Adams County Detention Facility

Enter the person's legal name in Adams County Inmate Search.

Someone picked up by a city officer may be at a police station first, so give it time.

The sheriff's bond page sends in-person payments to the detention facility at 150 North 19th Avenue, Brighton, CO 80601.

Do not take bond money there unless the jail tells you to.

In person, the sheriff says it accepts cash, money orders and cashier's checks. Write any money order or cashier's check to the Clerk of the Court. Personal checks are left off.

Ask the jail line which cards work online before you rely on one.

Yes. The sheriff links an online payment service, and House Bill 25-1015 requires every Colorado jail to let any bond that can be posted in person also be posted online, by credit card at a minimum. Use only the links that sit on the sheriff's bond information page.

An inmate spending account is separate, and deposits there buy snacks and phone time, not release.

The sheriff's bonding rights sheet says the jail must release the person within 6 hours after the bond is set, the person is back at the jail, and the payer has told the jail the bond is ready. Only extraordinary circumstances can delay it. After 6 hours, you may ask what is causing the delay.

A hold from another case can still keep someone inside. If you think the wait is too long, the Duty Records Supervisor takes complaints at 303-655-3490.

You owe only the bond itself. The sheriff's sheet says booking fees, bond fees, and other debts do not have to be paid to get someone out on a money bond. You pay the bond amount and nothing more. The sheet adds that the payment is made out to the holding county, never to the person in jail, and that you can ask for a copy of the bond paperwork, which shows the next court date.

A judge picks the bond type and the amount. The judge may grant release on a signed promise, on supervised conditions, or on a money bond. Colorado law presumes release on the lightest terms that still protect the public and get the person to court. The booking record on the search is your best guide, and the jail line at 303-654-1850 can read it to you.

Amounts change with the charge, the judge, and the person's record, so this page lists no sample figures. Ignore bond figures posted by strangers online. The clerk at 303-659-1161 can point you to the court order that applies.

A licensed bonding agent posts the bond for a fee, and the agent can require a cosigner or collateral. By state law the charge cannot top 15 percent of the bail, or $50, whichever is more. Ask exactly what you will be charged, whether any of it is returned, and what a missed Brighton date would cost. Get every answer in writing. Under state law, a bond can be posted by cash, by Colorado real estate, by sureties worth at least 1.5 times the bond, or by a bonding agent, and the payer picks the method unless the judge orders one.

Sometimes. The real estate must be in Colorado, and the unencumbered equity must be at least 1.5 times the bond. Mobile homes and vehicles do not count. Every owner on the deed must show up with ID, and the court files a deed of trust in favor of the Clerk of Court. Proof of title is due within 35 days of filing.

Warrant bonds in the 17th District can carry their own limits on property, so ask the clerk at 303-659-1161 which rule applies to you.

State law since House Bill 21-1280 calls for a bond hearing within 48 hours of arrival at the jail for most people held. Ask the clerk at 303-659-1161 when the next in-custody bond session meets and whether family can watch by video.

Defense counsel may later ask for a fresh look at the amount.

The Adams County Justice Center, 1100 Judicial Center Drive, Brighton, holds the court for both levels. The clerk's office phone is 303-659-1161. The clerk's office is open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and phone service runs 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Most felony cases are first heard in county court and then move up to district court.

A no-bond line can mean bond is not set yet, or that another matter, like a probation case or an out-of-county warrant, is keeping the person. The Colorado Constitution, Article II, Section 19, lets a court deny bail when the proof is evident or the presumption is great on a capital charge and, since voters passed Amendment I in 2024, on first-degree murder. It also allows a hearing to hold certain violent-crime defendants who pose a significant danger. Ask the jail line at 303-654-1850 which hold applies.

Aurora runs its own city detention center for city cases, and the city covers parts of three counties. Check Adams County Inmate Search first. When the name is absent, call the Aurora Detention Center, 14999 East Alameda Parkway, at 303-739-6194 for custody and bond on a city charge.

The sheriff says anyone may surrender at the detention facility, 150 North 19th Avenue, any hour of any day. Before that, the Warrants Section answers Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 720-322-1325. Ask for the bond on the warrant, then bring the payment form the jail accepts. A lawyer can sometimes arrange a surrender date.

Youth under 18 are not in the adult jail. For this district, the state's Prairie Vista Youth Services Center, 192 Bromley Business Parkway, Brighton, serves young people held for court. Its main line is 303-659-4450. Youth cases are closed to the public and stay off the adult roster. Phone the clerk at 303-659-1161 for the hearing.

At that first court visit, the prisoner may request appointed counsel from the state. The Colorado State Public Defender's Brighton office, 4710 East Bromley Lane, answers at 303-659-4274. A conflict at that office leads the judge to appoint another lawyer from the Alternate Defense Counsel program.

