Every adult booking in the county lands at the Cleburne County Jail, 140 Lambert Drive, Heflin, AL 36264. The sheriff runs it from the same address. The jail and the sheriff share one line, 256-463-7336.

Heflin, the county seat, is the one city in Cleburne with a full police department. Ranburne, Fruithurst, Edwardsville and Abernathy are tiny, and forest covers a big share of Cleburne, so deputies handle most calls outside Heflin. Troopers make many of the arrests on Interstate 20 and U.S. 78.

Heflin officers may hold someone at the station briefly while paperwork is finished. Adults then go to the Lambert Drive jail for booking. Can't tell which agency? Phone 256-463-7336, and staff will look up the booking.

Cleburne County Inmate Search lists charges, bond and whether visits are allowed. Copy the booking number before you close the page. People still in booking may not appear for a few hours. Searching in Cleburne? Aniah's Law allows a Heflin judge to refuse bail for some violent crimes, after a hearing. Effective May 19, 2026, Alabama's Amendment 1 even allows the court to withhold bail in an attempted murder charge and firing a gun into a lived-in vehicle, home or building.

Quite possible. Troopers and deputies often write tickets with a court date for speeding, license problems and similar charges, and the driver keeps going. Check the paper they were handed.

Arrests made without a warrant have a 48-hour window for a probable-cause decision. If it lapses, the lowest bond applies. People held on a warrant they can't pay see a judge inside 72 hours. A domestic violence charge pauses bail until a judge decides, at most a day.

Ask the jail first, since it handles many bonds directly. Court filings live with the circuit clerk in Room 202 of the courthouse, 120 Vickery Street, Heflin, 256-463-2651. The Heflin clerk works weekdays from 8:00 to 4:30.

Most bonds follow the statewide chart, which climbs from a few hundred dollars for small misdemeanors to tens of thousands for top felonies. Paths out include cash, a bonding company, land pledged as security, or a judge's signature release. Alabama tacks on 3.5% and a $35 filing charge. Details are in our Cleburne bond page.

The Vickery Street courthouse hosts District Court for misdemeanors and preliminary hearings, and Circuit Court once a grand jury indicts. Heflin city tickets go to the municipal court. Our Cleburne court process page lays out the order.

The judge appoints a lawyer when asked at the first appearance. Until then, the less said on jail phones, the better.

Anything labeled a felony can bring state prison time. Misdemeanors are capped at a year in the county. Room 202 will let you read the file at no charge. Alacourt has records online for a fee. The district attorney may change the charges after reviewing the case.

Phone 256-463-7336, ask for the supervisor, and list the drug, dose and doctor. Ask them to tell medical staff. If you saw injuries at the arrest, write it down and take pictures.

A video session lasts 20 minutes. From home the rate is twenty cents a minute, and there's no daily cap. A grown-up must supervise any visitor younger than 17. Visits run on screens, either from home or, if the jail allows, from a terminal on site. Book ahead and use a quiet spot with good signal. The visitation guide covers ID and conduct rules. Our remote visits page covers setup.

Each e-message costs a quarter, and commissary funds go to its own store account. Call the jail to learn how phone calls are set up. People inside dial out on a prepaid account linked to your number; nobody can call in to them. Deposits can be made through the jail's money options, and our deposit guide explains fees. See messages, commissary and calls.

Put the booking number on every envelope. Items taken at booking are kept and returned when the person leaves. Cleburne jail mail: our Cleburne County guide.

Release paperwork takes a while even after bond.

Terms over a year go to ADOC, not the county. At first, the person stays in the local jail until ADOC schedules the move. The first ADOC stop is a reception prison where staff process them. At intake, officers review any gang ties, their risk level, and their medical and mental health. Their next step is the prison that matches their needs.

Check the ADOC inmate search to find them. Our state prison guide covers prison addresses.

The sheriff's office, 256-463-7336, can check, and the circuit clerk at 256-463-2651 can look up court warrants. Heflin city warrants may be held by the police department. An attorney can schedule a voluntary surrender.

Minors are handled in juvenile court and never placed with adult prisoners. A judge decides within three days whether a held child goes home. The clerk's office can steer you to juvenile intake. Older teens facing the most serious felonies can be moved to adult court.

Federal arrests come from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service or the Marshals, often with local officers. The charge is handled in the Northern District of Alabama's Eastern Division, which uses the courthouse at 1100 Gurnee Avenue, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-741-1533. Staff are not in Anniston every day; questions go to the Birmingham clerk, 205-278-1700. Within a day or so, the person goes before a U.S. magistrate judge who explains the charges. The court gets a report from a pretrial officer. Release isn't picked from a list in federal court. Using rules in the Bail Reform Act, the federal judge holds a detention hearing then rules on whether they can leave.

Look them up on Cleburne County Inmate Search. The Marshals serving Cleburne County track anyone held on federal charges. Call 205-829-6611 , or visit the office at 1729 5th Avenue North, Room 240, Birmingham, AL 35203. Until sentencing, the Marshals can keep the person in a county jail. After a federal sentence, they go to BOP custody, often weeks later. Locate them with the federal inmate locator.

• Immigration officers hear about the arrest through the prints the jail send. If ICE thinks the person could be deportable, it may file a hold request.
• The cap is 48 more hours beyond release. A weekend day won't stop the 48 hours.
• Even after bond is paid, this hold remains in place.
• ICE officers may pick them up at the jail during the hold. Should ICE not appear, that means they are released.
• Only ICE chooses the next facility.
• Check the ICE locator using the A-number plus country of birth. The locator can also search with the exact name together with date of birth and country of birth when there's no A-number.
• Every Alabama case goes to ICE's New Orleans field office, located at 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360.

Yes. Open a name in the Cleburne booking roster and Cleburne mugshots load with it. Cleburne photos are for reference, not proof of guilt.

A reporter can request an unposted mugshot through the sheriff's office at 256-463-7336. Federal booking photos aren't released to the public or the media. Their rule is narrow: the Marshals release a mugshot only to find an escapee or fugitive, for immediate public safety, or when the photo could help track them down or warn people. Mugshots taken by ICE must be requested with ICE's FOIA form, and ICE has to approve it.

Treat it as a con. Deputies and courts never take gift cards or app transfers. Call 256-463-7336 yourself.

Ring the Cleburne County Jail at 256-463-7336. For court dates, the clerk at 256-463-2651.