San Benito County Jail

Search for him with San Benito County Inmate Search. If nothing shows, the court lists 831-636-4060 as the number to call to check custody. Very fresh arrests can lag on the list, and a person picked up on an out-of-county warrant may already have been transferred.

San Benito's felony and misdemeanor schedule, signed by the Presiding Judge on January 16, 2025, lists DUI at $5,000 when the blood alcohol is under .15 and there are no other violations. It is $10,000 at .15 or higher, and $100,000 with three or more priors within ten years. The schedule also says people charged with DUI are eligible for supervised release on their own recognizance.

From the same schedule: petty theft, $1,000, or $5,000 with a prior; drug possession under Health and Safety Code 11350 or 11377, $5,000 as a misdemeanor and $10,000 as a felony; simple battery, $5,000; battery on a spouse or partner, $10,000; battery causing serious bodily injury, $25,000; grand theft, $10,000.

Corporal injury to a spouse or partner, $25,000, or $100,000 with a listed prior. Assault with a deadly weapon as a felony, $25,000. First-degree burglary, $50,000; second-degree, $10,000. First-degree robbery, $100,000; second-degree, $50,000. First- and second-degree murder are marked "No Bail" and the judge sets terms at arraignment. A judge can change any figure.

The schedule has a formula. A felony not listed is set by the longest prison term it carries: $10,000 for three years, $25,000 for four, $30,000 for five, $50,000 for six, and $100,000 for seven or more. A life sentence means no bail. A misdemeanor not listed is $1,000. Check the charge on San Benito County Inmate Search, then ask the court clerk at 831-636-4057 which line it falls under.

Bail is paid at the San Benito County Jail, 710 Flynn Road. San Benito takes four forms: money order, certified check, cashier's check, or a bondsman's bond. Cash is not on that list, so do not bring it without asking. The county gives no bail-window hours, so call 831-636-4060 before you drive over. Have his booking number and full name on hand, and hold on to the receipt; it should show the case number.

For a person arrested without a warrant, yes. The schedule says its purpose is to fix the amount on which that person may be released before seeing a judge, and release at a different amount needs a hearing in open court first. Violent felonies as described in Penal Code 667.5(c) also need such a hearing before release.

The schedule does not control a warrant. The judge who issued it picks the amount, using their own judgment. The court has a warrant-clearing line that is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call the criminal division at 831-636-4057, choose option 3, and ask for it.

California law requires a first appearance within 48 hours of arrest, with Sundays and holidays left out (Penal Code 825). San Benito has one Superior Court building, at 450 Fourth Street, Hollister. The criminal and traffic window is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays. The main number is 831-636-4057.

The court runs a walk-in court for felony and misdemeanor matters on weekdays. Check-in is from 8 a.m. to noon, and court starts at 1:30 p.m. Bring the citation. The clerk may be able to move an arraignment earlier but cannot postpone it. A promise to appear in writing must be kept, or a warrant can follow.

A Hollister bondsman usually charges 10 percent, state insurance regulators say, and the family keeps none of it, even if the case is thrown out. A partial refund may be possible if the person is surrendered, minus costs. Agents tied to one surety must use the same filed rates. Read every line about collateral before signing.

Property bonds go through the court. Ask the criminal division at 831-636-4057, option 3, how much equity the court wants, whether every owner must sign, and whether land in another county counts. The jail cannot approve property. Do not sign a lien until the court says yes in writing.

Murder carries no bail on the San Benito chart. Article I, section 12 of the state constitution also allows bail to be refused in certain violent or sexual felonies when danger is shown to be strong, and where he made serious threats. An out-of-county or probation hold keeps him on Flynn Road as well. Penal Code 1275 tells judges to weigh safety, the charge, the record, and the chance of return.

His attorney can ask the Hollister court for a bail review. A judge can consider the person's ability to pay under the 2021 California Supreme Court case In re Humphrey, and can release a person on conditions that do not require money. Pay stubs, his Hollister address and family members willing to vouch help his lawyer. Court appointed lawyers are available if the person qualifies. San Benito's main contract defense office answers at 831-638-1900.

