Pope County Detention Center

It holds men and women, people serving county sentences, and prisoners waiting for a state prison bed. If it is crowded on a weekend, ask 479-968-5599 whether your person was moved to another county.

A brand-new booking may lag by some hours, and released people vanish from the current list. Wait a bit, then phone.

A judge. Misdemeanors go to Pope County District Court in Russellville, 479-968-1393. Felony files sit with the Fifth Judicial Circuit; reach the circuit clerk at 479-968-7499. A number a deputy gives at booking is temporary until a judge confirms it.

One district judge covers every office. Russellville, 479-968-1393. Atkins, 479-641-1811. Dover, 479-331-3270. London, 479-293-4115. Pottsville, 479-567-5666. Ask the arresting agency or read the citation.

Rule 8.1 requires it without unnecessary delay, often about two days, and a holiday weekend can stretch that. If the jail line shows no bond yet, call again after the next business day's first court session.

Call 479-968-5599 and ask which door to use, whether it is open after 4:30 p.m., and which payment forms the desk takes. The sheriff's page links fine payments only, and a fine payment is not a bond.

The exact amount in cash, a photo ID, and the booking number. Call ahead about money orders or cashier's checks; a personal check is rarely taken. Whoever pays signs the bond paper and becomes responsible for court dates. Get a printed receipt.

About $225. State law fixes the rate at 10 percent, rounded up to the next $5, under Arkansas Code 17-19-301, and adds $10 and $15 per bond. None is returned. The state board keeps a county list of licensed agents; ask each agent for a license number.

Possibly. Rule 9.2 lets the court accept property as security. For equity, mobile home, or out-of-county land questions, phone the circuit clerk at 479-968-7499 before spending money. Have the deed, a recent tax bill and signatures from all owners ready.

Sometimes. A judge can let someone out on a written pledge to return, or take 10 percent down on an unsecured bond. Rule 9.2 returns 90 percent of that deposit when every court date is kept. Ask the district court clerk at 479-968-1393.

That is the judge's call. The sheriff's office releases people after payment, but the amount belongs to the judge, who changes it only after a lawyer files a motion. Bring proof of a job, housing, and family in the county.

Article 2, Section 8 permits denial of bail altogether only in capital cases when the proof is evident or the presumption great. Most such entries are holds for parole, probation, a state prison transfer, or another county's warrant. Paying a bond does not remove a hold.

Russellville police take arrests to the county jail, and city misdemeanors are heard in Pope County District Court.

Public defenders for the Fifth District work in Russellville and also serve Franklin and Johnson counties. A judge assigns them once an income form is filed, and they may seek a bond hearing.

Minors are not on the adult list and do not use cash bond. Juvenile probation, 404 North El Paso Avenue, 479-967-1520, handles intake. A judge decides at a detention hearing whether a youth stays locked up, so ask that office where the youth is held.

It does not. That money only buys calls and snacks. Callers who want gift cards or wired money for a release are crooks, so hang up and phone 479-968-5599.

Missing a hearing may mean a warrant for the person and a lost bond. Call the circuit clerk, 479-968-7499, or the district clerk, 479-968-1393, for the next date, then get legal help quickly. A bondsman may send an agent, and the co-signer owes the whole bond.

Pope County books adults in Russellville, and its district court keeps offices in five towns:

• Pope County Detention Center: #3 Emergency Lane, Russellville, AR 72802 · 479-968-5599
• Circuit Clerk, Pope County Courthouse: 100 West Main Street, Russellville, AR 72801 · 479-968-7499
• District Court, Russellville: 1506 East 2nd Street, Suite 2, Russellville, AR 72801 · 479-968-1393
• District Court, Atkins: 305 East Main Street, Atkins, AR 72823 · 479-641-1811
• District Court, Dover: P.O. Box 258, Dover, AR 72837 · 479-331-3270
• District Court, London: 10460 U.S. Highway 64 West, London, AR 72847 · 479-293-4115
• District Court, Pottsville: 173 East Ash Street, Pottsville, AR 72858 · 479-567-5666
• Juvenile Probation: 404 North El Paso Avenue, Russellville, AR 72801 · 479-967-1520

The Dover office lists only a post office box, so call that clerk before you drive over.

