attorneys approach them.
Why Local Wins Here
The courthouse knows him. So does the jury.
For three and a half years the Freestone County District Attorney’s Office was two lawyers: the elected District Attorney and Jacob. That meant first-degree felony jury trials straight out of law school, and it meant prosecuting every one of the charges on this page in the same courtrooms where he now defends them.
Freestone County juries are ranchers, farmers, and church members. Jacob goes to church with them, his kids play with their kids, and he has tried cases in front of them. Out-of-town lawyers routinely misread this room: the arguments that play in a Dallas courtroom can sink a client in Fairfield. Walking in to tell the District Attorney a case is ridiculous does not go well here either. Knowing the people, and how to approach them, is the advantage.
It also costs less. Jacob’s office is minutes from the courthouse, so you are not paying a Dallas or Houston attorney’s rate plus the drive.
If You’re Calling for Someone Else
You can start this before they’re out.
Most of Jacob’s arrest cases begin with a call from a parent, a spouse, or a sibling while the person is still in the Freestone County Jail. That is the best time to call: bond, paperwork, and the first conversation with the District Attorney all move faster with a lawyer already involved. Have ready, if you can:
- Their full legal name and date of birth
- Where they are being held (Fairfield, Centerville, or Corsicana)
- The charge, exactly as written on their paperwork, if you have seen it
- Whether bond has been set yet, and for how much
Simple, From the First Call
How Jacob works.
Reach out
Call, email, or send the form. It takes two minutes, it's confidential, and it sets up a conversation with Jacob himself, not an intake service.
Sit down with Jacob
A consultation, in person or by phone: where you stand, what your options are, and what to expect next, including how the fee works. Plain language, no pressure.
Put your mind at ease
If we work together, you get a clear plan and one attorney who handles your case personally and keeps you informed at every step.
At work in the courthouses of Freestone, Leon, Limestone & Navarro counties.
Plain Answers
The questions families ask first.
General information, not legal advice. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. See also Criminal Defense.
Bond has to be set first, and in Freestone County a justice of the peace usually comes to the jail each morning to do that. The moment it is set, Jacob can post it himself, and because he knows the jail, the Sheriff's staff and the paperwork, that part moves fast. Call as soon as you know where they are; the earlier Jacob is involved, the sooner it moves.
Not to the arrest, and not to the District Attorney. In Texas anything over 0.3 percent THC is a controlled substance no matter what the package said, and the DPS lab decides the number after the arrest. It matters a great deal to the defense, though: how it was seized, how it was weighed, how it was tested, and what the lab can actually prove. That is Jacob's work.
This county is a different world from the one you drove in from. The same gummies that bring an online class and a fine in a big city bring a felony arrest here, and the juries are ranchers, farmers and church members who do not respond to big-city courtroom tactics. Jacob prosecuted these cases for Freestone County, tried them to these juries, and knows the District Attorneys and judges by name. His office is minutes from the courthouse, so you are not paying for anyone's drive.
It depends on the amount the judge sets. Before you pay a bail bond company anything, call Jacob: he can usually post the bond himself for less, and when he does, the bond and the defense come together in one arrangement instead of two separate bills.