The county Probation Department runs the San Benito County Youth Services Center, 708 Flynn Road, Hollister, next to the adult jail. It answers at 831-636-4050. Family visits are Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to noon. Juvenile delinquency hearings are on Mondays at 2 p.m. in Courtroom 3 at 450 Fourth Street. The court says juvenile case information is confidential and not given by phone, so bring identification to the clerk.

The judge orders the bail forfeited. When the bond is more than $400, the clerk mails notice, and the person has 180 days, plus 5 more because the notice is mailed, to appear so the forfeiture can be undone (Penal Code 1305). The court also says a date covered by a bail bond generally cannot be changed. Call the lawyer and the agent immediately.

Yes, in most cases. The 2026 Kowalczyk decision says courts must set bail a person can reasonably raise. In Hollister, the attorney can request a smaller amount after showing the family's income and expenses.

San Benito's court is in Hollister:

• San Benito courthouse: 450 Fourth Street, Hollister, CA 95023 · 831-636-4057

San Benito is in the San Jose division of the Northern District of California:

• He appears before a magistrate judge at San Jose federal courthouse, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95113.
• Pretrial Services reviews his record.
• Release terms or detention follow, with a possible delay (three days government, five defense).
• The Marshals hold detained defendants.

Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, 408-535-5496.

SB 54 forbids that. Release happens on schedule; the timing can be sent to ICE only when there's a serious or violent conviction. The TRUTH Act notice must be given before ICE questions anyone.

San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800 covers San Benito. Detainees go to:

• Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center: 425 Golden State Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301
• Golden State Annex: 611 Frontage Road, McFarland, CA 93250
• California City detention site: 22844 Virginia Boulevard, California City, CA 93505

• San Benito County Inmate Search: name; booking and bail.
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): California; facility.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): register number or name; pretrial: 408-535-5496.
• CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): CDCR number or name.
• ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number or name and birth country; then 415-365-8800.

The San Benito court at 831-636-4057 can read back the amount. Confirm it before calling a bondsman.

San Benito County keeps its criminal justice system compact. Every adult criminal case, from a shoplifting citation in Hollister to a felony arrest near San Juan Bautista or along Highway 25, is heard in one building by one court: the Superior Court of California, County of San Benito. The old local justice courts were absorbed when California unified its trial courts around 2000, so there is no separate city court in Hollister or San Juan Bautista. The courthouse sits at 450 Fourth Street, Hollister, CA 95023 in downtown Hollister. Its main number is (831) 636-4057; choose option 3 for the Criminal/Traffic Division. Arraignments, hearings, jury trials and sentencings all happen in this courthouse, so the address on a citation will almost always be the same one.

Each charge type below leads to a walk-through of a Hollister case.

In San Benito, police, deputies and the CHP usually hand out a ticket listing a Fourth Street date, then release him. If he is booked and kept on Flynn Road, a judge sees him within 48 hours, Sundays and holidays not counted. The San Benito County District Attorney decides what charges to file.

The arraignment comes first; he hears the charge, usually says not guilty, and learns his release conditions. San Benito County does not have a government public defender office. San Benito pays contract lawyers to defend those who can’t afford one: a main contract office in Hollister, plus a backup contract lawyer for cases it can’t take. Appointed counsel is free, since California courts no longer charge defendants for it. For lots of Hollister misdemeanors, counsel may go to court in his place.

Most get resolved at pretrial conferences by plea bargain, reduction, or dismissal. A judge can also offer diversion: meet the judge’s conditions and the San Benito charge is dropped, except for DUI, domestic violence and registrable sex crimes. A trial means 12 Hollister jurors, and he can insist it begin 30 days after arraignment if jailed or 45 if free. The defense commonly waives those limits to prepare.

Most San Benito misdemeanors carry no more than six months and a $1,000 fine, and a few allow a year. Hollister judges far more often hand down probation, fines, classes or service hours. Fourth Street misdemeanors usually close in weeks, now and then a few months.

