San Miguel County Jail

Check San Miguel County Inmate Search first.

Missing from the list? Ring County Road 63L at 970-728-1911 and ask whether another agency, such as Telluride or Mountain Village police, made the arrest.

Go to the Sheriff's Office at 684 County Road 63L, Telluride, CO 81435.

Call 970-728-1911 before the trip to confirm the payment types.

The San Miguel County Courthouse is at 305 West Colorado Avenue, Telluride, CO 81435.

Telluride ordinance tickets go to the town's municipal court, 970-728-2158, and Mountain Village tickets to its court at 411 Mountain Village Boulevard, 970-369-8225.

The State Public Defender's Montrose office covers San Miguel County: 100 Tessitore Court, Unit G, Montrose, 970-249-4791. A San Miguel conflict sends the Telluride case to Alternate Defense Counsel.

San Miguel offices:

• Sheriff and jail: 684 County Road 63L, Telluride, CO 81435; 970-728-1911.
• San Miguel County Courthouse: 305 W. Colorado Avenue, Telluride; 970-369-3310.
• Telluride Municipal Court: 970-728-2158; hearings at the county courthouse.
• Mountain Village Municipal Court: 411 Mountain Village Boulevard, third floor; 970-369-8225.
• 7th District Attorney, Telluride: 305 W. Colorado Avenue; 970-728-4381.
• Public Defender, Montrose: 100 Tessitore Court, Unit G; 970-249-4791.

San Miguel youths held before court go to the Grand Mesa Youth Services Center in Grand Junction. Telluride and Mountain Village town tickets stay in their own courts, while deputy and trooper cases from Norwood or Naturita go to Colorado Avenue. A missed town date can bring a separate warrant.

Ten Colorado bond protections at County Road 63L:

• Deadline: a San Miguel judge sets bond within 48 hours of booking.
• Recognizance: release on a signed promise, with nothing paid up front.
• Shared signature: a co-signer pledges the San Miguel amount against a no-show.
• Cash: the full sum, paid to San Miguel County and refunded at the end.
• Surety fee: at most $50 or 15 percent, the larger of the two.
• Real property: Colorado land with equity of 1.5 times the San Miguel bond.
• Small counts: no cash bond on petty or traffic charges in Telluride courts.
• Unpaid costs: jail debts can't delay release; the bond fee is limited to $10 and card fees to 3.5 percent.
• Credit card: HB25-1015 allows paying a San Miguel cash bond online with a credit card.
• Murder exception: for a Telluride case, under Amendment I (2024), bail can be refused for first-degree murder when proof is evident.

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

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the Wayne Aspinall Federal Building in Grand Junction, 400 Rood Avenue, Suite 309, Grand Junction, CO 81501, 970-245-5396; the closest branch is Grand Junction at 400 Rood Avenue. Order of events:

• A magistrate hearing soon after arrest.
• A pretrial services interview.
• A detention hearing if the U.S. Attorney asks.
• Release terms if he goes home.

The U.S. Marshals hold federal defendants awaiting trial: U.S. Marshals Service, Grand Junction office, 970-243-5210 (district headquarters in Denver: 303-728-7800).

Look in:

• Federal system: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/); pre-sentence, the Marshals at 970-243-5210.
• Colorado DOC: Colorado Department of Corrections inmate search (https://www.doc.state.co.us/oss/).
• San Miguel roster: San Miguel County Inmate Search.

Our San Miguel County inmate search page offers extra Telluride tools.

C.R.S. 24-76.6-102 (https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-24.pdf) means a civil ICE detainer alone gives the County Road 63L jail no lawful ground to hold him. When the San Miguel case permits release, he leaves; ICE must act under its own federal power.

The ICE Denver Field Office, 12445 East Caley Avenue, Centennial, CO 80111, 720-873-2899 covers the Western Slope. The ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/) asks for an A-number and birth country.

Free:

• Go to VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/); choose Colorado.
• Search by name or San Miguel booking number.
• Open his listing.
• Sign up with a phone or email.

