Johnson Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

Usually a magistrate. That's a local judge who runs bond hearings and tries small cases. State law says a bond hearing is owed within 24 hours of arrest (S.C. Code 22-5-510(B)).

The Sheriff's Office lists bond court at 9 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and county holidays. Monday through Friday, ask the Johnson Detention Center for that day's hearing time at 864-683-4055. The jail's street address is 154 Templeton Road, Laurens, SC 29360.

Questions about a magistrate's case go to the county Magistrate Court, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, at 864-681-5689. In a town case, the municipal judge has the power to set and accept bond too (S.C. Code 14-25-115).

Some charges skip the magistrate. Where the possible sentence is death or life, as with murder, only a circuit judge can set bond (S.C. Code 22-5-510(A)). Families should expect that wait to run longer.

State law leans toward release on a promise. Unless the charge is a capital one, the judge starts there and moves to money or tighter terms only when a promise looks too weak to bring the person back, or when someone could be harmed (S.C. Code 17-15-10).

• Personal recognizance (PR): no cash changes hands. A signed written promise to return for each hearing is enough.
• Cash: the full sum, in money. A magistrate or town judge may hold that cash in place of a recognizance (S.C. Code 22-5-530).
• Surety: a state-licensed bondsman backs the entire amount for the court and bills you a fee.
• Ten percent cash deposit: where the judge permits it, the family hands the clerk of court a tenth of the bond at most. Violent charges can't use it, nor can a firearm felony that happened while the person was out on bond (S.C. Code 17-15-15).
• Electronic monitoring: a 2023 change lets a judge use a GPS device instead of a bond, or along with one (S.C. Code 17-15-35).

Whatever the type, the person must remain in South Carolina and behave well until the case ends (S.C. Code 17-15-20).

Bonds here are set case by case, not from a printed price list. Under S.C. Code 17-15-30, the judge weighs the offense, work history, family, finances, character, years in the area, past record and any earlier no-shows. On top of that, the judge has to consider pending charges, another bond the person may already be on, and the state gang database. The arresting agency supplies that record at or before the hearing (S.C. Code 22-5-510(E)).

A charge's top sentence hints at how big the bond might be. Examples families run into:

• Assault and battery, third degree: misdemeanor; most it carries is $500 or 30 days (S.C. Code 16-3-600(E)(2)).
• Shoplifting worth $2,000 or less: a magistrate or town court case with a cap of $1,000 or 30 days (S.C. Code 16-13-110).
• Shoplifting above $2,000 and below $10,000: felony, five years at most.
• Shoplifting of $10,000 or more: felony, ten years at most.
• Listed violent crimes, for instance second-degree burglary or second-degree arson: bond is the magistrate's call, yes or no (S.C. Code 16-1-60).
• Murder: death or 30 years to life (S.C. Code 16-3-20(A)), so the circuit court handles bond.

Booking at 864-683-4783 can read you the amount set in your person's case.

The building is at 154 Templeton Road, Laurens, SC 29360. A short checklist:

1. Phone Booking, 864-683-4783.
2. Give the full name, spelled out, plus the birth date. Write down each charge with its own bond figure.
3. Ask what the Templeton Road cashier takes today, and whose name a money order should carry.
4. Ask if a hold, a detainer or a separate case is waiting behind the bond.
5. Arrive with photo ID and the payment, or with your bondsman. Keep all paperwork you are handed.

After bond is turned in, staff have up to four hours to complete the release (S.C. Code 22-5-510(B)). If you need the main desk, dial 864-683-4055.

That depends on which judge set it. Phone ahead, because each office has its own routine:

• Magistrate Court (most county charges): 864-681-5689, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Ask where its bond money is received and in what form.
• Clerk of Court (General Sessions bonds and ten percent deposits): 100 Hillcrest Square, Suite B, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-984-3538.
• Clinton Municipal Court (cases from inside Clinton): 211 North Broad Street, Clinton, SC 29325. The window handles court payments from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on weekdays.
• Gray Court Municipal Court (cases from the town of Gray Court): Gray Court Town Hall, 329 West Main Street, Gray Court, SC 29645. Payments there are made face to face, Monday through Friday.

Arrested inside the City of Laurens or in Cross Hill? Ask the Magistrate Court or the Clerk of Court which judge has the bond.

Bring the precise amount in cash, or a money order, to avoid surprises. Each office follows its own rules, so phone before going.

