Lexington County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

For most charges, a magistrate does it at Bond Court. That courtroom sits in the Law Enforcement Complex, 521 Gibson Road, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-785-2845. Court is held every day of the year:

• Weekdays: two sessions, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: one session, starting at 10 a.m.

Under S.C. Code 22-5-510, a magistrate must hold the bond hearing within 24 hours of the arrest. Nobody pleads guilty or not guilty there. The judge only sets the terms for going home, and a victim may attend and talk. Once the bond is delivered, that law also gives the jail a four-hour limit to open the door.

When town police make the arrest, a municipal judge may set the bond instead (S.C. Code 14-25-115). Murder, and charges where death or life imprisonment is possible, skip the magistrate. That bond is a circuit judge's call, so the wait is usually longer.

Unless the charge is capital, the law's starting point is release on the person's own word (S.C. Code 17-15-10). Money or extra conditions get added only when that promise looks too thin to the judge. The choices look like this:

• Personal recognizance (PR). A signed promise to come to court. Nothing is paid now, but a no-show leaves the person owing the full sum.
• Cash bond. Every dollar of the amount is put up. A defendant may also leave cash with the judge who set bond, in lieu of signing a promise (S.C. Code 22-5-530).
• Surety bond. A licensed bondsman backs the whole bond, and you pay that bondsman a fee.
• Ten percent cash deposit. If the judge approves, you leave cash covering at most one tenth of the bond at the Clerk of Court's office (S.C. Code 17-15-15). Violent charges are shut out of this option, as is a gun felony picked up during an earlier bond.
• Electronic monitoring. A 2023 law lets judges order a GPS ankle unit in place of a bond or along with one (S.C. Code 17-15-35).

Most bonds carry rules too, like staying inside South Carolina and keeping clear of the alleged victim. Questions about pledging a house or land go to the Clerk of Court, 803-785-8212.

The amount is chosen at the hearing for each person. Even so, how serious the charge is gives families a fair guess:

• Third-degree assault and battery: a misdemeanor topping out at $500 and 30 days (S.C. Code 16-3-600(E)(2)). Charges this small often end with a PR bond.
• Shoplifting worth $2,000 or less: as much as $1,000 and 30 days, and a magistrate or city court can try it (S.C. Code 16-13-110).
• Shoplifting above $2,000: a felony. Under $10,000 it carries five years at most. At $10,000 and over, the top term is ten years.
• Violent crimes on the state list (S.C. Code 16-1-60), armed robbery and first-degree burglary among them: bonds run higher, and the judge may refuse one.
• Murder and life charges: magistrates can't set bond. A circuit judge handles it.

To hear the real figure for your person's case, call Bond Court at 803-785-2845. Staff answer from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

The Detention Bureau accepts bond payments from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Weekend and holiday payment hours run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Go step by step:

1. Let the hearing happen first. A bond can't be paid until a judge sets it.
2. Ring the shift supervisor's line at 803-785-2743. Spell out the legal name, then the birthday.
3. Ask the bond type, the total due and which charges it covers.
4. Ask where the payment window is, what kinds of payment are taken and the precise payee wording.
5. Come to 521 Gibson Road, Lexington, SC 29072, during those hours and carry a photo ID.
6. Save your receipt in a safe spot. Refunds depend on it.

Paperwork can take a little while after you pay. State law caps the wait at four hours.

That depends on which court holds the charge. Three offices may be involved:

• Bond Court, Law Enforcement Complex, 521 Gibson Road, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-785-2845. Ask whether to pay in that office or at the jail window.
• Clerk of Court for felony and other General Sessions bonds, 10 percent deposits included. Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center, 205 East Main Street, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-785-8212, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
• Cayce Municipal Court for cases from inside Cayce. 1800 12th Street, Cayce, SC 29033, 803-550-9550. Its clerk keeps weekday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Call before you drive. Confirm the bond is entered, ask what forms of payment are welcome, and ask how soon release follows.

Payment rules shift from time to time. Jail staff at 803-785-2743 can give the current answer, so ring them before leaving home. A few habits help anywhere:

• Paying cash? Bring the exact sum.
• Ask if a money order or cashier's check works, and how the payee should read.
• Ask about debit or credit cards and any added fee.
• Carry a government photo ID. Ask whether the person paying has to sign anything.
• Never put cash in an envelope. The Clerk of Court warns of phone scams, so hang up on callers who demand money for the court.

