An arrest in Fort Bragg, Mendocino village or Gualala ends at the Mendocino County Correctional Facility in Ukiah, a long drive over Highway 20. Fort Bragg arrests may be held briefly locally first.

Mendocino County Inmate Search lists current inmates, charges and bail. If a coast arrest hasn't reached Ukiah yet, call 707-463-4411.

Ukiah judges arraign jailed people within two court days. Criminal filings are handled at 100 North State Street, Room 107, Ukiah (707-463-4661). The Ten Mile branch in Fort Bragg handles some coast cases. Read Mendocino court steps.

Ukiah's jail accepts the scheduled amount in cash or as a bond. At arraignment the Ukiah judge may lower or raise it, and has to factor in what the person earns. See the Mendocino bail guide.

The Public Defender is appointed first. If that office can't take a case, the county's Alternate Defender at 776 South State Street, Ukiah (707-234-6990), steps in.

The Ukiah jail books visits in advance and checks photo ID for every adult visitor. See Mendocino visiting and video visits to save the long drive.

Mendocino inmates get letters at 951 Low Gap Road, Ukiah, CA 95482, addressed with the full name and booking number. See mail, money, commissary, phones, messages, tablets.

Juvenile hall is at 585 Low Gap Road, Ukiah (intake 707-234-6682). It also holds youths from Lake County.

Mendocino jail staff won't call for bail by gift card, app or wire. Phone 707-463-4411 to verify any claim.

Federal arrests often involve the ATF, Homeland Security Investigations and the DEA. A federal magistrate also sits at the McKinleyville courthouse, 3140 Boeing Avenue, McKinleyville, CA 95519 (707-445-3612). Federal hearings in Ukiah cases are held in the courthouse in San Francisco, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102, under the Northern District of California. Clerk's phone: 415-522-2000. An initial court date is held quickly with a magistrate judge. Expect questions from pretrial services; the judge gets the results. Money is not the starting point in a federal case. The judge weighs danger and flight risk at a bail hearing, under the federal Bail Reform Act.

Meanwhile, U.S. Marshals may hold the person in a county jail. Start with the county roster. Or call the Marshals office for the Northern District of California at 415-436-7677 (450 Golden Gate Avenue, 20th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102). Prison time in a federal case sends your loved one from the county jail to the BOP. The online federal locator for where they serve by name or federal register number.

• During booking, fingerprints reach federal agencies. ICE can then send a detainer.
• Posting bail will not remove the detainer. The hold simply begins then.
• There is a 48-hour cap; the detainer only asks the jailers to delay the release so ICE can get there. Weekend days and holidays both count.
• ICE agents in most cases take custody at the Ukiah jail while held. If the window passes, staff has to let them go.
• Their next facility is up to ICE.
• Search for your loved one on the locator after the move; enter the alien number (A-number) and birth country. Don't have the alien number (A-number)? Use the name they were booked under, native country, and DOB instead.
• Want to ask ICE directly? Its San Francisco field office sits at 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, and the phone is 415-365-8800.

Prison time is handled by California's prison agency (CDCR). At first, the inmate remains in the Ukiah jail while the state finds a bed, sometimes for months. When space opens, they're taken to a reception center where they're processed. There, staff weigh custody score, health care needs and gang ties. The last step is a housing unit that fits their rating.

Check the CDCR inmate locator to follow the move. The California prison guide covers prison addresses.

The Mendocino custody lookup may be down right now. When it works, Mendocino mugshots may not be included. Mendocino on VINELink is a backup, but it has no photos.

California's rule is Penal Code 13665. Social media is what it covers. Most nonviolent arrests fall under it. Sheriffs and police can't share them there. Photos posted there expire after 14 days. A judge can also allow a post. The sheriff's own website isn't covered. Still, most California rosters show no photos.

Immigration photos are released just through ICE's FOIA form, if ICE agrees. Media outlets hoping for a booking photo should start with sheriff's staff at 707-463-4086. U.S. booking photos aren't shared with reporters or residents. Federal rules keep release to three cases: for an escapee, to help an arrest or warn the community, or for pressing community safety.

• Ukiah Police: 707-463-6262
• Mendocino County Sheriff's Office dispatch: 707-463-4086

Fort Bragg and Willits have their own police departments too. The Sheriff covers most of the county.