La Paz County Adult Detention Facility Criminal Court Process

On a busy river weekend, La Paz County sheriff’s deputies, Parker and Quartzsite police (305 North Plymouth Avenue, Quartzsite, AZ 85346, 928-927-4644) and state troopers write a steady stream of misdemeanor citations, most of them for alcohol-related driving or boating offenses, minor assaults and theft. A citation lists a date in one of the justice or town courts, and the person is released without being booked. Anyone who is taken to the county jail (1109 West Arizona Avenue, Parker, AZ 85344, 928-669-6141) must appear before a judge within 24 hours under Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 4.1. Release on recognizance is the presumption under Rule 7.2, but the judge may require a bond from an out-of-state visitor who seems unlikely to come back for court.

Arizona law caps a class 1 misdemeanor at six months in jail and a $2,500 fine, a class 2 at four months and $750, and a class 3 at 30 days and $500, with surcharges stacked on top. Operating a boat while impaired is treated much like DUI on the road, including jail exposure. The arraignment is where a guilty or not-guilty plea goes on record, and someone who might be jailed but has no money for counsel can ask for the county's public defender. Many cases are resolved through an attorney or at a single pretrial conference with a plea or dismissal, which helps defendants who live hundreds of miles away.

Contested cases are typically tried to the judge. The right to a six-person jury exists for DUI and for offenses that carried a jury right at common law, not for most minor misdemeanors. The same speedy-trial clock applies as in felony court: 150 days from arraignment if jailed, 180 if released. A normal La Paz misdemeanor takes weeks or a couple of months.

Under 18: A child accused of a misdemeanor normally goes to juvenile court in Parker, where La Paz County Probation’s juvenile officers (1312 Kofa Avenue, Parker, AZ 85344, 928-669-6188) decide whether to offer diversion or file a petition. Diversion, which can include community service, counseling and education classes, keeps a first offense off the juvenile record once completed. Lesser violations such as minor-in-possession of alcohol, tobacco and vaping citations, curfew and traffic matters may instead go to a justice or town court. If a youth is held, a detention hearing must take place within 24 hours of the petition’s filing. There is no youth lockup in La Paz, so a held teen is driven to Yuma County's juvenile center under contract. Juvenile court jurisdiction ends at 18, unless the state filed a notice for a 17-year-old that extends it to 19 (A.R.S. 8-202).

Felony arrests in La Paz often come from traffic stops on I-10 or State Route 95 that turn up drugs, weapons or stolen property. After booking, the person sees a judge within 24 hours for an initial appearance, and that judge sets release terms and assigns the public defender to anyone who qualifies. The county closed its public defender office at the end of 2023, so the court now appoints contract lawyers for people who qualify.

The County Attorney must then establish probable cause, either by obtaining a grand jury indictment or at a preliminary hearing before a judge. The hearing must be held within 10 days of the initial appearance for someone in jail, or 20 days for someone released (Rule 5.1). When the case is held for trial, Superior Court (1316 Kofa Avenue, Suite 607, Parker, AZ 85344, 928-669-6131) arraigns the person, then evidence is shared and plea talks begin. The trial clock is 150 days from arraignment for a jailed person and 180 for one at home, and either side may ask for longer. An eight-person jury decides most felony trials.

Arizona’s six felony classes set the punishment. A first-time, non-dangerous class 4 felony such as third-degree burglary carries a presumptive 2.5 years, but probation is usually available; transporting methamphetamine for sale, by contrast, is a class 2 felony that requires prison. A first or second conviction for personal drug possession must be sentenced to probation under Prop 200. Class 6 felonies may be designated as misdemeanors under A.R.S. 13-604. Prison sentences require serving 85% before release. A felony case in La Paz generally takes four months to a year.

Under 18: A 14- to 17-year-old accused of a property or drug felony is usually handled through a delinquency petition in Juvenile Court in Parker, where results run from regular or strict probation to treatment or a state youth prison. The County Attorney may, however, choose to file adult charges against a juvenile 14 or older for class 1 and 2 felonies, specified class 3 felonies, dangerous offenses, or any felony by a teen already adjudicated twice for felony-level conduct (A.R.S. 13-501(B)). Kids get a lawyer too; the same public defender office takes their cases.

Violent cases in Parker go through the felony steps above, yet they move slower and the risk is far greater. Arizona’s constitution (art. 2, § 22) permits holding a defendant without bail for capital offenses and sexual assault when the evidence is strong, and prosecutors may seek a hearing to argue no release plan keeps La Paz safe. So many people charged this way wait for trial in the county jail (1109 West Arizona Avenue, Parker, AZ 85344, 928-669-6141).