• At its window, Clinton Municipal Court accepts cash, certified checks and money orders, and refuses personal checks and cards. Mailed court payments for Clinton need a cashier's check or a money order, payable to Clinton Municipal Court.
• Gray Court Municipal Court accepts cash, certified checks and money orders, and refuses debit and credit cards.
• For bond paid at the jail, Booking at 864-683-4783 can say what the cashier will take that day.

Cash should never go in an envelope. Insist on a receipt each time you pay.

Only someone licensed by the South Carolina Department of Insurance may write a bail bond (S.C. Code 38-53-80). The law also sets these limits:

• The premium (the bondsman's fee) has a ceiling of 15 percent of the bond's face amount. It can't be less than $100 or 10 percent, whichever is higher. So a $5,000 bond costs somewhere from $500 to $750.
• If you pay over time, the plan needs $100 or more down and can stretch no longer than 18 months (S.C. Code 38-53-170(e)).
• The premium is earned when the bond is written. Dropped charges don't bring it back.
• Did you pledge collateral, such as a truck title? You get it back inside ten days after the bond is discharged. A bench warrant is the exception.
• Bondsmen may not solicit customers at courthouses, magistrate offices and jails. Steering families to a certain attorney is also off the table.

Look up a bondsman on the license page the Department links to. Complaints go to the South Carolina Department of Insurance, 1201 Main Street, Suite 1000, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-737-6160.

Bond on one case does nothing for another. Any of these can hold a person at the Johnson Detention Center after you pay:

• More than one case. Every charge carries its own bond. Warrants from other counties or states are dealt with separately.
• A violent arrest while already on bond. Picture a defendant free on a violent-crime or gun-felony bond who is charged with another such offense. The first bond then ends automatically, and a circuit judge reviews it within 30 days (S.C. Code 17-15-55(C)). The new violent crime is also a separate felony worth as much as five years (S.C. Code 17-15-270).
• Probation or parole issues. The state probation office stands apart from the jail. Its county branch is at 100 Hillcrest Square, Suite S, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-984-4564.
• Federal or immigration holds. Paying a state bond leaves a U.S. Marshals hold or ICE detainer in place.

Have Booking at 864-683-4783 list every hold before money changes hands.

Under the South Carolina Constitution, bail is the normal rule, and setting it too high is forbidden. Even so, a judge may withhold it in capital cases, in cases that carry life, and for violent crimes named in state law, after giving the evidence due weight (S.C. Const. art. I, § 15; S.C. Code 16-1-60).

On a listed violent charge, the magistrate decides whether to allow bond. In murder and life cases, the circuit judge decides. Where a judge fears a promise won't bring the person back or protect the public, the judge can require money or strict conditions (S.C. Code 17-15-10).

Victims are entitled to advance word of the bond hearing and a chance to tell the judge their views. When that word arrives too late, the hearing must wait (S.C. Code 16-3-1525).

The office that asks for higher bond, or none, is the Eighth Circuit Solicitor. Its local branch is at 100 Hillcrest Square, Suite N, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-984-2202.

Yes, a bond can be revisited. A circuit judge may reconsider bonds that magistrates set on General Sessions charges (S.C. Code 17-15-55). Conditions can be tightened or rewritten too, though only once the defendant gets notice and a hearing (S.C. Code 17-15-50). What tends to help:

1. Your lawyer asks the court, in writing, for a bond review.
2. Gather proof: pay stubs, a lease, notes from relatives, and a realistic sum the family could raise.
3. The lawyer proposes conditions that ease the judge's concern, such as an ankle monitor plus a no-contact order with the accuser.
4. Nobody in the family contacts the alleged victim, even to relay a note. Doing so can violate the bond and damage the defense.

General Sessions filings sit with the Clerk of Court, 100 Hillcrest Square, Suite B, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-984-3538.

People without money for a lawyer have a right to an appointed one (S.C. Code 17-3-10). To apply, the person swears to their income and assets on a form and owes a $40 application fee. If even that is too much, the clerk can reduce or excuse it (S.C. Code 17-3-30, 17-3-45).

• Public Defender, Eighth Circuit, local office: 100 Hillcrest Square, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-984-8807.
• South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense (the statewide agency): 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343.

If the accused is under 18, the parent or guardian signs instead and is billed the fee.

