Elk County Prison Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magisterial district judge, one of Pennsylvania's local minor-court judges, makes the call. Elk has two district court offices. The county's own site says each one "sets bond and accepts bail" for its towns:

• Magisterial District Court 59-3-02, 409-G Center Street, Johnsonburg, PA 15845, 814-965-2663. Its area: Johnsonburg and Ridgway boroughs, plus Highland, Horton, Jones, Millstone, Ridgway and Spring Creek townships.
• Magisterial District Court 59-3-03, 810 South Michael Street, Saint Marys, PA 15857, 814-781-6995. Its area: the City of St. Marys along with Benezette, Fox and Jay townships.

Each keeps weekday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Once those offices close, the county 911 center fields calls for the district judges, so a judge on call can still hold the hearing. You'll find that center at 131 Ridgmont Drive, Ridgway, PA 15853, 814-776-4600.

Lawyers call this first step the preliminary arraignment. During it, the person receives the written complaint, learns the bail and hears the date set for the preliminary hearing (Pa.R.Crim.P. 540). Expect it fast: a state victim guide says roughly six hours after an arrest.

Pennsylvania court rules give the judge five options. They run from lightest to strictest (Pa.R.Crim.P. 524):

1. ROR, or release on recognizance. A signed promise to show up. No money at all.
2. Nonmonetary conditions. That promise plus rules to follow, like checking in, staying home at night or keeping away from someone.
3. Unsecured bail. The judge names a sum the person would owe for skipping court. They pay none of it to walk out.
4. Nominal bail. Just a symbolic sum, often $1, and a relative, friend or agency stands behind it.
5. Monetary bail. A cash payment or a bond comes first. It is the single option that requires paying before the person walks out.

In choosing, the judge weighs things like the charge, work history and any record (Pa.R.Crim.P. 523). A money amount has to be reasonable for this person's means (Pa.R.Crim.P. 528).

Elk's judges have no set price for each charge. Each judge sizes bail to the case at hand. When ROR or unsecured bail is chosen, the cost is $0. More serious crimes usually draw higher bail. To see how serious a charge is, check its grade. Here is the top sentence and fine for each grade (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1101, 1103-1105):

• Summary offense (minor tickets, such as disorderly conduct): 90 days at most; fine as high as $300
• Misdemeanor, third degree (M3): a year at most; fine as high as $2,500
• Misdemeanor, second degree (M2): two years at most; fine as high as $5,000
• Misdemeanor, first degree (M1): five years at most; fine as high as $10,000
• Felony, third degree (F3): seven years at most; fine as high as $15,000
• Felony, second degree (F2): ten years at most; fine as high as $25,000
• Felony, first degree (F1): twenty years at most; fine as high as $25,000
• Murder in the first or second degree: a life term, with death also possible for first degree (18 Pa.C.S. § 1102)

For the actual number, read the docket on the UJS Web Portal, where bail is listed, or phone the district court that set it.

The prison sits at 225 Center Street, Ridgway, PA 15853. It is Elk's lone adult lockup, with every unit inside the same walls. Men are housed in Units A, B, C and 205a. Women are housed in Units D and 210. Men on work release live in Unit 206. Separate administrative and disciplinary units hold people kept apart for safety or rule breaking. Bail money itself is paid at the district court, so use the prison for facts first:

1. Phone the prison at 814-776-5342. Spell out the legal name, then give the birthday, so staff pull the right file.
2. Ask for the bail figure, which release type was ordered and which district court issued it.
3. Ask too about any probation detainer or out-of-county warrant on file.
4. On weekdays, take photo ID and the payment to that district court.
5. On nights and weekends, call the county 911 center, 131 Ridgmont Drive, Ridgway, PA 15853, 814-776-4600, and ask how to reach the judge on call.
6. Get an itemized receipt (Pa.R.Crim.P. 535). Keep it with the case papers.

Pack a change of clothes if needed. The prison only lets in clothing meant for court or for going home.

Bail is paid to the district court that holds the case. Phone before driving over, and ask which payments the clerk can take today.

• Johnsonburg, Magisterial District Court 59-3-02: 409-G Center Street, Johnsonburg, PA 15845, 814-965-2663, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Arrests in the county seat land here, since that borough has no district office of its own.
• St. Marys, Magisterial District Court 59-3-03: 810 South Michael Street, Saint Marys, PA 15857, 814-781-6995, with matching weekday hours. It takes city cases and those from Benezette, Fox and Jay townships.
• Once the case reaches the Court of Common Pleas: bail changes go through that court. The Clerk of Courts criminal line is 814-776-5343, inside the Elk County Courthouse, 250 Main Street, Ridgway, PA 15853.

