The Downieville office has a small holding area for the first hours after an arrest. People who stay in custody are usually taken by contract to Nevada County's Wayne Brown Correctional Facility, 925 Maidu Avenue, Nevada City, CA 95959 (530-265-1291).

Start with VINELink, then check Nevada County's roster if the person was moved. Calling Downieville at 530-289-3700 is often the quickest way.

A judge sees him no later than two court days after arrest, at 100 Courthouse Square, Second Floor, Downieville, CA 95936, where the criminal clerk answers 530-289-3698. The criminal clerk is at 530-289-3698. Court steps for a Sierra case are covered in the Sierra bail and court guide.

The 2026 bail schedule sets the opening number. Bail may be paid through the Sheriff or posted by a licensed agent, and Sierra's judge may change that sum once family finances are known.

Sierra relies on contract lawyers instead of a county defender's office, so the court assigns one at the first hearing for anyone who can't hire a lawyer.

If the person is at the Nevada County jail, follow Nevada County's visiting rules and bring photo ID. See Sierra visiting and remote visits.

Mail goes to whichever jail is holding the person, with full name and booking number. Topics: postal mail, account money, store orders, jail phones, e-messages, tablet access.

Minors who must be detained are sent to a juvenile hall in another county by agreement. Sierra County Probation (530-289-3277) can say where.

Deputies in Downieville won't demand a prepaid card to free someone. Hang up and dial 530-289-3700 to check the story.

It normally begins after teams from the Postal Inspection Service, the ATF, or the DEA carry out the arrest. This county is part of the Sacramento Division (Eastern District of California), so cases take place downtown in Sacramento, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. The clerk's line: 916-930-4000. The court uses a pretrial services summary. Soon after booking, they appear before a federal magistrate for a first hearing. Money is not how it works on a federal case. A judge considers safety and flight risk during a quick hearing, under the federal Bail Reform Act.

Many federal prisoners wait in a private jail rented by the U.S. Marshals. Try the county roster first; there the hold may show. Marshals staff in Sacramento track people in federal custody. Phone 916-930-2030, or visit the office at 501 I Street, Suite 5600, Sacramento, CA 95814. Following a federal sentence, a prisoner moves to federal prison (the BOP). Follow the inmate through the BOP locator by full name.

• Right after arrest, the inmate's prints are sent to federal databases. If ICE thinks the inmate may be deportable, it may file a detainer to the jail.
• Through the I-247A, ICE asks the jail to hold the person on ICE's behalf up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)). In Downieville, the California Values Act (SB 54) applies: release follows the local case, and ICE takes custody only of someone named in a judicial warrant or with a qualifying serious conviction.
• Even with bond posted, the detainer remains in place.
• ICE agents often collect them at the contract jail during the hold. If ICE does not come, that means release.
• Questions about where they're go to the San Francisco ICE office, which covers Northern California: 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800.
• The free web tool, the online locator, shows where they're held when given the A-number and birth country. The A-number is missing? Enter the full legal name, DOB, and country of birth instead.
• The agency chooses the next facility.

Felony prison terms are handled by the CDCR. At first, most people wait in the contract jail while the state schedules the move. The trip ends at intake, where new prisoners get processed. CDCR staff screen them by gang connections, security level and medical and mental care. The final step is the unit that fits those results.

The CDCR online lookup shows their unit. The state prison guide has prison addresses.

No. Sierra posts no inmate list online, so no Sierra mugshots are posted. VINELink tells you custody status only.

The state rule is PC 13665. Social media is what it covers. It applies to most nonviolent arrests. Police can't post those mugshots online there. Photos posted there expire after 14 days. Fugitives and threats are the exceptions. The sheriff's own website isn't covered. Most sheriffs in California skip photos anyway.

The press seeking a mugshot that isn't public can contact sheriff's staff at 530-289-3700. ICE booking photos must be requested through a records request to ICE and approved by ICE. Federal mugshots are kept private. The Marshals' rules keep sharing to a few situations: for a wanted person, to aid the search or alert people, or when the community must be warned now.

• Sierra County Sheriff's Office, Downieville: 530-289-3700
• Sierra County Sheriff's Office, Loyalton substation: 530-993-4479

The Sheriff and the CHP patrol the whole county.

Sheriff's deputies (530-289-3700) serve warrants in Loyalton, Sierraville and Sierra City. The small local jail holds people only a short time, so a longer stay means a transfer to a neighboring county's jail. Those deputies check warrants by phone, statewide records included. The court's online services handle payments, and the Courthouse Square clerk explains how to return. If you have a warrant, a local lawyer can set up surrender with the Sheriff, which is the gentlest path for families who live far up the canyon.