Randolph County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

Start with the inmate search link at the top. Booking can lag an hour or more behind the arrest, so an empty search right after an arrest proves little. Phone 870-892-8888 and give the caller the person's full legal name plus birth date. A deputy there will tell you if the person is in a cell, still being processed, or already gone.

The jail does, as soon as a judge or the local schedule has fixed it. Ask the booking officer at 870-892-8888 for the figure on each charge and the kinds of bond the order permits. For a misdemeanor, the district court clerk can confirm it at 870-892-4033. For a felony, call the circuit clerk at 870-892-5522. Write down who quoted the figure, since the amount can shift at the first court date.

The state first-appearance rule, Rule 8.1, requires a judge to see the person "without unnecessary delay." Plan on about two days, and longer across a weekend. A few charges carry a preset amount, which can mean release the same day. Everything else waits for the judge. An arrest on Friday evening usually means Monday. Phone the jail each morning, and hold your money until someone gives you a firm figure.

Misdemeanors start in Randolph County District Court. The court meets at 1510 Pace Road, and the clerk is at 870-892-4033. Felonies belong to the Third Judicial Circuit, which spans Randolph, Sharp, Lawrence, and Jackson counties, with judges in Newport, Ash Flat, and Walnut Ridge. The Randolph circuit clerk, 870-892-5522, knows which division has the file and when it sits in Pocahontas.

Rules 9.1 and 9.2 point a judge first to a signed promise, next to conditions, and only then to money. When money is required, you generally pick from three paths. One is cash, the whole amount. Another is a licensed bail bond company. The last is a property bond backed by land. The judge's order may allow only some of them for a given charge, so ask at the jail before you choose.

The premium is 10 percent of the bond under state law, and state-required fees may be added. A $5,000 bond therefore costs about $500 up front, and that money is gone even if the charges are dropped. A licensed company has a certificate from the Arkansas Professional Bail Bondsman Licensing Board, so ask to see it. A co-signer or collateral may be demanded. Jail staff will not name a favorite, but they can say which companies regularly post bonds there.

Go to the jail on Pace Road. The sheriff's office lists administrative hours as weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., while the phone is staffed around the clock. Call 870-892-8888 first and ask three things. Can an officer accept a bond after hours? Is it cash only, or will they accept a cashier's check or money order? Will they take a card? Bring a photo ID and keep every receipt.

If the judge allows it, yes. Courts here usually expect the land to be in Arkansas, every deed owner to sign, and equity well above the bond, proven by a deed and the county assessor's value. Whether the property must lie inside Randolph County is the court's call, so ask the circuit clerk at 870-892-5522 before you collect papers. Count on days, not hours, and a lien stays on the land until the case ends.

It did not. Money sent for phone time, messages, and kiosk deposits pays for calls and similar services, and it cannot be turned into a bond. To post bond, deal with the booking officer in person.

Seldom. Article 2, section 8 of the Arkansas Constitution allows bail in all cases but capital offenses "when the proof is evident or the presumption great." Under Rule 9.6 a court that released someone can revoke that release if there is reasonable cause to think the person committed a new felony while awaiting trial. Also watch for holds. Detainers from probation, parole or another county's court mean continued jail time after the Randolph bond is paid. Ask the jail to name every hold first.

Only the judge on the case. The sheriff's office carries out the order and cannot change it. Through a lawyer's motion, the judge looks again at the Rule 9.2 factors, among them local roots, a steady job, prior convictions and the weight of the charge. Gather proof of a local address and work for the lawyer.

The Third Judicial District public defender office, based in Jonesboro, serves Randolph, Sharp, Lawrence, and Jackson counties. The judge appoints that office at first appearance if the defendant signs a low-income affidavit. Relatives cannot hire it, but the circuit clerk can tell you which lawyer has the case. Once assigned, that lawyer may seek a bond reduction.

Very little. The Pocahontas Police Department books its arrests into the county jail, and the charges go to the same district court. State police and game warden arrests in the county also end up on Pace Road.

Start with the juvenile side of circuit court, not the adult jail. A juvenile intake officer makes a fast call on sending the child home to a parent. For where a held child is placed and the detention hearing date, call the circuit clerk at 870-892-5522 and ask for the Third Circuit juvenile division. No cash bond exists in juvenile court.

A warrant is issued and the court starts forfeiture. In district court, Arkansas Code 16-84-201 gives a bondsman about 120 days after notice to bring the person back before the bond is forfeited. A cash bond can be lost completely. Expect the bond company to search for the person and to send the co-signer a bill for the whole amount. Phone the clerk that day, 870-892-4033 for district court or 870-892-5522 for circuit court, because a quick voluntary return sometimes saves the money.

It returns when the case closes, provided every court date was kept. A check goes by mail to whoever is named on the receipt, with fines, costs and any ordered restitution taken out first. If the refund should come to you, make sure the receipt carries your name. Hold on to it for the life of the case.

Nearly everything sits at two Pocahontas addresses, the Pace Road complex and the courthouse on Broadway:

• Randolph County Jail and Sheriff's Office: 1510 Pace Road, Pocahontas, AR 72455 · 870-892-8888
• Circuit Clerk, Randolph County Courthouse: 107 West Broadway, Pocahontas, AR 72455 · 870-892-5522
• Randolph County District Court: 1510 Pace Road, Pocahontas, AR 72455 · 870-892-4033

The jail phone is staffed 24 hours. Office hours at the sheriff's building run weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A federal arrest skips the county bond desk entirely. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas takes Randolph County's federal charges in its Northern Division, which sits at the federal courthouse in Jonesboro, 615 South Main Street, Jonesboro, AR 72401, 870-972-4610. Most cases go in this order:

• A grand jury indictment or a sworn complaint brings the charge.
• A magistrate judge holds the first hearing.
• Pretrial services looks into the person's job, home and record.
• The prosecutor says whether to ask for detention.
• If the judge allows release, the conditions are put in writing.

The U.S. Marshals hold federal prisoners and can say where someone is housed: U.S. Marshals Service, 600 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-324-6256.

ICE may file a detainer. Federal rule 8 CFR 287.7 allows a request that the jail hold someone as long as 48 hours beyond the set release, and weekends and holidays count. Each Arkansas jail chooses whether to go along, and the state case keeps going either way.

The ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360 handles Arkansas. People ICE picks up in northeast Arkansas are frequently sent to Louisiana, for example:

• 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

Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/) with the A-number. Without it, use the full legal name and the country of birth.

They may be released, still in booking, or held by a different agency. Try each of these:

• Randolph County Jail: Randolph County Inmate Search. Search by surname, then click a name for charges and bond.
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). Select Arkansas for a statewide look, and register for release alerts.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/). A register number gives an exact match. It often leaves out people held before a federal trial, so check with 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 prisoners by name or ADC number.

A call can spare you the trip. The jail at 870-892-8888 confirms custody and the bond on each charge. The district court clerk, 870-892-4033, has misdemeanor and traffic dates. Felony and youth dates come from 870-892-5522, the circuit clerk.