Federal custody does not run through the county bond desk. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas handles Pope County cases in its Central Division, seated at the federal courthouse in Little Rock, 500 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-604-5351. Expect roughly this:

• Prosecutors file a complaint, or a grand jury votes an indictment.
• A magistrate judge handles the defendant's first court date.
• Pretrial services gathers facts on the defendant's life and record.
• The government states whether it wants the person kept in jail.
• When release is granted, the conditions are put in writing.

The Marshals have charge of federal prisoners: U.S. Marshals Service, 600 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-324-6256.

Yes. A detainer under 8 CFR 287.7 asks the jail to warn ICE ahead of release and hold the person up to 48 hours longer, weekends and holidays included. Each Arkansas jail may choose whether to go along. The Pope County charge continues on its own.

Arkansas is served by the ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. Detainees ICE picks up in the Arkansas River Valley often go to Louisiana, to sites like:

• LaSalle ICE Processing Center: 830 Pinehill Road, Jena, LA 71342 · 318-992-1600
• Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center: 1133 Hampton Dupre Road, Pine Prairie, LA 70576 · 337-599-2400

Searching the ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/) by A-number is quickest; lacking one, enter a full name and native country.

The person might have been released, might still be in booking, or might be held elsewhere. Try these searches:

• Pope County Detention Center: Pope County Inmate Search. Search a last name and open the record for the charges and bond.
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). Pick Arkansas to search all counties and sign up for alerts.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/). Enter a register number for a precise result. Pretrial federal detainees sometimes do not show; contact the Marshals at 501-324-6256.
• Arkansas Division of Correction: Arkansas Division of Correction Inmate Search (https://apps.ark.org/inmate_info/). Look up state inmates by name or ADC number.

Phone first to avoid a wasted trip. The detention line, 479-968-5599, confirms custody and the bond. The Russellville district clerk, 479-968-1393, can find misdemeanor and ticket dates for any town office, and the circuit clerk, 479-968-7499, has felony dates; juvenile probation at 479-967-1520 knows youth hearings.

Try the detention line, 479-968-5599. Weekday daytime questions go to 479-968-2558. Give the full name and the birth date when you call.

A misdemeanor in Pope County is filed in the district court department that covers where it happened: Russellville covers the city and most rural areas, while Atkins, Dover, London and Pottsville each take their own part of the county. Russellville police, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers commonly issue citations with court dates instead of making arrests. State rules call for a quick first appearance once a person is booked in Russellville. Without a warrant, a judge has 48 hours to find probable cause. Judges begin with the mildest release terms. A secured bond may be posted with help from a state-licensed bond company.

Arkansas grades most misdemeanors by class. Class A can bring a year behind bars plus $2,500 in fines; Class B, no more than 90 days and $1,000; Class C, no more than 30 days and a $500 fine. Theft up to $1,000 and third-degree battery are Class A; trespass is Class C in most cases. A first DWI is unclassified, with a jail range of one day to one year, a fine between $150 and $1,000, an alcohol education program and a suspended license, though community service often substitutes for the jail day.

The district judge decides misdemeanor cases without a jury. Someone convicted in district court has 30 days to appeal, and circuit court then tries the matter anew, jury included if asked. When jail is possible and the person is too poor to hire a lawyer, a public defender may be requested. The 5th Judicial District public defender office, based in Russellville, is part of the state system funded by the Arkansas Public Defender Commission, and judges may assess a user fee that takes the defendant’s finances into account.

Under 18: Pope County youths charged with misdemeanors go to the circuit court's juvenile division. Teen traffic tickets are the main exception and are handled in district court. The Pope County Juvenile Probation Office, 404 North El Paso Avenue, Russellville, (479) 967-1520, screens referrals and can resolve many first offenses informally through counseling, community service, restitution or diversion. If intake decides a youth should be locked up, Arkansas law gives the court 72 hours to hold a detention hearing. A youth is entitled to counsel, and the court assigns a lawyer if the family cannot pay.