VINE notifies registered family when a Telluride inmate is released, moved or sent to prison.

Tools:

• Docket: Colorado Judicial Branch docket search (https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/dockets); choose San Miguel County.
• Court records: court record request form (https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/recorddocument-request-form), or the Colorado Avenue clerk, 970-369-3310.
• Warrants: San Miguel County Sheriff's Office, 970-728-1911.

A person with a San Miguel warrant can surrender at County Road 63L, ideally alongside a lawyer.

Phone:

• County Road 63L jail, 970-728-1911, for the amount, payment types and holds.
• San Miguel County Courthouse, 970-369-3310, for conditions, hearing dates and refunds.

Telluride and Mountain Village officers, San Miguel deputies and state troopers can handle a minor crime by writing a summons that names a San Miguel court date. After an arrest and booking at the County Road 63L jail, you see a judge promptly, and state law has bond fixed inside 48 hours of reaching the jail. Bond means the conditions, and sometimes money, that let you leave until the case ends. Telluride judges may not demand cash on petty counts, nor on traffic counts beyond a narrow list.

The first Telluride hearing is the arraignment: the count is read, and you answer it. Since Colorado’s 2022 changes, a class 1 misdemeanor tops out at 364 days and $1,000, and a class 2 misdemeanor at 120 days and $750. Petty offenses rank below and end in fines. Possession in San Miguel can be charged at the DM1 or DM2 level. Stealing skis or a bike worth $1,000 to $2,000 is a class 1 misdemeanor. A first DUI can mean days in jail, fines, alcohol classes, community service and a lost license.

The Colorado State Public Defender’s Montrose office, 100 Tessitore Court, Unit G, (970) 249-4791, takes San Miguel defendants who qualify after the judge reviews income. If that office is conflicted out, Alternate Defense Counsel assigns a different Telluride attorney. Six jurors hear a San Miguel misdemeanor. Endings include plea deals, probation and deferred judgments, where the charge is dropped after a clean stretch.

Under 18: San Miguel misdemeanor teens go before the district judge sitting in juvenile session. The 7th District DA can propose diversion first, with counseling, classes or service hours in place of a formal case. Telluride’s town court can take some youth ordinance and traffic tickets. A detained Telluride youth gets a hearing within 48 hours, with weekends and holidays excluded.

A felony can bring state prison. In Telluride the case opens with an advisement, where the judge names the counts, covers the defendant’s rights and sets a San Miguel bond. The 7th District then files in District Court. On a serious felony, or while the person stays jailed, the defense can request a preliminary hearing to test the evidence; it comes within 35 days of the request. San Miguel prosecutors can instead seat a grand jury, residents who weigh evidence privately and vote on charges.

Colorado sorts felonies into six classes. Standard prison ranges: class 2, 8 to 24 years; class 3, 4 to 12 years; class 4, 2 to 6 years; class 5, 1 to 3 years; class 6, 12 to 18 months. Drug felonies run DF1 through DF4. With pricey homes around Telluride, burglary of a condo or vacation home is a serious charge, a class 3 felony. Theft of $2,000 or more becomes a felony that climbs with the value. A fourth DUI counts as a class 4 felony.

Once a San Miguel defendant pleads not guilty, the clock gives prosecutors six months, barring a defense delay. Felony verdicts need all twelve Telluride jurors.

Under 18: A San Miguel youth felony starts in juvenile court. A youth held before trial goes to the Grand Mesa center, a state Division of Youth Services site outside the county. Through a transfer hearing, a Telluride judge can shift it to the adult side. Transfer covers youths 12 and up, with 12- and 13-year-olds eligible only for class 1 or 2 felonies or crimes of violence.

Colorado abolished the death penalty effective July 1, 2020, so first-degree murder, a class 1 felony, now means life without parole. A San Miguel count classed under C.R.S. 18-1.3-406 as a crime of violence makes prison mandatory, from the midpoint of the standard range to twice its maximum. Armed robbery and first-degree assault fall under that Telluride rule.

