Jasper County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

For almost every criminal charge, a magistrate in the county's central Bond Court sets bond. That court meets inside the Detention Center, 12008 North Jacob Smart Blvd, Ridgeland, SC 29936. Its office number is 843-726-7737. A Bond Court judge stays on call day and night, so Saturday and Sunday arrests are not stuck until Monday.

Weekday hearings usually get going around 10:00 a.m. On weekends there is a morning block from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. and an afternoon block that opens at 3:00 p.m. A crowded docket can run late.

Murder never reaches those magistrates. Under S.C. Code 22-5-510(A), a magistrate cannot bail someone who could get death or life behind bars, so a circuit judge takes over. First-degree burglary can also bring life, yet state law lets a summary court hold its bond hearing unless the solicitor objects (S.C. Code 17-15-10(B)). If the solicitor does object, the bond waits for a circuit judge.

Picked up by Hardeeville or Ridgeland town officers? Then the town's own judge sets bond. Each town keeps a judge ready all seven days.

State law requires the bond hearing to happen within 24 hours (S.C. Code 22-5-510(B)). At it, the judge goes over the person's rights, names the bond and gets the request for a free lawyer started. Staff may hold off briefly while they try to reach any victim.

For every charge short of a death-penalty case, state law starts by letting the person go on their word (S.C. Code 17-15-10). Cash or added conditions show up when that promise alone looks too weak to bring them back or protect the community. Options a judge can pick from:

• Personal recognizance. Just a signed promise. No money that day.
• Cash bond. The full amount goes to the court and stays put till the case is over.
• Surety bond. You pay a nonrefundable fee; in return, a licensed bondsman covers the full figure.
• Ten percent deposit. If the judge says yes, you pay the clerk of court one tenth of the bond in cash (S.C. Code 17-15-15). Judges can't offer it on violent charges, or when a gun felony was committed by someone already free on bond.
• Cash in place of signing. Instead of signing, the accused may hand the magistrate or town judge cash (S.C. Code 22-5-530).
• GPS monitor. Since 2023, electronic tracking on the ankle can replace cash bail or be stacked with it (S.C. Code 17-15-35).

Three rules ride along with any bond: show up in court each time, stay inside the state, and behave (S.C. Code 17-15-20). A judge may pile on extras like a no-contact order or a curfew. Want to use land or a home to back the bond? Call Bond Court at 843-726-7737.

There is no one price per charge. Each judge sizes the bond to the person in front of them. S.C. Code 17-15-30 lists factors the judge is allowed to weigh:

• what the charge is and how serious it looks
• family, job and money
• how long they've lived around here
• character and mental health
• earlier convictions, and any past flight or skipped court date

The judge must also check:

• other open cases
• whether the person is free on a second bond already
• the state gang list
• unlawful presence in the country, and whether that makes running likely

Police hand the judge a copy of the record before or at the hearing (S.C. Code 22-5-510(E)).

A charge's top penalty hints at the size of the bond. Some yardsticks:

• Assault and battery in the third degree: no more than $500, 30 days or both (S.C. Code 16-3-600(E)(2)).
• Shoplifting goods worth $2,000 or less: no more than $1,000, 30 days or both.
• Shoplifting above $2,000 but below $10,000 jumps to felony level, five years max. Goods worth $10,000 or more can bring ten years (S.C. Code 16-13-110(B)).
• Murder: death, or 30 years to life (S.C. Code 16-3-20(A)). A circuit judge alone sets that bond.

To hear the real figure in your case, phone Bond Court at 843-726-7737 or booking at 843-717-3300.

Bond gets posted at the Detention Center, 12008 North Jacob Smart Blvd, Ridgeland, SC 29936, the same place the bond judge works. Go step by step:

1. Ring booking at 843-717-3300. Spell out the name, share the birthday, and ask what bond sits on each charge.
2. Have staff check the system for other holds, like another county's warrant or a probation hold.
3. Pick a way to pay. The county's Bond Court page names a money order or a licensed bail bondsman.
4. Ask staff for the exact payee name before buying the money order.
5. Carry the payment to the jail. Save every slip of paper you get back.
6. Stay close by. State law gives the staff four hours, tops, after bond is handed over (S.C. Code 22-5-510(B)).

Would you rather use a bondsman? Detention Center staff can give you names of bondsmen who work around here.

Yes, when town officers made the arrest. Each town judge handles bond on that town's own cases, and both courts have a judge available any day of the week.

• Hardeeville Municipal Court, 26 Martin Street, Hardeeville, SC 29927, 843-784-3366. On the fourth Thursday of each month, its Spanish Language Court hears bond matters as well.
• Ridgeland Municipal Court, Town Hall, 1 Town Square, Ridgeland, SC 29936. To reach court staff, try the town police office first at 843-726-7530.

