Tri-County Regional Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

Champaign County has no jail of its own. People held before trial are at the Tri-County Regional Jail, 4099 State Route 559, Mechanicsburg, OH 43044. Start with Champaign County Inmate Search to confirm the booking, then call 937-834-5000 for what the search cannot show.

Because the jail is outside Urbana, plan travel time before any visit or payment.

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The Tri-County Corrections Commission runs it. The commission is a board of the sheriffs and county commissioners from Champaign, Madison and Union counties. Three counties share one building, so the staff there handle inmates from all three.

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Urbana has the courts and the Sheriff's Office, but not the jail. The Sheriff's Office is at 308 Miami Street, Suite B, Urbana, phone 937-484-6091. The cells are in Mechanicsburg. Do not wait in line at the sheriff's counter if the person is held at Tri-County.

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Champaign County Municipal Court, 205 S. Main Street, Urbana, OH 43078, hears traffic, non-traffic misdemeanors and ordinance violations. Its main and clerk line is 937-653-7376. Ohio law requires each municipal court to keep a misdemeanor bail schedule that lets someone be released before the first appearance, and to adopt a rule for paying bail by credit card (R.C. 2937.011(I)).

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A judge or magistrate must set the amount (R.C. 2937.23). Felony cases belong to the Champaign County Court of Common Pleas in Urbana. Ask the clerk before you collect money, because the number can change at the first hearing.

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Call the jail at 937-834-5000 before you drive. Staff there and the inmate's attorney are the people who answer bail questions for the three counties. Ask which court issued the bond and what proof they need from you.

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Bring government photo ID and the person's full name and booking date. Ohio gives the defendant a choice among an unsecured bond, a ten percent deposit, and a surety or cash bond in the amount the court sets (R.C. 2937.011(C)). The judge may also release a person on a signature alone.

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The court returns 90 percent of the deposit once the defendant has met every condition. The state fee for the court, where one is charged, stays separate. Ask the clerk's counter at 937-653-7376 how the refund is handled on a municipal case.

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A bail agent is a person licensed by the Ohio Department of Insurance. The agent signs a surety bond for the court and charges the premium rate filed with the state. Ohio rules bar an agent from asking for a deed as a condition of the bond and from soliciting at the jail. You can ask any agent for the license card.

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Ohio allows a bond secured by real estate or securities. The person who offers it files a sworn description of the land, the loans against it and other bonds signed. The court approves only if the person seems able to cover the bond in full (R.C. 2937.011(L)). Attorneys may not serve as sureties. Call the Clerk of Courts about the steps in Champaign County.

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A bail hearing is required no later than the second court day after the arrest (R.C. 2937.011(J)). If the person is still held and has no lawyer, another hearing follows two court days after the first, and a lawyer is appointed at state cost for anyone who cannot pay. Weekends do not count.

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In limited cases. Capital charges can qualify when the proof is evident or the presumption great. Felonies can qualify when the same strength of proof exists and the person poses a substantial risk of serious physical harm (Ohio Const. art. I, sec. 9). A hearing and clear and convincing evidence are required before the judge refuses bail (R.C. 2937.222).

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Ask the judge to appoint counsel at the first hearing. Ohio guarantees a lawyer at the second bail hearing for anyone held without one who cannot afford it. A lawyer can ask the judge to lower the bond or change the conditions of release.

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Juvenile cases go to the juvenile division of the common pleas court and stay off the adult search. Ask the clerk in Urbana which office handles the file. The court tells families where a child is being held.

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Those inmates are not in this county's jail records. Use the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator for federal custody. People in state prison are on Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction records.

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The judge can forfeit the bail and issue a warrant (R.C. 2937.011(K)). A surety or depositor is released from the obligation by returning the defendant to court or having the sheriff hold the person before the date, or by paying after default (R.C. 2937.40). Act fast and tell the lawyer.

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Courts and jails do not ask for gift cards, wire apps or money sent to a private person. Phone the jail at 937-834-5000 or the court at 937-653-7376 yourself, using the numbers on this page, before you pay anyone.

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