Under Pa.R.Crim.P. 528, money bail can be met with:

• cash for the entire figure
• Pennsylvania real estate whose equity covers the full amount
• a bond written by a licensed bondsman
• ten percent of the amount in cash, if the judge says yes or a local court rule permits it

Take $5,000 bail as an example. A 10 percent deposit would be $500, if allowed. If not, the whole $5,000 is due. Each district court has its own rules for money orders, checks and cards, so ask by phone first.

Pause before signing papers as the depositor. The office has to explain in writing that signing can make you a surety, meaning you could owe every dollar if court is missed. The paperwork also warns that a deposit in the defendant's name can be spent on that person's fines and costs.

Leftover fines and court costs, owed once a case ends, have an online payment option on the UJS portal. Bail goes to the district court.

Bail bond businesses are legal in Pennsylvania. The bondsman charges a fee, the premium, then backs the full bail with the court. State law sets these rules:

• Each bondsman needs licensing from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (42 Pa.C.S. § 5742).
• Bondsmen also file the license, plus an insurer's letter of authority, in each county they serve (42 Pa.C.S. § 5743.1).
• The company must keep an office somewhere in Pennsylvania (42 Pa.C.S. § 5744).
• Pennsylvania has had no ceiling on premiums since 2015. Get the price, and any collateral you hand over, written down.
• The premium pays for the service. It is gone for good once paid.
• Taking money just to steer someone to a bondsman is an offense (42 Pa.C.S. § 5749).

No paperwork should be signed until the bondsman shows a current license and proof of filing in this county.

Each bail ties to one case. Watch for these other snags:

• More than one docket. Each case carries its own bail, so two cases can mean two payments.
• A bench warrant from another county. Rule 150 sets a 72-hour deadline for that hearing. The countdown begins only once the person is booked into the issuing county's lockup. Held anywhere else, they may wait longer (Pa.R.Crim.P. 150).
• Probation or parole. An officer's detainer can stop the release. County probation works from the courthouse, 250 Main Street, Ridgway, PA 15853, 814-776-5365.
• ICE or the U.S. Marshals. Either agency can ask the prison to hang on to someone.
• Housing in another county. Prison board records show a few men are at times housed in other counties' jails, which can slow things down.

Before paying, ask the prison at 814-776-5342 to read you each hold on file.

Nearly every person charged with a crime here has a constitutional right to bail (Pa. Const. art. I, § 14). It can be refused for only two reasons:

• a conviction could mean death or life behind bars, or
• no conditions except jail would protect others from harm.

In both cases the burden is on the prosecutor, who must bring real evidence to a hearing. Commonwealth v. Talley (2021), a state Supreme Court case, set that rule. A bare claim falls short.

Those arguments come from the District Attorney's Office, 256 Main Street, Ridgway, PA 15853, 814-776-5325.

Yes. A motion to modify bail is allowed under Pa.R.Crim.P. 529. Ahead of the preliminary hearing, that same district judge rules on it. Later requests go to a Court of Common Pleas judge.

1. Ask the public defender or a hired lawyer to file it.
2. Collect papers showing steady work, where the person lives, family nearby and the most the family can pay.
3. Offer conditions that ease the judge's concerns. Electronic monitoring, run here by county probation, is one choice.

Time in jail matters too. Once 180 days pass in pretrial custody, leaving out delays caused by the defense, the defense can file for nominal bail, with any fitting nonmoney rules (Pa.R.Crim.P. 600). People held without any bail can't use this rule.

The Public Defender is at 300 Center Street, Ridgway, PA 15853, 814-245-2100.

Outside Philadelphia, each of the state's counties must appoint a public defender (16 P.S. § 9960.1). The office takes people without enough money for a lawyer. Its lawyers handle juvenile cases and probation hearings as well as preliminary hearings and trials.

• Where: Courthouse Annex, 300 Center Street, Ridgway, PA 15853, 814-245-2100, email pd@countyofelkpa.gov.
• Form: complete the public defender application. Email it three or more days ahead of the hearing, or send it by mail or fax.
• Follow up: phone the office soon after to be sure it came in and to hear whether the person is eligible. The office may reject a form nobody confirms.