Deputy and trooper arrests run through the central Bond Court at the jail, 843-726-7737, rather than a town court. Ask a town court what forms of payment it accepts before you drive over.

The county's Bond Court page gives two routes for posting bond: a money order, or a licensed bail bondsman. Money orders can be bought at a number of spots around the county seat. Thinking of cash, a check or a card? Ask booking at 843-717-3300 first whether it will be accepted that day.

An online route exists too. The Sheriff's Office links a state court page for "Pay Traffic Fines or Bonds": the Judicial Branch online payment page for this county. Ring Bond Court at 843-726-7737 before paying there, to be sure your bond qualifies.

Some simple habits help. Print the person's full name on the money order. Keep the stub and the jail's receipt until the case closes. Turn away anyone in the parking lot who offers to "help" for cash.

Bail agents (bondsmen) put their own money on the line: if your loved one disappears, the agent owes the court the whole bond. The South Carolina Department of Insurance licenses every one, under Title 38, Chapter 53. The fee rules come from S.C. Code 38-53-170(e):

• No bondsman may charge a premium above 15 percent.
• The smallest legal fee: $100, or 10 percent if that's more.
• On an installment plan, the down payment is at least $100, and the last payment is due no later than month 18.
• The premium is what the bondsman earns for taking the risk. Dropped charges don't bring it back.

Bondsmen are barred from chasing customers in a courtroom, a magistrate's office or a jail. Steering you toward a certain lawyer is banned too. Complaints go to the South Carolina Department of Insurance, 1201 Main Street, Suite 1000, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-737-6160.

Detention Center staff keep a list of area bondsmen. Ask for it at 843-717-3300.

Bond buys freedom on one case only. Before you pay, check with booking on these:

• A warrant or a charge out of a different county or state.
• A hold placed by a probation or parole agent.
• An ICE immigration detainer.
• Time the person is already serving on a sentence.
• A second violent or gun felony charge that lands while the first bond is still running. The 2023 repeat-offender law voids that older bond automatically, and the circuit court has 30 days to hold a hearing (S.C. Code 17-15-55(C)).

The release itself takes time too, up to four hours under state law. For hold questions, call the Detention Center at 843-717-3300. Probation and parole holds come from the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, 293 Greystone Boulevard, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-734-9220.

The state constitution (S.C. Const. art. I, § 15) gives almost every accused person the right to bail and outlaws excessive amounts. Still, three groups can be held with no bail: capital cases, any charge with a possible life sentence, and the violent offenses S.C. Code 16-1-60 names, armed robbery and kidnapping among them. Evidence strength factors into that call.

Charged with an offense on the 16-1-60 roster? Then a magistrate holds discretion to grant or withhold release. Murder, plus anything punishable by life or execution, belongs to a circuit judge. Committing a violent crime while free on bond for a different violent crime counts as a brand-new felony that can add five years (S.C. Code 17-15-270).

The 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office handles the prosecution here and may argue that no bond should be set. Its local office is at 265 Russell St., Ridgeland, SC 29936, 843-779-8729. Phone ahead for hours.

The person's attorney may put in a written request to cut it. A circuit judge can reconsider a bond a summary court judge set on a General Sessions charge (S.C. Code 17-15-55). For those charges, the paperwork is handled through the Clerk of Court, 265 Russell Street, Ridgeland, SC 29936, 843-726-7710, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Show the judge why the person will come back. Good points to bring up:

• a steady job or school
• family close by
• many years living in the Lowcountry
• proof they've made every past court date

A judge may also rewrite the conditions of a bond once both sides have had notice and a hearing (S.C. Code 17-15-50). Some lawyers propose an ankle monitor instead of a high cash figure (S.C. Code 17-15-35). Still need a lawyer? Phone the public defender's local office at 843-717-3683.

The 14th Circuit public defender runs an office for this county at Court House Square, Annex Building, 262 3rd Avenue, Ridgeland, SC 29936, 843-717-3683. Short on money for a private attorney? Apply there.

The person signs a sworn paper listing income and debts. A $40 fee comes with the application, though the clerk may shrink or cancel that fee for someone who can't pay (S.C. Code 17-3-30). When the client is a child, the parent or guardian signs instead and owes the fee (S.C. Code 17-3-45). The application is started at the first bond hearing, so it can be in motion while the person is still locked up.

Statewide oversight of public defenders belongs to the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343.