When a weapon or serious injury is involved, the charge is “dangerous,” which bars probation and lengthens sentences. For a first offense:

• Murder: first-degree murder is punished by death, natural life, or life with eligibility for release after 25 years; second-degree murder carries 10 to 25 years. A death-penalty case requires a 12-person jury and two qualified defense lawyers, and Arizona’s executions have proceeded again since 2022.
• Armed robbery: 7 to 21 years as a dangerous class 2 felony, presumptively 10.5.
• Sexual assault: 5.25 to 14 years, with no early release, and lifetime sex-offender registration.
• Aggravated assault with a weapon: a dangerous class 3 felony, 5 to 15 years.

Crime victims have rights under the Arizona Victims’ Bill of Rights in Article 2, Section 2.1 of the state constitution, so victims hear about court dates, may refuse a defense interview, may speak at sentencing, and may be paid back. Prosecution advocates in Parker help them with each step. If a tribal member is involved, as defendant or victim, and the act took place on the Colorado River Indian Reservation, the case may instead be charged federally and tried in Phoenix. Serious felony cases in La Paz commonly take one to two years.

Under 18: Arizona law leaves no option for 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds accused of first- or second-degree murder, forcible sexual assault, armed robbery or another violent felony: A.R.S. 13-501(A) requires the County Attorney to charge them as adults in Superior Court (1316 Kofa Avenue, Suite 607, Parker, AZ 85344, 928-669-6131). The same mandatory rule covers any felony by a chronic felony offender. A younger teen, 14, may be charged as an adult in these cases at the prosecutor’s discretion. The death penalty is off the table for juveniles convicted as adults, and judges must consider a defendant’s youth when imposing the longest sentences.

The county's felony court is on Kofa Avenue:

• Parker courthouse (Superior Court): 1316 Kofa Avenue, Suite 607, Parker, AZ 85344 · 928-669-6131

The sheriff's office (1109 West Arizona Avenue, Parker, AZ 85344, 928-669-6141) serves warrants countywide; dispatch at 928-669-2281 (1314 11th Street, Parker, AZ 85344) can check names. Use the DPS statewide warrant search and the Public Access case lookup. Clear a warrant through the issuing court, often with an attorney, for bond or a new date. The Superior Court clerk (1316 Kofa Avenue, Suite 607, Parker, AZ 85344) handles felonies at 928-669-6131. Quartzsite courts exist too; confirm. Surrender at the adult detention facility, 1109 West Arizona Avenue, Parker, AZ 85344, 928-669-6141, and post the warrant's bond.

Federal charges from this county go to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Phoenix division. County bail doesn't apply:

• A magistrate judge presides over the first hearing at Phoenix federal courthouse, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003 (clerk 602-322-7200).
• The pretrial office reports on the defendant's background.
• Prosecutors may seek a detention hearing.
• Defendants who stay in custody are with the Marshals.

Marshals office: U.S. Marshals Service, 401 West Washington Street, Suite 270, Phoenix, AZ 85003, 602-382-8768.

• La Paz County Inmate Search: the La Paz jail roster (jail: 1109 West Arizona Avenue, Parker, AZ 85344, 928-669-6141).
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): Arizona statewide custody.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (320 First Street NW, Washington, DC 20534, 202-307-3198) (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): federal prison; call 602-382-8768 (401 West Washington Street, Suite 270, Phoenix, AZ 85003) for those awaiting trial.
• ADCRR Inmate Data Search (701 East Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 602-542-5497) (https://inmatedatasearch.azcorrections.gov/): Arizona prison inmates.
• ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): ICE custody; phone 602-257-5900 (2035 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004) if needed.

La Paz County works with ICE under a 287(g) jail model agreement, so detention officers can process detainers. A detainer asks the jail to hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. A.R.S. 11-1051 forbids county limits on enforcement. The county case still runs. Help with this part comes from the La Paz County Adult Detention Facility, whose staff work at 1109 West Arizona Avenue, Parker, AZ 85344 and answer 928-669-6141.

Cases are handled by ICE Phoenix Field Office, 2035 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004, 602-257-5900. Detention sites include:

• San Luis Regional Detention Center: 406 North Avenue D, San Luis, AZ 85349 · 928-627-2101
• Eloy Detention Center: 1705 East Hanna Road, Eloy, AZ 85131 · 520-464-3000
• Florence Service Processing Center: 3250 North Pinal Parkway, Florence, AZ 85132 · 520-868-5862