Several court offices sit together in the Hillcrest Square judicial complex. A quick map of who hears what:

• Clerk of Court, serving the Court of General Sessions (felonies and serious misdemeanors) and Family Court: 100 Hillcrest Square, Suite B, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-984-3538. Mail: P.O. Box 287, Laurens, SC 29360.
• Magistrate Court (bond hearings, lesser charges, preliminary hearings): 864-681-5689, weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Clinton Municipal Court: 211 North Broad Street, Clinton, SC 29325.
• Gray Court Municipal Court: Gray Court Town Hall, 329 West Main Street, Gray Court, SC 29645.
• U.S. District Court (federal charges): 250 East North Street, Greenville, SC 29601 (Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse), 864-241-2700.

For cases started in the City of Laurens or Cross Hill, the clerk or the magistrate staff can point you to the right judge.

Money deposited with a court is refunded when it has done its job, meaning the case has ended and the person made every appearance (S.C. Code 17-15-220). Once every condition is satisfied, the 10 percent deposit comes back, minus restitution a judge ordered (S.C. Code 17-15-15). Keep the receipt somewhere safe.

A no-show on the court date triggers several things:

• The judge signs a bench warrant, telling officers to bring the person in.
• With a surety bond, forfeiture comes 90 days after the warrant unless the bondsman surrenders the person first (S.C. Code 38-53-70).
• Skipping court on purpose is charged separately under S.C. Code 17-15-90. For someone released on a felony, the penalty can reach $5,000 and five years. If the misdemeanor carries a year or more, $1,000 and one year.
• A bondsman's premium never comes back, win or lose.

To claim a refund, start with the court that received the money. In General Sessions, that's the Clerk of Court, 100 Hillcrest Square, Suite B, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-984-3538.

Handle it the day of release when possible. The Johnson Detention Center is at 154 Templeton Road, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-683-4055. Ask how any unspent account money gets refunded, and at what hours stored clothing and personal items can be claimed.

Take photo ID with you. Collecting for someone else? Call ahead to learn if the owner must sign a release form. Our jail account money page covers deposits and balances in general.

Federal prosecutions from Clinton, Gray Court and the rest of the county run through the Greenville Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Clerk's office: 250 East North Street, Greenville, SC 29601 (Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse), 864-241-2700, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

• Locked up or let go? A federal judge in Greenville answers that at the first appearance. A short postponement is possible, with five days the limit for the defense and three for prosecutors (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Pretrial custody is the job of the U.S. Marshals. Their Greenville branch sits at 300 East Washington Street, Room 232, Greenville, SC 29601, 864-232-1566. Phone that branch to learn which jail has them.
• After sentencing, try the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. Paying bail on a state charge leaves an immigration hold untouched. Steps, in order:

1. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) can lodge a detainer with the Johnson Detention Center using Form I-247A.
2. Through it, ICE requests a hold lasting up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. State law layers on more. After a criminal booking, Johnson Detention Center staff have 72 hours to try to learn whether the person is unlawfully present, and to tell federal immigration authorities at Homeland Security whenever the answer is yes (S.C. Code 23-3-1100). Bond judges have to factor in unlawful presence along with flight risk (S.C. Code 22-5-510(D)(4)).
4. Officers from ICE then take custody. ICE's Atlanta Field Office covers this state, and its local office is at 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.
5. Look the person up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator by entering the full name and birth country.

Short terms of 90 days or less are normally served locally. Terms longer than three months go to the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), and SCDC chooses the facility (S.C. Code 24-3-20, 24-3-30).

• Every new state prisoner starts with SCDC's reception and evaluation. In-person visits are on hold during that stage, unless it drags past 30 days.
• Updated nightly, the SCDC inmate search lists who SCDC held as of 12 a.m. that day. People serving time in a county jail won't show there.
• SCDC's main office is at 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500.
• For each state prison, see our South Carolina state prisons listings.

Family Court treats people under 18 as children. At 17, that changes for the most serious felonies (S.C. Code 63-19-20(1)): Class A to D, or 15 years and up.

• Adult jails can keep a child for six hours at most, and kids ten or under can never be jailed (S.C. Code 63-19-820).
• Youth held before a hearing are usually placed at the Juvenile Detention Complex, operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440 (visitation line).
• Within 48 hours, not counting weekend days or holidays, a Family Court judge reviews the detention (S.C. Code 63-19-830).
• For serious felonies, youths aged 14, 15 or 16 can land in General Sessions after a waiver hearing in Family Court (S.C. Code 63-19-1210).

The local DJJ office is at 100 Hillcrest Square, Suite J, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-984-2518.