Decatur County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds
Decatur County Bail and Bond, Leon, Iowa
If someone is in the Decatur County Jail in Leon, their release usually hinges on bail.
Jail staff at 641-446-4111 share the bond and payment rules. Decatur County sits on the Missouri line in south-central Iowa, with Interstate 35 crossing its western half near Lamoni.
About 7,655 people live in Leon, Lamoni, Garden Grove, Davis City, Weldon, Van Wert, Grand River and the smaller towns. Anyone arrested here is booked into the Decatur County Jail, 206 NE 2nd Street, Leon, IA 50144, where jailers also run county dispatch at 641-446-4111.
1. Is the person in the Leon jail?
The current inmates list the sheriff's page links was dead when checked on October 26, 2026, so call 641-446-4111 or check VINELink. Our inmate search page lists other tools.
↑ Back to the question list2. What does the bond schedule say?
Between court sessions the jail can use Iowa's uniform bond schedule. It lists $300 for a simple misdemeanor and $1,000 or $2,000 for serious and aggravated ones. Felony amounts are $5,000 at class D, $10,000 at class C and $25,000 at class B. Once a magistrate reviews the file, that amount may be changed.
↑ Back to the question list3. When does someone have to wait for a judge?
No schedule amount applies to a forcible felony, a domestic abuse arrest, breaking a no-contact or protective order, or stalking. Sexual abuse charged at any of its three degrees, meth manufacture or delivery (or possession for delivery), intimidation with a dangerous weapon, and anyone with a felony record found with a firearm are treated the same. Those arrests stay in Leon until a Fifth Judicial District magistrate or judge sets terms, which the law says must happen without unnecessary delay.
↑ Back to the question list4. What forms of bail work here?
- Cash: the whole amount, refunded at the end of the case if the defendant kept every court date.
- Insurance-company surety: written by an insurer authorized in Iowa. The company keeps its fee no matter how the case ends.
- Real estate: Iowa land with enough equity can be pledged by sworn affidavit, which puts a lien on it.
The sheriff's office at 201 NE Idaho Street keeps weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; after hours, go to the jail on NE 2nd Street. Call 641-446-4111 first to ask what the jail can take at night.
↑ Back to the question list5. How does the judge decide?
Iowa Code 811.2 asks the court to weigh the charge, the person's family ties, job, finances, character and mental condition, how long they have lived in Decatur County, any convictions and whether they have shown up for court before. Release can also come with conditions such as no contact with a named person.
↑ Back to the question list6. What changed with Senate File 2399?
Starting July 1, 2026, release on a promise alone is limited to nonviolent simple and serious misdemeanors without a drug element. Going below the schedule is still possible, though the magistrate must give the reasons in writing. By July 1, 2027, the Judicial Council has to adjust the schedule for inflation.
↑ Back to the question list7. Where is the clerk's office?
The Clerk of District Court is in the Decatur County Courthouse, 207 North Main Street, Leon, IA 50144, a block north of Highway 2. Call 641-219-4265 or email countyclerk.decatur@iowacourts.gov. Cash bonds, court-ordered deposits and refunds are handled here.
↑ Back to the question list8. What follows a missed hearing?
Usually a warrant and a forfeiture order. Section 811.6 requires 30 days' written notice to the defendant and any surety before a judgment is entered on the bond. Failing to appear on purpose is a separate crime: graded as a serious misdemeanor, or as a class D felony when a felony charge was pending.
↑ Back to the question list9. When is cash bail returned?
After the case closes, and only if every appearance was made, the clerk sends the deposit back to the person who posted it. The clerk at 641-219-4265 can say whether fines, costs or restitution will be deducted. For money put on an inmate's account, see our money guide.
↑ Back to the question list10. What about federal charges or ICE?
A federal defendant's release is up to a U.S. magistrate judge rather than the Leon court. Decatur County cases are heard in the Central Division of the Southern District, 111 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, clerk 515-284-6248. Under Iowa Code chapter 27A, jails honor ICE detainers, so paying state bail can end in a transfer; the ICE locator tracks that.
↑ Back to the question list11. Is there bail for a juvenile?
Juvenile cases from Leon and Lamoni don't use the schedule. Detained youths are placed at the Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center, 2317 Rick Collins Way, Eldora, IA 50627, 641-858-3852, where they stay until a hearing that must come within 1 working day.
↑ Back to the question listHow do Bail Bonds work at Decatur County Jail
Release From the Leon Jail
Every chapter 811 release term for a person in Sheriff Lane's custody comes from a magistrate or judge of Chief Judge David M. Porter's Fifth District, and once the order is entered the NE 2nd Street jail desk (641-446-4111) can read the figure to a caller.
