Crittenden County Juvenile Detention Center

Yes. The sheriff's website says the public lobby at 350 Afco Road is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for payments and bonds. That covers cash bonds you post yourself and bonds a licensed agent brings in. The administrative offices close at 5:00 p.m., so anything that needs a clerk's signature or a court record will wait for morning. Call dispatch at 870-702-2000 while driving over to check the figure ahead of time.

Know the person's legal name, birth date, the combined bond for all charges, and any hold placed on them. Carry photo ID plus payment the window accepts, which here means a money order, a cashier's check, or the bond in exact cash. Card payments with a fee may be possible through a lobby kiosk, but ask first. The bail instructions for this jail say the same: call before arranging payment. Don't leave without a receipt listing your name and the case number.

From the detention center itself. Call 870-702-2010 during business hours or dispatch at 870-702-2000 at night and ask for the booking record. If the person has already seen a judge, the clerk of that court has the signed order and will match the jail's number or correct it: district court at 870-732-7560, circuit court through the clerk in Marion at 870-739-3248.

At the first appearance, which Rule 8.1 says must come promptly after arrest, typically within a couple of days. If you can learn an amount from the jail before that, the 24-hour lobby lets you pay at once. For a felony the judge looks at the charge, record, job, family ties, and past missed court dates (Rule 9.2) and may add conditions (Rule 9.3). After that, the felony goes up to circuit court, and the file stays with the clerk in Marion.

It won't. The sheriff's office says it neither recommends nor advises on bail bond companies. Its website links to the state licensing board's list of companies licensed in Crittenden County. A deputy who steers you to a particular agent is doing something the office says it will not do. Choose an agent yourself, check the license, and arrange to meet at the lobby.

Under Arkansas Code 17-19-301 a bondsman charges 10 percent, raised to the next $5, plus a $10 state board fee and a $15 processing fee. A $5,000 bond costs $525. None of that returns, even on a dismissal. Cash bond you pay on your own comes back at the end, less any fines, court costs or restitution ordered. If the bond is small enough to cover, paying it yourself at the lobby is usually the better deal.

Arkansas Code 16-84-103 allows an Arkansas resident to act as surety if their property, minus debts and exemptions, equals the bond. The sheriff signs a sworn property statement, and then the court looks it over. A local judge decides if a home or farmland can stand in for cash, and if land over in Tennessee counts at all. The circuit clerk at 870-739-3248 can tell you what the judge requires; bring the deed and a current tax statement.

Crittenden County District Court has six departments under one district judge. West Memphis is at 317 West Tyler Avenue, 870-732-7560. Marion's clerk is at 14 Military Road, 870-739-5411. Earle and Turrell share 870-792-7205. Gilmore answers 870-343-2697, and Jericho 870-739-4918. Which one has the file depends on the town whose officer filed the charge. Misdemeanors, traffic tickets, and the first look at a felony all begin in one of them.

Mostly for the report. West Memphis Police are at 626 East Broadway Street, 870-735-1210; Marion Police at 3477 State Highway 77 South, 870-739-2101; Earle Police at 1004 2nd Street, 870-792-8909. Some departments keep people a short while before moving them, so check whether they've been driven to Afco Road yet. The judge sets bond either way.

Then the Crittenden County jail is only holding the person for the other state, and no Arkansas bond will open the door. The person either waives extradition and is picked up, or contests it and stays while the paperwork runs. Find out from the jail which out-of-state county wrote the warrant, and phone that clerk about bond. A lawyer licensed in that state is the one who can help.

Bail may be withheld on a capital charge with clear evidence, as Arkansas's constitution allows. Someone picked up on a felony while already free on a felony bond can be held too. Everything else that looks like "no bond" is a hold: parole or probation, another county, another state, or a federal agency. The jail at 870-702-2010 can say which; only the agency that placed the hold can lift it.

The county's public defenders work out of West Memphis, 870-732-3313, within the Second Judicial District. A judge hands the case to the office once the person swears to a low income at the first appearance. That lawyer can then ask the judge to cut the bond, which goes better with pay records, a lease and a list of local relatives.

The Crittenden County Juvenile Detention Center shares the 350 Afco Road address and is run by the sheriff's office. Children are not given a bond amount. A juvenile-division judge holds a detention hearing and rules on sending the child home. Call the sheriff's office at 870-702-2010 and request the youth unit, or try the circuit clerk at 870-739-3248, who keeps juvenile records, for the hearing date. Because the youth unit is separate, searching the adult list for a teenager will not help; call instead.

