Rockdale County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

Deputies, Conyers officers and state troopers all bring arrestees to the detention center at 2385 Sigman Industrial Court, Conyers, GA 30012. The sheriff's office describes room for up to 720 people there. For booking status, the sheriff's contact page gives the jail line as 770-278-8265; outside an emergency, that same page sends other calls to non-emergency dispatch at 770-483-4200 or to the main office, 770-278-8000. The bonding clerk answers at 770-278-8204 and inmate affairs at 770-278-8209. Conyers Police Department, 1194 Scott Street, Conyers, 770-929-4201, handles city arrests before the transfer to Sigman Industrial Court.

Rockdale runs first appearance hearings every day except Saturday, starting at 9:30 a.m. The sheriff's page says Monday and Wednesday hearings are held in person, while Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday hearings are virtual. Family members may sit in only with approval from the Magistrate Court, 874 N. Main Street NW, Conyers, 770-278-7800. State law caps the wait. For a warrantless arrest, Code section 17-4-62 allows 48 hours; when officers held a warrant, Code section 17-4-26 stretches that to 72.

Most bonds come from the Magistrate Court, which issues warrants and holds first appearance hearings at 874 N. Main Street NW, Conyers, GA 30012; mail goes to P.O. Box 289. The office number is 770-278-7800, fax 770-278-8915. Code section 17-6-1 keeps the most serious charges, such as murder, rape, aggravated sodomy and armed robbery, with a superior court judge. In Rockdale that means the Superior Court, Room 215C of the courthouse at 922 Court Street NE, Conyers, 770-278-7696, where the county's two superior judges sit.

SB 63 changed Code section 17-6-12 on July 1, 2024. Charges it names as bail-restricted, including DUI, burglary and aggravated assault, cannot be released on an unsecured judicial release. The remaining options are cash, a professional bondsman or a property bond the sheriff accepts. Once an amount exists, Rockdale's bonding clerk (770-278-8204) explains which of those routes the order allows. A defense lawyer can also ask a judge to review the bond conditions at a later hearing. Property pledged on those charges is taken only on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., per the sheriff's bonding page.

The sheriff's bonding page accepts cash, or a cashier's check equal to the full amount of the bond, for cash bonds. A $20 fee applies to bonds posted there, paid in exact change. Bonds on City of Conyers charges are different: those go to Conyers Municipal Court, 1194 Scott Street, Conyers, GA 30012, with 770-929-4201 as the police front desk on that block. The person posting brings a government photo ID plus the defendant's legal name and booking number. For the amount and any holds, the bonding clerk line is 770-278-8204.

Cash bonds can also be paid online through either of two vendors on the sheriff's bonding procedures page. GovPayNet carries payment location code 6347 for the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office and takes payments by phone at 888-604-7888. The second, Cash Bond Online, answers at 888-726-6301. A bond paid online still has to clear the jail before release, and processing time varies with the booking. Rockdale charges the same $20 jail fee described for in-person bonds. When an online payment seems stuck, Rockdale's bonding desk, 770-278-8204, can trace it.

Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Sigman Industrial Court jail accepts property bonds. Only improved real estate qualifies, and the owner's equity must equal at least twice the bond amount. For a bond of $25,000 or more, the sheriff requires a title search done by a licensed attorney within five business days. Every owner on the deed signs. Georgia's bail statute, Code section 17-6-1, leaves acceptance of pledged property to the local sheriff. Questions before the trip go to 770-278-8204.

The sheriff approves professional bonding companies and lists five of them on the bonding procedures page. A surety's fee is capped by Code section 17-6-30 at 15 percent of the bond or $50 per charge, whichever is more, and families do not get that fee back. The family signs a contract that can require collateral and puts the signer on the hook if the defendant misses court. The approved list is the sheriff's to change, so check the current one before signing; the bonding clerk at 770-278-8204 knows which companies are active.

Refunds come from the Clerk of Courts, not the jail. The clerk's office sits in the courthouse at 922 Court Street NE, Conyers, GA 30012, and its refund line is 770-278-7900. A cash bond is released once the case closes and the court discharges the bond, and fines, fees or costs can be taken out first. Keep the receipt from the jail, because the clerk asks for it. The clerk's fax is 770-278-7921 for written requests, and the jury office in the same building answers at 770-278-7902 if a juror summons is also pending.

Skipping a Rockdale court date can turn a bond into a forfeiture and lead the judge to sign a bench warrant. The sheriff's warrant line in the 2024 directory is 770-278-8009. For a bondsman bond, the company has a period to return the person before paying the forfeiture, and it may seek that money from whoever signed. Counsel can file to recall the warrant and get a fresh date. Public defender clients can reach the Rockdale office at 882 Main St., Olde Town Conyers, GA 30012, 770-278-7820.

The Rockdale County Public Defender's Office, 882 Main St., Olde Town Conyers, GA 30012, 770-278-7820, fax 770-918-6313, takes State Court and Superior Court criminal cases. It does not handle juvenile, civil or traffic matters. Eligibility depends on income, and the assessment is done in person at the office during hours of 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. The Rockdale Judicial Circuit is the county alone under Code section 15-6-1. Prosecution runs through the District Attorney, 922 Court Street, Suite 201, 770-278-7990.

Under O.C.G.A. 42-4-14, Rockdale jail staff make a reasonable effort within 48 hours of arrival to determine the nationality of every person booked. An ICE Form I-247A detainer can then ask the jail to keep a person up to 48 hours past normal release, and 8 CFR 287.7(d) excludes Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from that count. After transfer, the ICE detainee locator shows where the person went. While the person is still in Conyers, the jail at 770-278-8265 can say whether a detainer is on file.

HB 1105 led Rockdale's sheriff to post quarterly reports on immigration-related bookings, and those reports appear on the sheriff's website. They summarize how often detainers were received and honored. The reports do not decide any one bond, but they show how the Sigman Industrial Court jail handles holds. A family facing a detainer can ask the defense lawyer how a hold affects release. The Public Defender's Office answers at 770-278-7820, 882 Main St., Olde Town Conyers, GA 30012, and the sheriff's main line is 770-278-8000.

A federal arrest in Rockdale belongs to the Atlanta Division of the Northern District of Georgia. Hearings there happen inside the Richard B. Russell Federal Building (75 Ted Turner Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30303-3309), with the clerk reachable at 404-215-1600. Release on a federal charge is set by a federal magistrate judge in Atlanta, not by Rockdale's Magistrate Court, and the detention center's bonding desk cannot take that bond. The Atlanta clerk's office keeps weekday hours until 4:45 p.m. After sentencing, the BOP inmate locator shows the facility.

In Conyers, probation and parole supervision belong to the state's Department of Community Supervision, whose office is at 981 East Freeway Drive SE, Suite B, Conyers, GA 30094, 770-388-5011, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pretrial terms set by a judge, such as reporting or an ankle monitor, come with the bond order. Probation begins only after a sentence. A violation can bring a new warrant through the Magistrate Court, 770-278-7800. Keep bond paperwork and court notices together, since every office asks for the case number first.

The detention center at 2385 Sigman Industrial Court, Conyers, is listed at 770-278-8265 on the sheriff's contact page, which also names a separate Bonding Clerk line. For general sheriff business, the main number is 770-278-8000. Bonding questions go to 770-278-8204; warrants to 770-278-8009. Bond refunds are handled by the Clerk of Courts, 922 Court Street NE, at 770-278-7900. The Magistrate Court, 874 N. Main Street NW, answers at 770-278-7800. The Public Defender, 882 Main St., Olde Town Conyers, is 770-278-7820. Call the bonding clerk to confirm the amount before heading to the jail.