Applicants swear to their income on the form, and a false answer counts as perjury. Since Act 34 of 2023, state dollars help fund county defenders for the first time.

Expect one of these four places to have the case:

• Court of Common Pleas, 59th Judicial District. Judges here serve both Elk and Cameron counties. Felonies and misdemeanors arrive after the preliminary hearing. Elk County Courthouse, 250 Main Street, Ridgway, PA 15853, 814-776-1161, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For criminal files, the Clerk of Courts answers at 814-776-5343.
• Magisterial District Court 59-3-02. 409-G Center Street, Johnsonburg, PA 15845, 814-965-2663.
• Magisterial District Court 59-3-03. 810 South Michael Street, Saint Marys, PA 15857, 814-781-6995.
• Federal charges. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Erie Courthouse, 17 South Park Row, Erie, PA 16501, 814-464-9600.

Guard that receipt. Once the case is completely finished, the depositor named on it should see the money within 20 days (Pa.R.Crim.P. 535). A handling charge for cash bail may be subtracted by the county. Ask the Clerk of Courts at 814-776-5343 what share it keeps.

Cash posted with the defendant named on the receipt can be applied by the court to restitution, fines and costs. Posting under a relative's name lowers that risk.

A missed court date brings real trouble. A bench warrant can go out, the whole bail can be declared forfeited, and prosecutors may add a new charge. And the bondsman keeps the premium whatever the outcome.

Anything taken from the person at intake is stored at the prison. Pickup can be arranged from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., or during a visit. Both the person inside and the one collecting sign a release form. Bring photo ID to 225 Center Street, Ridgway, PA 15853.

About money left on the prison account, phone 814-776-5342 and ask how the balance gets paid out when the person leaves. See our inmate money guide for the usual deposit and refund rules.

That job belongs to a federal judge, not to one of Elk's district judges. Cases from this county go to the Erie division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Its Erie Courthouse is at 17 South Park Row, Erie, PA 16501, 814-464-9600. The clerk's office opens 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

• Right at the start, a federal judge runs a detention hearing. The question is simple: freedom while the case is pending, or custody (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• The U.S. Marshals Service keeps any federal defendant who is not released. Its western Pennsylvania office is 700 Grant Street, Room 2360, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, 412-644-3351. Call it to learn the jail where your loved one sleeps tonight.
• Free federal defense for this area comes from the office at 900 State Street, Suite 206, Erie, PA 16501, 814-455-8089.
• Once a federal sentence begins, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

It doesn't. The immigration request stays put after state bail is paid. Here's how it tends to unfold:

1. ICE, short for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, faxes or sends the prison its detainer, Form I-247A.
2. In it, ICE asks that the person stay up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Galarza v. Szalczyk (3d Cir. 2014) is a ruling of the Third Circuit, which reviews federal cases from Pennsylvania. The judges held that ICE may ask, but it cannot order a jail to keep someone. Holding a person on the request by itself leaves the jail answerable for that choice. Each county jail therefore sets its own policy. Phone the prison at 814-776-5342 to hear its approach.
4. When ICE picks someone up, its Philadelphia Field Office handles the case: 114 North 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164.
5. Look the person up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator using their name and birth country.

Each sentence here carries a bottom term and a top term. The top one, the maximum, picks the place (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762). Under 2 years: the county prison in Ridgway. Five years or more: a state prison. A 2-to-5-year maximum also tends to mean state prison. The exception: the county prison signs off, the DA consents and the judge approves keeping the person local.

• Everyone bound for state prison spends weeks or months first at a reception and classification center, where the DOC picks a permanent prison.
• Use the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections inmate locator to search by name or inmate number.
• DOC headquarters: 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573.
• Read about each facility in our Pennsylvania state prisons section.

For nearly all youths under 18, the case belongs in juvenile court rather than adult court (42 Pa.C.S. § 6302). A teen who must stay in custody waits at a juvenile detention center. The adult prison is not used for them.

Some teens start out in adult court instead. A murder charge does that for anyone aged 15 to 17. So do some listed violent crimes when a deadly weapon was used. In those cases a defense lawyer can ask to shift the case into juvenile court.

For help, a parent can phone Juvenile Probation at 814-776-5365. Staff can tell you where your son or daughter is held, plus when a judge will see them. The office is in the courthouse at 250 Main Street, Ridgway, PA 15853. Outside office hours, the after-hours probation line, 814-772-1631, covers 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and all of each weekend and holiday. The public UJS portal leaves out juvenile records.