They don't. Food and hygiene orders, phone time, video visits and tablet accounts are all separate. Those funds sit in the person's own account and are never applied to the court case. Bond is a separate payment at the lobby window with its own receipt. A small commissary deposit does let the person call you and a lawyer.

Expect a warrant, a new failure-to-appear count, and a move to forfeit the bond. A bondsman gets a limited time to return the person before the bond is forfeited. Phone the department clerk that day about a new date and get a lawyer on the line. If a bondsman has to track the person down, that search is billed to you.

The balance comes back after the final hearing, once the court takes out fines, costs, and restitution, and it goes to the name printed on your receipt, so keep it. Ask the clerk for the court that handled the case how the refund gets mailed. A bondsman's premium is gone for good.

Anything demanded by phone in gift cards, wire, or a payment app. The real jail takes bond in person at its 24-hour lobby, and licensed agents charge a fixed 10 percent. Anyone phoning as a deputy or bondsman asking for money should be checked; end the call and dial 870-702-2000 yourself.

Felony files sit with the circuit clerk in Marion. Lesser charges land in a district court department picked by the town whose officer wrote the charge:

• Crittenden County Circuit Court (felonies, juvenile division, appeals from district court): Crittenden County Courthouse, 100 Court Square, Marion, AR 72364 · circuit clerk 870-739-3248
• District Court, West Memphis Department: 317 W. Tyler Avenue, West Memphis, AR 72301 · 870-732-7560
• District Court, Marion Department: 14 Military Road, Marion, AR 72364 · 870-739-5411
• District Court, Earle and Turrell Departments: 870-792-7205
• District Court, Gilmore Department: 870-343-2697
• District Court, Jericho Department: 870-739-4918

The smaller departments don't keep walk-in hours every day, so phone before you go. Felony judges here rotate among the counties of the Second Judicial Circuit.

Interstate traffic through West Memphis brings a steady share of federal drug and gun cases. Those never pass through the Afco Road lobby, and no Arkansas bondsman can post them. By statute, Crittenden cases go to the Delta Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, which sits at the federal courthouse in Helena, 617 Walnut Street, Helena, AR 72342 (clerk questions go to Little Rock), 501-604-5351. Here is the usual order of events:

• Agents file a criminal complaint, or a federal grand jury indicts.
• A U.S. magistrate judge holds the first hearing, and it may take place in Little Rock.
• A Pretrial Services officer interviews the person about work, family and past cases.
• If prosecutors want the person locked up until trial, the judge holds a detention hearing within days.
• Release comes with federal rules, such as check-ins with an officer or travel limits.

While the case is open, the U.S. Marshals choose the jail. Reach them at U.S. Marshals Service, 600 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-324-6256.

It could happen. Under 8 CFR 287.7 an ICE detainer asks the jail to call ICE before release and hold the person as long as 48 extra hours, and weekends and holidays count. Nothing in Arkansas law stops a sheriff from honoring it.

The local charge stays alive, so court dates in Marion or West Memphis still count. Arkansas falls under the ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. People ICE picks up in eastern Arkansas often go to centers in Louisiana, such as:

• 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

After the transfer, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/). An A-number with birth country gives the cleanest match; a full name with birth country also works.

Someone booked in West Memphis can end up in a different county jail, an ADC unit or a federal hold. Try these:

• Crittenden County jail: Crittenden County Inmate Search. Enter the surname and first name, then click the right booking to see charges and bond.
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). Select Arkansas, then type the person's name. You'll see whether they're locked up and at which facility, plus an option for free release notices.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/). A register number works best; otherwise give the name along with age, race and sex. Someone still awaiting federal trial may not appear yet, so ask the Marshals at 501-324-6256.
• Arkansas Division of Correction: Arkansas Division of Correction Inmate Search (https://apps.ark.org/inmate_info/). Look up an ADC number or surname to get the unit, a photo and parole date.

Rules on housing and bond change from time to time, so phone first. Call the detention center at 870-702-2010, or dispatch at 870-702-2000 after hours, for the person's location and the bond steps. For a felony hearing date, ring the circuit clerk at 870-739-3248. For a misdemeanor, call West Memphis at 870-732-7560 or Marion at 870-739-5411, or the small-town department that has the case.

Citations and arrests that reach district court come from West Memphis and Marion police, the small-town forces, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers. Anyone jailed has to see a judge promptly, and state rules start from the idea that most people can go home on a promise to come back. A money bond may be covered in cash or by a state-licensed bondsman.