When the total is out of reach, a licensed bondsman can post the bond in exchange for a fee.

South Carolina bondsmen must be licensed by the South Carolina Department of Insurance under S.C. Code Title 38, Chapter 53. The amount they may charge is capped by S.C. Code 38-53-170:

• The premium, meaning the fee, can't exceed 15 percent of the full bond.
• The floor is $100 or a tenth of the bond, picking the bigger number.
• Installment deals need $100 or more down, with the balance cleared within a year and a half.
• You don't get the premium back. It's the bondsman's fee for taking the risk.
• Collateral, like a truck title, comes home to you inside ten days once the bond is closed out. A bench warrant can delay that.

The law bars bondsmen from chasing business in courtrooms, magistrate offices or jails. They also can't steer you to a certain lawyer. Complaints about a bondsman go to the Department of Insurance, 1201 Main Street, Suite 1000, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-737-6160.

Several things can. A bond only reaches the charges written on it. Check for these other holds:

• Outside warrants. Another county, a city or a different state may also want the person.
• Separate cases. Charges from a town court and from the county are bonded one by one.
• An automatic revoke. A defendant who, while bonded on a violent or gun felony, is arrested again for one loses the first bond by law. A circuit judge must hear it within 30 days (S.C. Code 17-15-55(C)).
• Probation or parole. The supervising agent may file a hold. The state's local office is at 605 West Main Street, Suite 104, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-359-2551.
• A GPS order. Release may wait until the ankle unit is on.
• Federal and immigration holds. These stay in place whatever happens with the state bond.

Before paying, ask the shift supervisor at 803-785-2743 whether any other hold is on file.

The state constitution says most people may be bailed and forbids excessive bail (S.C. Const. art. I, § 15). Three groups can still be held with no bond: capital charges, charges punishable by life, and the violent crimes the legislature lists. The judge has to consider how strong the proof is.

S.C. Code 17-15-30 lets the judge look at work, finances, family, mental condition, character, length of local residence, record and any earlier failure to appear. Some items are required: pending charges, whether another bond is already in place, gang database status, and unlawful presence paired with a real risk of flight. Officers hand the court the record at or before the hearing.

When the state argues for a big bond or no release, it is the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor's Office speaking. That office is at 205 East Main Street, Suite 309, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-785-8352.

After notice and a hearing, a judge may rewrite bond terms (S.C. Code 17-15-50). Circuit judges can also revisit what a magistrate decided when the charge belongs in General Sessions (S.C. Code 17-15-55). Steps that help:

1. The defense attorney files a written motion asking for the change.
2. Gather proof of work, housing, school or childcare duties, and how much money is truly within reach.
3. Offer safeguards such as GPS tracking, a curfew, or a stay-away order.
4. Expect the victim to get notice and a chance to speak.

The Clerk of Court's line for criminal matters is 803-785-8553.

People without money for an attorney are served by the Eleventh Circuit Public Defender's Office, 202 East Main Street, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-785-8873. The same office covers Saluda, Edgefield and McCormick counties.

• Apply through the Clerk of Court's public defender line at 803-785-8549.
• The applicant swears to their income and bills on an affidavit (S.C. Code 17-3-45).
• A $40 application fee applies. The clerk can lower it or drop it for someone who can't pay (S.C. Code 17-3-30).
• For a youth, a parent or guardian signs and is billed the fee.

Statewide, the program is run by the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343.

Felonies land in the Court of General Sessions. Lesser charges stay in magistrate or city courts. Offices keep weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. unless noted.

• Court of General Sessions and Clerk of Court: Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center, 205 East Main Street, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-785-8212.
• Bond Court: 521 Gibson Road, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-785-2845.
• Summary Court Center: 139 East Main Street, Lexington, SC 29072. It houses the Lexington Magistrate, 803-785-2383; Central Traffic and DUI Court, 803-785-2142; Domestic Violence Court, 803-785-2886; and Preliminary Hearing Court, 803-785-2520.
• Irmo Magistrate: 111 Lincreek Drive, Columbia, SC 29212, 803-785-2384.
• Batesburg-Leesville Magistrate: 5585 Augusta Highway, Leesville, SC 29070, 803-785-5013.
• Swansea Magistrate: 500 Charlie Rast Road, Swansea, SC 29160, 803-785-6250.
• Oak Grove Magistrate: 428 Oak Drive, Lexington, SC 29073, 803-785-6251.
• Cayce-West Columbia Magistrate: 650 Knox Abbott Drive, Cayce, SC 29033, 803-785-6267.
• Cayce Municipal Court: 1800 12th Street, Cayce, SC 29033, 803-550-9550.
• Federal cases: heard in Columbia at the federal courthouse on Richland Street, 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5816.