A Pope County felony usually opens in district court. There the judge checks probable cause on warrantless arrests, sets bond and weighs naming the public defender. The 5th District prosecutor next files a written information to start the felony case; Arkansas permits this method instead of a grand jury indictment, and it is used in nearly every case.

Rule 28.1 generally requires a felony trial within 12 months of arrest or charge, excluding delays requested or caused by the defense. Felony trials in circuit court are decided by 12 jurors who must agree unanimously. If the defendant is convicted, the jury typically hears further evidence and sets the sentence within the range allowed by law.

Sentencing ranges by felony class: Class Y, between 10 and 40 years or else life; Class A, 6 to 30 years; Class B, 5 to 20; Class C, 3 to 10; and Class D, up to 6. Maximum fines are $15,000 for Class Y and A felonies and $10,000 for Class B, C and D. Burglary of a home is Class B; burglary of a business is Class C by statute. Theft turns felony above $1,000 and climbs a class past $5,000 and again past $25,000. How a drug delivery charge is graded turns on which substance was sold and how much of it; fentanyl delivery convictions now require serving at least 85% of any prison term. Once a driver collects a fourth DWI inside a ten-year span, the charge becomes a Class D felony.

Under 18: If the accused is 16 or 17 and the charge is a felony, the 5th District prosecutor picks a delinquency petition or an adult filing. Prosecutor or defense can seek a move between courts. The judge then puts findings in writing on the crime's seriousness and any violence, the youth’s past and maturity, and the services open before age 21. In juvenile court, outcomes include probation supervised by the Pope County Juvenile Probation Office, treatment programs and commitment to the Arkansas Division of Youth Services. A grave felony can be placed under Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction, giving a juvenile outcome plus an adult sentence that waits in the background.

In Pope County, violent felonies follow the usual path, though most of these defendants stay jailed. Article 2, Section 8 of the state constitution permits holding a capital defendant with no bail if the proof is evident or the presumption great. For other violent charges, bonds are usually set high.

• Capital murder: a conviction leaves two options, execution or life in prison without parole. There are 23 people on Arkansas death row. The most recent execution was in April 2017, and a 2025 law made nitrogen gas a second method next to lethal injection.
• First-degree murder: Class Y, with 10 to 40 years or life as the range. A second-degree murder conviction, graded Class A, brings 6 to 30 years.
• Rape and aggravated robbery: each a Class Y felony.

For crimes from January 1, 2025 on, the Protect Arkansas Act (Act 659 of 2023) bars early release when the crime is capital murder, rape or aggravated robbery. Several more crimes, among them second-degree murder and manslaughter, now need 85% or more of the term served. Under state law, victims get notice of hearings, may be present, and may give an impact statement ahead of the sentence. The 5th District prosecutor’s office in Russellville assists victims and their families through the case.

Under 18: Adult court is open to 14- and 15-year-olds only for listed grave crimes, for instance capital murder, kidnapping, first-degree murder or battery, rape, or aggravated robbery. For 16- and 17-year-olds, any felony qualifies. A teen in adult court can ask to be moved to juvenile court, but the burden is clear and convincing proof. No death sentence is allowed for an offense before age 18. A 2017 law makes parole review possible at 30 years for a teen offender serving time for capital murder.

Pope County's criminal courts meet in Russellville and four smaller towns:

• Circuit Court and Circuit Clerk: 100 West Main Street, Russellville, AR 72801, 479-968-7499
• District Court, Russellville: 1506 East 2nd Street, Suite 2, Russellville, AR 72801, 479-968-1393
• District Court, Atkins: 305 East Main Street, Atkins, AR 72823, 479-641-1811
• District Court, Dover: P.O. Box 258, Dover, AR 72837, 479-331-3270
• District Court, London: 10460 U.S. Highway 64 West, London, AR 72847, 479-293-4115
• District Court, Pottsville: 173 East Ash Street, Pottsville, AR 72858, 479-567-5666
• Juvenile Probation Office: 404 North El Paso Avenue, Russellville, AR 72801, 479-967-1520

Every town office handles its own tickets, misdemeanors and first felony hearings. The circuit court on West Main hears felony trials, youth cases and appeals.