• Bond Court: in the Detention Center, 12008 North Jacob Smart Blvd, Ridgeland, SC 29936, 843-726-7737. Bond hearings for arrests by deputies and troopers.
• Clerk of Court (Court of General Sessions and Family Court records): 265 Russell Street, Ridgeland, SC 29936, 843-726-7710.
• Magistrate Court, Adams Street office: 967 West Adams Street, Ridgeland, SC 29936, 843-726-7933. Weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Magistrate Court, Hardeeville office: 21 Martin Street, Hardeeville, SC 29927, 843-784-2628.
• Central Traffic Court: 967 West Adams Street, Ridgeland, SC 29936, 843-726-7717. It hears tickets from the Highway Patrol and the Sheriff's Office, and holds criminal court once a month.
• Hardeeville Municipal Court: 26 Martin Street, Hardeeville, SC 29927, 843-784-3366.
• Ridgeland Municipal Court: Town Hall, 1 Town Square, Ridgeland, SC 29936. For staff, start with the town police office, 843-726-7530.
• Federal court: J. Waties Waring Judicial Center, 83 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401, 843-579-1401.

Cash deposited with the court comes back after the final hearing, provided the defendant made every appearance (S.C. Code 17-15-220). A ten percent deposit goes back to the payer once every bond condition has been met, though restitution for a victim can be taken out first (S.C. Code 17-15-15). For refund timing on a General Sessions case, ask the Clerk of Court at 843-726-7710.

A bondsman's fee is spent for good; it paid for their promise.

A missed court date is expensive. Out comes a bench warrant. If the bondsman can't get the person back behind bars by day 90, the surety bond is lost (S.C. Code 38-53-70). Willfully skipping court is a separate crime too (S.C. Code 17-15-90). Someone out on a felony faces up to $5,000 and five years for it. Where the underlying misdemeanor allows 12 months or longer, skipping adds as much as $1,000 and 12 more months.

The Detention Center keeps each person's money account and stores what they had on them at booking. For pickup details, call 843-717-3300 on a weekday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The jail sits at 12008 North Jacob Smart Blvd, Ridgeland, SC 29936. Good questions for that call:

• Will leftover account money be paid out when they leave, and how?
• What day and time can stored clothes, keys or a phone be collected?
• Can a relative pick up the property, and what ID or signed note is needed?

To send money while the person is still held, see our jail account deposits page.

Any federal case that starts in this county is filed in the Beaufort Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Its hearings take place at the Charleston courthouse called the J. Waties Waring Judicial Center, 83 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401, 843-579-1401.

County Bond Court plays no role here. At the opening appearance in federal court, detention is decided under 18 U.S.C. 3142. Three outcomes are possible: release on the person's word, release with strings attached, or a detention order. A defense request can delay that decision as much as five days; a government request, as much as three. Custody continues during any delay.

Pretrial, the person is a Marshals Service detainee. Reach the U.S. Marshals in Charleston at 85 Broad Street, Room 260, Charleston, SC 29401, 843-727-4255. Once there is a sentence, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Bond in a state case does nothing to an immigration hold. Immigration agents may hand the Jacob Smart Blvd jail a Form I-247A detainer, asking that the person stay put up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so ICE can come for them (8 CFR 287.7(d)).

South Carolina layers on its own rules. Three days is the window S.C. Code 23-3-1100 gives jail staff to run an immigration check on each criminal booking; Homeland Security hears about any person found to lack lawful status. Separately, 22-5-510(D)(4) tells the bond judge that lacking status, and the chance of fleeing, count as part of the decision.

To learn whether ICE has picked the person up, search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. The A-number works best. No A-number? A name plus the birth country still works. The South Carolina ICE office is at 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800. Talk to an immigration lawyer about how a conviction could change the person's status.

Terms of three months or shorter usually stay in the county jail (S.C. Code 24-3-30). People doing short time at the Detention Center get work assignments. Anything longer hands the person to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, and SCDC decides where (S.C. Code 24-3-20). Once in a while SCDC parks a prisoner in a county jail by deal with that county.

Step one for any new SCDC prisoner is reception and evaluation, a sorting stage. Sitting across from family in person isn't allowed until that phase finishes, except where it drags on more than 30 days. Only then does SCDC name a prison.

Look them up in the SCDC inmate search. Its list freezes each night at midnight and covers state custody only. SCDC headquarters is at 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500. To check custody by phone, dial the SC VINE line, 866-727-2846. Our South Carolina state prisons page lists the prisons with their contact details.

Until age 18, South Carolina law calls the person a child, so Family Court hears the case (S.C. Code 63-19-20(1)). At 17, though, a felony in Class A through D, or one whose top sentence is 15 years or longer, puts the teen in adult court.

The clock for a child inside an adult lockup stops at six hours. Children 10 and younger may not be jailed anywhere (S.C. Code 63-19-820). A teen ordered held is taken to the Juvenile Detention Complex of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210 (visitation line 803-896-9440). A judge then has 48 hours, skipping Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, to rule on whether the teen stays detained (S.C. Code 63-19-830).

DJJ's local office for this county is at 1504 Grays Hwy., Ridgeland, SC 29936, 843-726-5666. On the gravest felonies, Family Court may hand a 14-, 15- or 16-year-old to the adult system once a waiver hearing is held (S.C. Code 63-19-1210).