The penalty limit for an Arkansas misdemeanor turns on its class. Class A carries a year in jail and a $2,500 fine at the most, Class B up to 90 days and a $1,000 fine, and Class C up to 30 days and a $500 fine. Third-degree battery and stealing $1,000 or less in property are both Class A misdemeanors. Criminal trespass is Class B or Class C. A first DWI means at least 24 hours and at most one year in jail, a fine of $150 to $1,000, and suspension of the driver’s license, typically with an ignition interlock required for a restricted permit.

There are no jury trials in district court, so the judge decides guilt. After a conviction there, the defendant gets 30 days to appeal to circuit court and start over with a new trial, jury included. Still, most local misdemeanors close with a plea deal, usually fines, probation, a suspended sentence or community service.

A child or teenager under 18 accused of a misdemeanor is generally handled in the juvenile division of the Crittenden County Circuit Court. For many first offenses, prosecutors and intake staff offer diversion. A youth who pays back losses, does service hours or goes to counseling can skip a delinquency finding. Juvenile traffic cases may remain in district court.

Under the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, a judge must decide within 48 hours whether there was reasonable cause for a felony arrest made without a warrant. At the first appearance, the judge reads the charge, sets bond and handles appointment of counsel. Asking for a public defender means signing a sworn statement of income, and a judge may have someone who can pay a little chip in.

In most felonies the prosecutor files a charging paper called an information in Marion, since Arkansas rarely calls grand juries. The defendant is then arraigned, and the case proceeds through discovery, plea negotiations and pretrial motions. Rule 28.1 sets a 12-month deadline for trial, not counting periods that the rules exclude, such as delays requested by the defense. A felony jury in Arkansas has 12 members and, after a guilty verdict, ordinarily recommends the sentence as well.

Arkansas felony sentencing is graded by class. Class Y offenses carry 10 to 40 years or life, Class A 6 to 30, Class B 5 to 20, Class C 3 to 10, and Class D up to 6. Burglary of a home is residential burglary, a Class B felony; burglary of a business is commercial burglary, a Class C felony. Once stolen property is worth more than $1,000, theft is a felony. Drug delivery charges grow more serious with the kind and amount of drug, a frequent issue in interstate traffic stops here, and DWI becomes a felony on the fourth conviction within ten years. Most Crittenden County felony cases end with negotiated pleas.

Arkansas law lets prosecutors file any felony against a 16- or 17-year-old in either juvenile or adult court. Either side can request a transfer hearing, at which the judge considers the seriousness of the offense, the youth’s prior record and maturity, and whether juvenile programs could rehabilitate them. A detained juvenile must have a detention hearing within 72 hours. A youth kept in juvenile court may get probation, treatment, or a stay with the Division of Youth Services. Prosecutors can also seek Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction, which allows supervision beyond age 18 with an adult sentence held in reserve.

The gravest violent charges move through circuit court in the same sequence as other felonies, but with stricter limits on release and harsher sentences. Under Article 2, Section 8 of the Arkansas Constitution, bail must be available except in capital cases when the proof is evident or the presumption great. As a result, a person charged with capital murder in Crittenden County can be held without bond.

Rape, first-degree murder and aggravated robbery are Class Y felonies carrying at least 10 years. Capital murder carries only death or life without parole. Starting with crimes on January 1, 2025, the Protect Arkansas Act makes people serve every day of a sentence for capital murder, rape or aggravated robbery, and 85% or more for second-degree murder. The state counted 23 condemned men in April 2026. The last execution was in 2017, and in 2025 the legislature added nitrogen hypoxia to lethal injection as an authorized method.

Victims of violent crime in Crittenden County have rights under Ark. Code 16-90-1101 and the sections after it. Victims can be told about hearings, talk with the prosecutor about plea offers, and speak at sentencing about the harm done. The Second District prosecutor’s victim-witness coordinators help victims and families follow the case and seek restitution.

Fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds can land in adult court for grave offenses such as capital or first-degree murder, rape, kidnapping and aggravated robbery, as well as first-degree battery and terroristic acts. A transfer hearing can still return the case to the juvenile side, or place it under Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction. A person who was 17 or younger when the crime happened can't receive a death sentence, and under the state’s Fair Sentencing of Minors Act of 2017, a youth convicted of capital murder can seek parole after 30 years.

Felonies are tried in Marion, and district court is split among six towns:

• Crittenden County Circuit Court: Crittenden County Courthouse, 100 Court Square, Marion, AR 72364, circuit clerk 870-739-3248
• District Court, West Memphis Department: 317 W. Tyler Avenue, West Memphis, AR 72301, 870-732-7560
• District Court, Marion Department: 14 Military Road, Marion, AR 72364, 870-739-5411
• District Court, Earle and Turrell Departments: 870-792-7205
• District Court, Gilmore Department: 870-343-2697
• District Court, Jericho Department: 870-739-4918

Felony trials, juvenile matters and fresh trials on town-court appeals all go to circuit court. The town departments take misdemeanors, traffic tickets and early felony hearings.