Pope County, anchored by Russellville and Arkansas Tech University, is the Arkansas River Valley’s busiest court center. Felonies, juvenile delinquency and appeals from district court all go to the Pope County Circuit Court in the Pope County Courthouse, 100 West Main Street, Russellville, AR 72801. For court-related matters, the circuit clerk’s office answers at (479) 968-7499. Pope is the most populous of the three counties in the 5th Judicial Circuit, which also takes in Franklin and Johnson counties, and the circuit’s judges share their dockets across all three. Families can also read our bond guide.

The Pope County District Court handles misdemeanors, traffic violations and the first hearings in felony cases. Its main Russellville Department is at 1506 East 2nd Street, Suite 2, Russellville, AR 72801, (479) 968-1393, and the same judge also presides over smaller departments that serve Atkins ((479) 641-1811), Dover ((479) 331-3270), London ((479) 293-4115) and Pottsville ((479) 567-5666). The elected Prosecuting Attorney for the 5th Judicial District works from the fourth floor of the courthouse at 100 West Main and prosecutes felonies and state misdemeanors throughout the three counties.

Pick a charge category.

This is a general look at how Pope County criminal cases move, offered without legal advice. A person who is charged can retain a defense lawyer or ask the circuit clerk how to get one appointed at (479) 968-7499.

Call the detention line (479-968-5599) first, then the circuit clerk (479-968-7499) for felony hearings or juvenile probation (479-967-1520) for youth cases; the Russellville district clerk (479-968-1393) has misdemeanor and ticket dates.

Yes. The sheriff's office keeps a public warrants page, and deputies at 479-968-2558 can confirm whether a listing is current. For court filings, the Arkansas judiciary's Search ARCourts site offers a free statewide case search. To clear a warrant, talk with a defense lawyer first; they can often arrange a walk-in surrender at the jail on Emergency Lane with bond already set. The Circuit Clerk in Russellville handles felony files at 479-968-7499. Bring a photo ID and any paperwork you have.

A federal charge from Pope County goes to the Central Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas and is heard at the federal courthouse at 500 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201; the Little Rock clerk can be reached at (501) 604-5351. The key question is whose statute was violated. The Arkansas Code covers the great majority of local crime, from shoplifting at a Russellville store to an assault in Atkins, and those cases are prosecuted by the 5th District prosecutor. Congress has created a separate set of crimes enforced by the U.S. Attorney: running drugs along Interstate 40 between Oklahoma and Little Rock, gun possession by a convicted felon, robbing a federally insured bank, mail fraud, and offenses on federal property, such as the Ozark National Forest north of Russellville or the Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge.

For Pope County, federal charges are tried by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in its Central Division at the federal courthouse in Little Rock, 500 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-604-5351.

• A magistrate judge presides at the first federal hearing.
• Pretrial services files a background summary with the court.
• Federal prosecutors may push for detention until trial.
• In federal court, a grand jury usually brings felony charges.
• The U.S. Marshals hold federal detainees: U.S. Marshals Service, 600 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-324-6256.

Little Rock is about an hour and a half east of Russellville on Interstate 40, so allow travel time for federal hearings.

• Pope County Detention Center: Pope County Inmate Search. See who is booked on Emergency Lane.
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). Set Arkansas to check custody across the state.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/). Search the federal prison list by a name or a register number.
• Arkansas Division of Correction: Arkansas Division of Correction Inmate Search (https://apps.ark.org/inmate_info/). Look up state inmates by name or ADC number.

A detainer allows ICE to ask the Russellville jail for up to 48 extra hours of custody past release, with weekends and holidays counted. Meanwhile, the Pope County case goes on.

The ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360 has Arkansas, and ICE detainees from the river valley are often sent to Louisiana:

• LaSalle ICE Processing Center: 830 Pinehill Road, Jena, LA 71342 · 318-992-1600
• Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center: 1133 Hampton Dupre Road, Pine Prairie, LA 70576 · 337-599-2400

An A-number works best in the ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/); a full name and birth country can stand in.