Skipping a date can trigger a fresh warrant and cost the bond. The state court says money or property pledged for a bond can be lost to forfeiture. Phone the clerk at 303-659-1161 the same day, and speak to your lawyer or the bonding agent. Moving fast can make a difference.

Adams County offices never want gift cards, crypto or wires sent to an individual. Pay only through the sheriff's own links or at the detention facility, and verify any call by dialing 303-654-1850 yourself.

Adams County spreads bond work across a handful of buildings, most of them in Brighton:

• Adams County Detention Facility: 150 North 19th Avenue, Brighton, CO 80601, 303-654-1850, open around the clock for bonds and surrenders
• Sheriff's Office headquarters: 4430 South Adams County Parkway, Suite W5400, Brighton; main line 303-654-1850, dispatch 303-288-1535, warrants 720-322-1325
• Adams County Justice Center (district and county court): 1100 Judicial Center Drive, Brighton, CO 80601, 303-659-1161
• District Attorney, 17th Judicial District: 1000 Judicial Center Drive, Brighton, 303-659-7720
• Public Defender, Brighton office: 4710 East Bromley Lane, Brighton, 303-659-4274
• Aurora Detention Center (city cases): 14999 East Alameda Parkway, Aurora, 303-739-6194

Youth held for court go to Prairie Vista Youth Services Center, 192 Bromley Business Parkway, Brighton, 303-659-4450.

An arrest on a city ordinance goes to that city's municipal court, not the Justice Center:

• Thornton Municipal Court: 9551 Civic Center Drive, Thornton, 720-977-5400
• Westminster Municipal Court: 3030 Turnpike Drive, Westminster, 303-658-2250
• Commerce City Municipal Court: 7887 East 60th Avenue, Commerce City, 303-289-3640
• Northglenn Municipal Court: 50 West Community Center Drive, Northglenn, 303-450-8701
• Brighton Municipal Court: 3401 East Bromley Lane, Brighton, 303-655-2064
• Federal Heights Municipal Court: 2380 West 90th Avenue, Federal Heights, 303-412-3526
• Aurora Municipal Court: 14999 East Alameda Parkway, Aurora, 303-739-6444

The ticket or booking sheet names the court. Ask that court's clerk whether the city bond is paid at the Brighton jail or at the city building.

These state rules apply to every bond set at the Justice Center:

• Bond hearing: someone held must see a judge for bond within 48 hours of arriving at the jail.
• Personal recognizance: release on a signature alone, paying nothing at the start.
• Unsecured bond: a set dollar amount owed only if court is missed.
• Cash bond: the full amount, by cash, money order or cashier's check, which may be made out to the holding county.
• Surety bond: a licensed bonding agent posts it for a fee capped at 15 percent of the bail or $50, whichever is more.
• Property bond: Colorado real estate with equity worth at least 1.5 times the bond.
• Ticket-level charges: traffic offenses, petty offenses and matching city offenses cannot carry a money bond.
• Fees: the jail may charge a bond fee of $10 at most, plus a card processing fee.
• Online posting: under House Bill 25-1015, any bond that can be posted in person must also be postable online, by credit card at a minimum.
• No bail: since Amendment I took effect in December 2024, a judge may deny bail on a first-degree murder charge when the proof is evident or the presumption is great.

Read the full text in Colorado bail law, C.R.S. Title 16, Article 4 (https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-16.pdf), and see Colorado Judicial Branch guide to bond types (https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/self-help/types-bonds).

The Brighton bond counter has no role. The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado handles the charge, with the clerk at the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse in Denver, 901 19th Street, Denver, CO 80294, 303-844-3433. The steps run like this:

• Federal agents bring the person to Denver for a first hearing before a magistrate judge.
• Pretrial Services checks home, work and record.
• The prosecutor may request detention pending trial.
• A release, when granted, comes with federal conditions rather than a cash amount.

Until sentencing the U.S. Marshals pick the jail: U.S. Marshals Service, 901 19th Street, 3rd Floor, Denver, CO 80294, 303-728-7800.

Three free searches cover most moves:

• Federal custody: the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/) after a federal sentence begins; earlier, phone the Marshals at 303-728-7800.
• State prison: the Colorado Department of Corrections inmate search (https://www.doc.state.co.us/oss/), by name or DOC number.
• Adams County jail: Adams County Inmate Search.

Our Adams County inmate search page gathers more lookups.

Colorado law, C.R.S. 24-76.6-102 (https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-24.pdf), bars sheriffs from arresting or holding anyone on a civil immigration detainer alone. Once the Adams charges allow release, the jail cannot keep the person just because ICE asked. ICE may still take custody through its own process.

The ICE Denver Field Office, 12445 East Caley Avenue, Centennial, CO 80111, 720-873-2899 covers Adams County. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/) with the A-number and birth country if someone was moved.