Crittenden County faces Memphis across the Mississippi River, and two interstates, I-40 and I-55, meet in West Memphis before crossing into Tennessee. That location gives the county a busy criminal docket for a Delta county of its size. The county seat is Marion, where the Crittenden County Circuit Court hears felonies at the Crittenden County Courthouse, 100 Court Square, Marion, AR 72364. The Circuit Clerk’s number is (870) 739-3248. Crittenden belongs to the Second Judicial Circuit, along with Clay, Craighead, Greene, Mississippi and Poinsett, six counties in all. Juvenile cases go to the circuit court’s juvenile division, and district court appeals are retried from scratch in circuit court. Our bail guide explains what comes next.

Misdemeanor, traffic and preliminary felony matters go to the Crittenden County District Court, which holds court in several cities. The West Memphis department, the largest, can be reached at (870) 732-7560, with the district judge’s office at 317 W. Tyler Avenue, West Memphis, AR 72301. The Marion department is at 14 Military Road, Marion, AR 72364, (870) 739-5411, and smaller departments serve Earle, Gilmore, Jericho and Turrell. The elected Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District, who also covers Craighead and the four other circuit counties, prosecutes felonies and state misdemeanors here. People too poor to hire a lawyer can get a public defender from the Second District office, which the state pays for through its Public Defender Commission.

What’s here explains Crittenden County’s criminal courts in general terms; it isn’t legal advice. A defense attorney is the person to consult after a charge, or ask the circuit clerk about a public defender at (870) 739-3248 to ask about appointment of a public defender.

Check a felony setting with the circuit clerk in Marion at 870-739-3248 before the hearing. For misdemeanor or traffic dates, call West Memphis at 870-732-7560, Marion at 870-739-5411, or the town department that sent the notice.

The sheriff's office serves warrants throughout the county, and the detention center line at 870-702-2010 can direct your question to the right deputy. You can also search Arkansas courts statewide at Search ARCourts to see circuit and district matters. If a warrant is active, a defense lawyer can usually arrange a self-surrender at the facility on Afco Road and request bond before you arrive. Felony files are kept by the Circuit Clerk in Marion, who answers at 870-739-3248. A photo ID speeds things up.

Crittenden County’s federal cases are heard in the Delta Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Court for that division is held in Helena-West Helena, but the Helena office is not staffed, so filings and records are handled by the clerk in Little Rock at the federal courthouse in Little Rock (clerk’s office in Room A-149 at 600 W. Capitol Avenue), (501) 604-5351. State charges come from laws the Arkansas legislature wrote, and the district prosecutor brings them in Marion or West Memphis. Charges under acts of Congress belong to the U.S. Attorney, typically when interstate commerce or a federal interest is involved. Here that tends to mean drugs or guns moved on I-40 and I-55, stolen goods hauled over from Tennessee, bank robbery, or crimes on federal land like the Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge near Turrell. Because Memphis is in a different federal district, a crime planned in Tennessee and carried out in Arkansas can also raise questions about which court will hear it.

Many federal cases here start with stops on I-40 or I-55. Federal court for this county means the Delta Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, at the federal courthouse in Helena, 617 Walnut Street, Helena, AR 72342 (clerk questions go to Little Rock), 501-604-5351.

• The defendant first meets a magistrate judge, who explains the charges.
• A pretrial officer gives the judge a summary of the person's history.
• The government can request a hearing to keep the person jailed.
• Felony charges need a grand jury indictment before trial.
• Until trial, the Marshals Service holds federal defendants: U.S. Marshals Service, 600 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-324-6256.

A single arrest can lead to charges in both state and federal court, and each case runs on its own.

• Crittenden County jail: Crittenden County Inmate Search. Look up a surname for the booking date and the charges filed.
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). Set Arkansas as the state, then search the name to see who is holding the person. Release alerts cost nothing.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/). Search a federal prisoner by register number or full name.
• Arkansas Division of Correction: Arkansas Division of Correction Inmate Search (https://apps.ark.org/inmate_info/). Enter a name or ADC number to find the prison unit.

ICE uses a detainer to ask the jail for up to 48 more hours of custody once the person is due out. The 48 hours run straight through weekends and holidays. The county case does not go away.

Arkansas cases fall under the ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360, and many detainees are moved 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

The ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/) finds detainees by A-number, or by full name plus country of birth.