For any other town's court, the chief magistrate's office can point you the right way at 803-785-2568.

Cash put up as bond can be reclaimed when its purpose is finished, normally when the charges are finished and no court date was missed (S.C. Code 17-15-220). Once the bond terms are met, the 10 percent deposit comes back, less any restitution the judge ordered (S.C. Code 17-15-15). The bondsman's premium stays with the bondsman.

Skip a court date and things go downhill fast:

• The judge signs a bench warrant, an order telling officers to arrest the person.
• If the surety hasn't surrendered the person 90 days past that warrant, the bond is lost (S.C. Code 38-53-70).
• Choosing not to show up is its own crime, too. After release on a felony, the penalty can reach five years plus a $5,000 fine (S.C. Code 17-15-90).

Ask for a refund where you paid. General Sessions refunds go through the Clerk of Court at 803-785-8212.

Ask about the jail account balance and the property bagged at booking before the person walks out. Money questions go to the detention center's information line, 803-785-2740. Ask how a balance gets refunded and when bagged items can be claimed at 521 Gibson Road, Lexington, SC 29072.

A car towed after the arrest can be released to its registered owner in the Sheriff's headquarters lobby, day or night, with government photo ID. Plan on a $150 impound fee plus $25 a day for storage. The Sheriff's main number for this is 803-785-8230.

See our money and accounts page for how deposits and refunds of unused funds usually go.

Federal cases from this county fall in the Columbia Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Hearings take place in Columbia, within Matthew J. Perry, Jr. U.S. Courthouse, 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201. The clerk picks up at 803-765-5816 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

• A federal judge rules on release when the person is first brought in. The defense can seek a delay of up to five days before that detention hearing. The prosecutor can seek three (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Through any delay, the person stays locked up.
• Federal detainees waiting on trial are the Marshals' charge, meaning the U.S. Marshals Service picks their jail. Reach the Columbia office at 901 Richland Street, Suite 1300, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5821, to learn the jail.
• After a federal prison sentence, search for the person in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. ICE works on its own track, apart from the state charges. This is what usually happens:

1. Federal immigration officers (ICE) send the detention center a detainer. That request comes on Form I-247A.
2. With the detainer in place, the jail may hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE agents collect the person during that time and take them into federal immigration custody.
4. Track them on the ICE Online Detainee Locator. It takes the A-number printed on immigration papers. No A-number? Fill in the name fields and choose the home country.
5. For case questions, reach ICE's South Carolina office, 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.

South Carolina adds its own rules. S.C. Code 23-3-1100 lets a jail take 72 hours to verify the immigration standing of each criminal detainee, and to report the person to federal Homeland Security officials when lawful status is missing. At Bond Court, the judge has to factor in unlawful presence and any risk of flight (S.C. Code 22-5-510(D)(4)).

Jail terms of three months or under normally stay local (S.C. Code 24-3-30). Anything longer hands the person to the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), and the department picks where they serve it (S.C. Code 24-3-20).

• SCDC runs each newcomer through intake testing first. Family visits wait until intake wraps up, or until day 31 if it runs long.
• After intake, SCDC sends the person to a prison that suits the sentence.
• Look the person up in the SCDC inmate search, which is current through midnight of the prior day. County jail inmates aren't in it.
• SCDC headquarters: 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500. SC VINE, for custody status: 866-727-2846.
• Our South Carolina state prisons pages cover visiting and mail for every prison.

Family Court handles anyone younger than 18, except for one group. Seventeen-year-olds go to adult court when the felony is graded Class A through D or its maximum is at least 15 years (S.C. Code 63-19-20(1)). At the detention center, those teens live apart from adults in the old jail section.

• Adult jails can't hold a child past six hours, and kids 10 and under can't be locked up there at all (S.C. Code 63-19-820).
• A judge decides whether the child stays held at a detention hearing. It must come inside 48 hours of the child being taken in, skipping weekends and holidays (S.C. Code 63-19-830).
• Most youth held before court go to DJJ's Juvenile Detention Complex, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440.

Call the Department of Juvenile Justice's local office, 605 West Main Street, Lexington, SC 29072, 803-359-5526, to find out where the teen is.