VINE is free and also shows whether a person is still in custody:

• Open VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/) and choose Colorado.
• Search by name or the Brighton booking number.
• Pick the right record and check the custody status.
• Register a phone, text or email notice for a release or transfer.

These official tools are free:

• Court dates: the Colorado Judicial Branch docket search (https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/dockets); pick Adams County.
• Court papers: the court record request form (https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/recorddocument-request-form), or call the clerk at 303-659-1161.
• Sheriff warrants: the sheriff's public records search, or the Warrants Section at 720-322-1325, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• City warrants: call the municipal court that issued it.

A person with a warrant may surrender at 150 North 19th Avenue at any hour, ideally with a lawyer.

One call can prevent a wasted drive to Brighton:

• The detention facility, 303-654-1850, for the amount, holds and release timing.
• The Justice Center clerk, 303-659-1161, for the court order and next date.
• The city court on the ticket, for a city charge.

Misdemeanors are the middle tier of Colorado crime: bigger than a ticket, smaller than a felony. In Adams County, plenty of them start with a summons, a paper ticket that replaces the ride to jail and names a day to appear at the Justice Center. Booking at the Adams County Detention Facility in Brighton starts a clock: the person must see a judge with no needless delay, and bond has to be settled inside 48 hours of reaching the jail. (Think of bond as the deal for walking out of jail before the case ends: cash, a signature, or a list of rules.) For petty offenses and most traffic offenses, state law bars a money bond in most of them.

The first court date is known as an advisement or arraignment. At it, the judge spells out the accusation, goes over the defendant’s rights, and takes a plea. The Colorado Office of the State Public Defender has a Brighton office that covers Adams and Broomfield, at (303) 659-4274. A judge appoints that office when a defendant risks jail and has no funds to hire counsel. Should the public defender already be representing someone else in the same case, the Office of Alternate Defense Counsel supplies an outside attorney.

Most misdemeanors end with a deal, called a plea bargain, or with the charge dropped. Some people can get diversion, where they finish classes or community service and the case goes away. Misdemeanor juries in Adams County seat just six people. Colorado rewrote its misdemeanor penalties in 2022. An M1 now carries a ceiling of 364 days plus a $1,000 fine; an M2 is limited to 120 days and $750. Petty offenses are smaller still, and a first DUI has its own penalty rules.

Under 18: Adams teens charged with misdemeanors skip County Court; their cases go to the juvenile courtroom of Adams District Court. Many first-time cases go to the District Attorney’s juvenile diversion program, which means the young person does things like counseling or restitution (paying back the victim) and avoids a court record. City municipal courts may also handle some teen ordinance and traffic cases. Colorado’s 48-hour clock for a detained Adams youth’s detention hearing pauses over weekends and holidays. An Adams youth who must be held goes to Prairie Vista Youth Services Center on Bromley Business Parkway in Brighton, a state-run Division of Youth Services detention center.

Felonies are the crimes Colorado can punish with prison time. In Adams County, the first steps happen in County Court: the advisement and the bond hearing. Then the District Attorney files the felony charges. Defendants facing higher-class felonies, or lower ones while sitting in jail, may request a preliminary hearing. Think of it as a quick evidence check: is there enough to move the case forward? Colorado’s rule sets a 35-day deadline from the request. When the answer is yes, the judge “binds over” the case, which just means it moves up to Adams District Court. Now and then the 17th District DA goes to a grand jury instead; those citizens hear evidence behind closed doors and vote on charges.

Upstairs in District Court, the defendant is arraigned on the felony and enters a plea. Once that plea is “not guilty,” the 17th District has six months to get a 12-person jury seated, unless the defense itself asks for more time.

Felonies in Colorado come in six classes, with drug felonies on a separate four-step ladder, DF1 to DF4. Each class has a usual prison range, called the presumptive range. Class 2 is 8 to 24 years. Class 3 is 4 to 12. Class 4 is 2 to 6. Class 5 is 1 to 3. Class 6, the lowest, is 12 to 18 months. Many people get probation, community corrections or treatment courts instead of prison. A DUI arrest with three earlier DUI convictions on record is charged as a class 4 felony.

Under 18: Felony charges against teens normally stay in the juvenile division of Adams County District Court, where the focus is on fixing behavior, not just punishment. Possible results there include juvenile probation, treatment programs, or a commitment to state youth corrections. In grave cases, prosecutors can push for a transfer, asking a judge to move the teen into the adult system.

Violent cases move through the same Justice Center courtrooms, but the stakes are much higher. An Adams judge may refuse bond outright when first-degree murder is charged and the proof looks strong. Elsewhere, expect large bond amounts and no-contact orders. Colorado labels certain charges a crime of violence (C.R.S. 18-1.3-406). Once that label sticks, prison becomes required, and the floor rises to the midpoint of the normal range while the ceiling doubles. For example, second-degree murder, a class 2 felony, then carries 16 to 48 years. Aggravated robbery can mean 10 to 32 years.