Certain sexual assault cases carry an indeterminate sentence, with a minimum term and no fixed maximum; the parole board later rules on release. Telluride bonds in these cases run high, with orders barring contact with the victim.

Colorado’s Victims’ Rights Act protects San Miguel crime victims, who learn of each hearing, may sit in, and may address the sentencing judge. The 7th District Attorney’s victim-witness staff explain each stage.

Under 18: A direct file lets the 7th District file adult charges at once against a 16- or 17-year-old, but only for class 1 or 2 felonies, named violent sex crimes, or violent felonies by a San Miguel teen with a serious past record. The teen can ask for a move back to juvenile court. Colorado forbids life without parole for anyone under 18 at the time of the crime, and Telluride judges may pick the Youthful Offender System instead.

Telluride, Mountain Village, Norwood and Naturita cases go to:

• San Miguel County Courthouse: 305 W. Colorado Avenue, Telluride, CO 81435; 970-369-3310
• Telluride Municipal Court: 970-728-2158
• Mountain Village Municipal Court: 411 Mountain Village Boulevard; 970-369-8225
• Norwood and Ophir: these towns have municipal courts too; they post no official court page, so contact the town for hearing times and location
• District Attorney: 305 W. Colorado Avenue, Telluride; 970-728-4381
• Public Defender: 100 Tessitore Court, Unit G, Montrose; 970-249-4791
• Sheriff and jail: 684 County Road 63L, Telluride; 970-728-1911
• Youth detention: Grand Mesa Youth Services Center, Grand Junction

Paying a San Miguel bond is explained on our San Miguel County bail page; the statute is Colorado bail law, C.R.S. Title 16, Article 4 (https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-16.pdf).

• A Telluride arrestee gets a bond decision within 48 hours of reaching County Road 63L.
• San Miguel arrests without a warrant follow the 7th District bond chart until a judge rules.
• Cash bond is not allowed for San Miguel petty and traffic charges.
• HB25-1015 opens online credit card payment for Telluride cash bond.
• Amendment I (2024) lets a San Miguel judge refuse bail in first-degree murder on evident proof.

Bond paperwork for Telluride cases is at Colorado Judicial Branch guide to bond types (https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/self-help/types-bonds).

Federal court: Colorado’s U.S. District Court is headquartered at the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse, 901 19th Street, Denver. The branch closest to Telluride is the Grand Junction courthouse at 400 Rood Avenue. San Miguel state crimes break Colorado laws; federal crimes break U.S. laws or happen on federal property. Large parts of the county are public land: the Uncompahgre National Forest, the Lizard Head Wilderness, and Bureau of Land Management ground along the Dolores and San Miguel rivers. Poaching, illegal tree cutting, sparking wildfires or stealing ancient artifacts there can be federal crimes, as can interstate drug runs and certain gun offenses. Neither a base nor a reservation lies in San Miguel. Pick a topic.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado hears San Miguel federal charges:

• Headquarters: the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse, 901 19th Street, Denver, CO 80294, 303-844-3433
• Closest branch: 400 Rood Avenue, Grand Junction
• U.S. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, Grand Junction office, 970-243-5210 (district headquarters in Denver: 303-728-7800)

Custody for a Telluride federal defendant is up to a magistrate; detainees go to the Marshals.

• Jail: San Miguel County Inmate Search
• State 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/); awaiting sentence, 970-243-5210
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/) for notices

Our San Miguel County inmate page lists more search tools.

C.R.S. 24-76.6-102 (https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-24.pdf) forbids County Road 63L from keeping a San Miguel arrestee solely on a civil ICE detainer.

• 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: court record request form (https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/recorddocument-request-form)
• Warrants: San Miguel County Sheriff's Office, 970-728-1911

These Telluride notes sketch a San Miguel criminal case and are not legal advice. Need help? Hire a defense attorney or ring the Montrose public defender at (970) 249-4791.

Call the court at 970-369-3310 and the jail at 970-728-1911 to confirm before paying or driving to Telluride.