No personal-recognizance release means a Decatur County defendant waits in Leon until someone pays the whole bail or offers a surety the court approves. Leon has no role for commercial bail agents, because Iowa Code 811.3 accepts just two surety types, Iowa-authorized bail insurers and Iowans pledging Iowa property. Senate File 2399 also stopped the North Main Street clerk from taking ten percent deposits as of July 1, 2026.
Decatur County Jail
Address:
206 NE 2nd Street
Leon, IA 50144
Phone:
641-446-4111
Bail Questions From Decatur County Families
Could Lane's jailers on NE 2nd Street lower the bail a Decatur County magistrate set?
My neighbor owns a farm near Lamoni; could she guarantee bail for someone in Lane's jail?
When will a magistrate set bail after Lane's deputies make an arrest?
Could Lane's jailers on NE 2nd Street lower the bail a Decatur County magistrate set?
No. Lane's jailers have no power over the figure; a motion heard at 207 North Main Street is the only way to change it.
My uncle once posted ten percent at the Leon courthouse; can we do that for a case filed after July 1, 2026?
No. The ten percent route closed in Leon and everywhere else in Iowa when SF 2399 took effect, so posting now means the whole amount or a qualified surety.
My neighbor owns a farm near Lamoni; could she guarantee bail for someone in Lane's jail?
Yes, if the Iowa farm she pledges is worth at least the bail; section 811.3 also accepts Iowa-authorized bail insurers, but nobody else.
When will a magistrate set bail after Lane's deputies make an arrest?
At the first appearance; after that, the NE 2nd Street jail (641-446-4111) or the North Main Street clerk (641-219-4265) can give the amount.
Rules That Come With a Leon Release
Walking out of 206 NE 2nd Street on bail is the start, not the end, of a Decatur County defendant's duties to Porter's courts.
- Decatur County release terms stay in force. Whatever a Decatur County magistrate ordered at the first Leon appearance keeps binding the defendant under section 811.2 until a later order changes it or the prosecution ends.
- Stay-away orders and check-ins written in Leon. Violating a Decatur County order to avoid certain people or places, or to report as directed, can put the defendant back on NE 2nd Street.
- A no-show at 207 North Main Street. A judge may forfeit the bail under section 811.7 and issue a warrant if the defendant misses a court date at the Leon courthouse.
- Mel Snell's calendar for Leon courtrooms. Mel Snell sets Decatur County hearings and can be reached at 515-561-5819; the docket on Iowa Courts Online repeats each date.
- Surrendering a Decatur County defendant to NE 2nd Street. Returning the defendant to Lane's custody before any forfeiture judgment releases the surety, under section 811.8.
Someone released from Lane's jail who also owes a court in Clarke, Wayne or another Iowa county can find that county's clerk through the statewide Iowa clerk listings; the Leon file itself stays with the North Main Street clerk at 641-219-4265.
Instructions on how to post Bail or Bond in Decatur County
How to Post Bail for a Decatur County Inmate
Before gathering money, Decatur County families should confirm three details with the jail (641-446-4111), giving the name exactly as booked plus the date of birth:
- the bail on every Decatur County count, and any outside hold, whether from a Missouri or Iowa county, a federal agency or ICE, that would keep Lane holding the person after payment;
- where to bring the money; the jail's listing says both the Leon jail and the North Main Street courthouse take cash, cashier's checks, money orders or credit cards;
- the precise name Leon wants written after "Pay to the order of" when bail is paid by cashier's check or money order.
Bail reduction motions and sureties in Leon
A family short of the full amount can line up an 811.3 surety, or the defense lawyer can file a motion asking Chief Judge Porter's district to reduce the bail.
Special Defense Unit lawyers for Decatur County Class A cases
Decatur County's line in the State Public Defender's adult designations reads "A's only," lists the Special Defense Unit as its local office and has carried a January 13, 2011 effective date, with Des Moines Adult covering conflicts. Defendants from Lane's jail facing a Class B, C or D felony or a misdemeanor get a private attorney appointed by Porter's court, whose name the clerk at 641-219-4265 can supply.
Who can post Bail or Bond for a Defendant at Decatur County Jail?
Bail money for a Leon inmate can come from anyone at all: an aunt in Lamoni, a friend from Missouri, a parent. Hang on to the Decatur County receipt, since the court later either returns that money or puts it toward fines and costs.
A surety for a Leon defendant is liable for the full bond if that defendant misses court, so before signing as a Decatur County surety, confirm with the Iowa Insurance Division that any insurer involved is authorized in Iowa.
Decatur County juvenile matters are run out of the Fifth District's Juvenile Court Office on South Fillmore Street in Osceola, which takes calls at 641-342-9812.