Adults convicted of first-degree murder, Colorado’s class 1 felony, receive one sentence: life without parole. The state’s death penalty was abolished in 2020, effective July 1. Sexual assault can bring an indeterminate term: a minimum number of years, then the parole board picks a release date. Crime victims in Adams County are protected by the state constitution (art. II, § 16a) and the Colorado Victims’ Rights Act, such as notice of key hearings and the right to speak to the Brighton judge before a sentence is handed down.

Under 18: Brighton prosecutors may skip juvenile court with a direct file only in a narrow set of cases, namely for teens aged 16 or 17 who are charged with one of the top two felony classes or one of a short list of violent sex crimes. Everything else needs a transfer hearing first, and for the gravest charges Colorado permits one for kids as young as 12. Even in adult court, a person who was under 18 cannot get life without parole in Colorado. Inside juvenile court, the harshest outcome is the aggravated juvenile offender label, which permits up to seven years in state youth custody.

Its free statewide docket search does show upcoming court dates. Actual papers from a file can be ordered through the branch’s records request page, or by phoning the Brighton clerk. Paid private websites also sell case searches, and the branch lists the approved ones in its public records access guide. State or federal? Most crimes break Colorado law and stay in Brighton. A crime that breaks a law passed by Congress can land in the federal District of Colorado court, which serves Adams County from the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse, 901 19th Street, Denver (other federal courtrooms are in Colorado Springs, Durango and Grand Junction, per cod.uscourts.gov). Place matters too: a crime inside the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Commerce City, which is federal land, can become a federal case. There are no Indian reservations in Adams County. Pick a topic below.

State cases from Adams County are heard in Brighton, while city cases stay in each city:

• Adams County Justice Center (17th Judicial District, district and county court): 1100 Judicial Center Drive, Brighton, CO 80601, 303-659-1161; clerk's office 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., phones 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• District Attorney: 1000 Judicial Center Drive, Brighton, 303-659-7720
• Public Defender: 4710 East Bromley Lane, Brighton, 303-659-4274
• Adams County Detention Facility: 150 North 19th Avenue, Brighton, 303-654-1850
• Sheriff's Office: 4430 South Adams County Parkway, Suite W5400, Brighton; 303-654-1850
• Municipal courts: Thornton 720-977-5400; Westminster 303-658-2250; Commerce City 303-289-3640; Northglenn 303-450-8701; Brighton 303-655-2064; Federal Heights 303-412-3526; Aurora 303-739-6444

Bond rules for the Brighton jail are on our Adams County bail page, and the statute is in Colorado bail law, C.R.S. Title 16, Article 4 (https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-16.pdf).

This overview of Adams County criminal cases is general information rather than legal advice. Someone charged in Brighton would be wise to consult a criminal defense attorney; the public defender’s number there is (303) 659-4274.

Hearing times at the Justice Center can move, so call the clerk at 303-659-1161 before driving to Brighton, and ask the jail at 303-654-1850 whether the person is still held.

A Brighton judge weighs these state rules at the bond hearing:

• The hearing must happen within 48 hours of arrival at the jail.
• Judges may not set a money bond on traffic or petty charges or their city equivalents.
• Release on a personal recognizance or unsecured bond is the starting point for many lower charges.
• House Bill 25-1015 requires an online option, including credit card, for any bond the Brighton counter accepts.
• Amendment I (2024) lets a judge deny bail on first-degree murder when the proof is evident or the presumption is great.

The Colorado Judicial Branch guide to bond types (https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/self-help/types-bonds) explains each bond type.

Federal crimes from Adams County go to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado:

• Clerk: the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse in Denver, 901 19th Street, Denver, CO 80294, 303-844-3433
• U.S. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 901 19th Street, 3rd Floor, Denver, CO 80294, 303-728-7800

A magistrate judge in Denver rules on release, and the Marshals decide where the person waits.

• County jail: Adams County Inmate Search
• Colorado prisons: Colorado Department of Corrections inmate search (https://www.doc.state.co.us/oss/)
• Federal prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/); before sentencing, 303-728-7800
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/), which shows custody status and sends alerts.

Our Adams County inmate page lists more ways to search.

Under C.R.S. 24-76.6-102 (https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-24.pdf), Adams deputies may not hold a person on an ICE civil detainer request by itself.

• Field office: ICE Denver Field Office, 12445 East Caley Avenue, Centennial, CO 80111, 720-873-2899
• Locator: ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/)

• Dockets: Colorado Judicial Branch docket search (https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/dockets)
• Records requests: court record request form (https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/recorddocument-request-form)
• Warrants: sheriff's public records search or 720-322-1325