After a felony arrest, the accused is generally held at the county jail in Hollister and arraigned on the District Attorney’s complaint within 48 hours. The judge takes up bail and release at that hearing. Since In re Humphrey, the California Supreme Court’s 2021 decision, a judge who sets money bail must factor in what the defendant can actually pay. Hollister courts are also covered by the 2026 Kowalczyk ruling, which says bail should generally be within the person's reach.

At arraignment, a contract defender is assigned if he can’t afford counsel. If the main office already has a co-defendant or another conflict, the backup contract lawyer takes over.

Within 10 court days comes a preliminary hearing, unless his lawyer agrees to a later date. The Hollister judge listens to testimony and decides if the evidence warrants trial. The District Attorney can instead take the case to a grand jury for an indictment, although that is uncommon. If it goes forward, the DA files the formal information, he enters a new plea, and a 60-day trial deadline begins unless he waives. Most felony cases are resolved by plea long before a jury is chosen.

After conviction, San Benito Probation writes a report, and the sentence usually follows within 20 court days. Since 2011 realignment, lesser felony terms are commonly served on Flynn Road instead of in prison. A “wobbler” can start as a misdemeanor or be cut down to one. San Benito felonies tend to take months, and some outlast a year.

Hollister sees few of these cases, but they follow the same felony path, only slower and with far more at stake. The state constitution permits a San Benito judge to keep him jailed with no bail for a violent felony or sexual assault felony, when clear and convincing evidence shows that freeing him would likely lead to serious injury. That means plenty of these Hollister defendants never leave Flynn Road before trial ends.

All three are strikes in California; a past strike doubles the Hollister sentence, and two past strikes can bring 25 years to life. A violent felon must serve 85% of the prison term at minimum.

• Murder: first-degree murder results in 25 years to life and second-degree murder in 15 years to life. If jurors find a special circumstance, like a death during a robbery, the only sentences are execution or prison with no parole. The San Benito DA alone can seek death, and the state has suspended executions since 2019.
• Armed robbery: as many as nine years, with 10 years for showing a gun, 20 for shooting, and 25 to life if the shot badly injures someone. Since 2018, a judge may drop those gun add-ons.
• Rape: as much as eight years behind bars, more if aggravated, and top-level sex offender registration.

Capital cases get two certified defense lawyers. Marsy’s Law protects San Benito victims: they get hearing notices, a chance to address the judge, and restitution. Most of these Hollister prosecutions span one to three years; some homicides go past five.

• San Benito courthouse: 450 Fourth Street, Hollister, CA 95023 · 831-636-4057

San Benito's federal arrests are prosecuted in the Northern District of California, opening before a magistrate judge at San Jose federal courthouse, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95113. Pretrial Services reports; the Marshals (U.S. Marshals Service, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, 408-535-5496) hold anyone detained.

Hollister's court handles the charge with or without a detainer. SB 54 bars jail extensions; release info goes to ICE only after a serious or violent conviction. Ask defense counsel about status. ICE: San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800; sites:

• Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center: 425 Golden State Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301
• Golden State Annex: 611 Frontage Road, McFarland, CA 93250
• California City detention site: 22844 Virginia Boulevard, California City, CA 93505

• San Benito County Inmate Search: county jail.
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): California.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): federal; pretrial 408-535-5496.
• CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): prison.
• ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number or name and birth country; 415-365-8800.

San Benito has one courthouse, at 450 Fourth Street. Phone the criminal division at 831-636-4057 with the case number for the date, time and department. For someone still on Flynn Road, the jail at 831-636-4060 knows the transport plan.

Ask the Sheriff's Office jail line at (831) 636-4060. San Juan Bautista, Tres Pinos and Aromas warrants are served by deputies, and jail staff search a legal name and birth date through local and California records before giving you an answer. The Superior Court's public portal pulls up the case itself. With an attorney, walk into the county jail at 710 Flynn Road, or have counsel request a recall hearing. The Fourth Street courthouse clerk, number 450, can talk about a new date.