Sumter County Sheriff's Office Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate sets bond in most cases, at a hearing held inside the Detention Center at 1250 Winkles Road, Sumter, SC 29153. The jail says these hearings run Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. On weekends and holidays, a morning session is held when needed, with no afternoon session. The magistrate can shift the times, so call 803-436-2340 to check the next one.

State law gives every person arrested a bond hearing within 24 hours (S.C. Code 22-5-510). A city judge may also set bond on city charges (S.C. Code 14-25-115). Murder and other charges carrying a possible death or life sentence follow another path. Magistrates cannot bond those charges, so the person stays in until a circuit judge hears the bond.

The arresting agency must give the judge a criminal record check, the incident reports, other pending charges and notice of any bond the person is already on (S.C. Code 22-5-510(E)). Victims must be told about the hearing ahead of time, and they may speak to the judge (S.C. Code 16-3-1525).

When the charge is noncapital, the starting point is release on a simple promise to come back (S.C. Code 17-15-10). The judge moves to money or rules only when that promise does not seem like enough. Here are the main kinds:

• Personal recognizance. Nothing paid up front. A signature and a pledge to attend court are enough.
• Cash bond. The full bond is paid in money, by you or anyone helping. It can be paid to the magistrate or city judge instead of signing a recognizance (S.C. Code 22-5-530).
• Surety bond. A licensed bondsman pledges the whole bond to the court and charges you a fee for it.
• Ten percent deposit. Where the court allows it, the family pays one tenth of the bond to the Clerk of Court (S.C. Code 17-15-15). This choice is closed to people charged with violent crimes.
• Electronic monitoring. A GPS ankle device may replace a money bond or come with one (S.C. Code 17-15-35).

Almost every bond also says the person must stay in South Carolina, behave well and come to every court date (S.C. Code 17-15-20). For questions about property bonds, call the Summary Court, 190 E. Canal St., Sumter, SC 29150, at 803-436-2280.

South Carolina uses no single price list for bond. Instead, the judge sizes each bond after weighing the charge, the person's work, family ties, money, past record and any history of skipping court (S.C. Code 17-15-30). A low-level charge may end with a promise to return and no cash at all.

The top penalty for a charge gives a clue about how high bond may go:

• Third-degree assault and battery: up to $500 and 30 days (S.C. Code 16-3-600(E)(2))
• Shoplifting of $2,000 or less: up to $1,000 and 30 days
• Shoplifting over $2,000 but under $10,000: a felony with up to five years
• Shoplifting of $10,000 or more: up to ten years (S.C. Code 16-13-110(B))
• Murder: 30 years to life, or death (S.C. Code 16-3-20(A)), and only a circuit judge can set bond

Most other felonies fall into classes A to F, with top terms from 30 years down to 5 (S.C. Code 16-1-20). For the real amount on a certain case, look at the jail's inmate lookup, or call the Detention Center, 1250 Winkles Road, Sumter, SC 29153, at 803-436-2340.

The magistrate's hearing happens at the Detention Center, 1250 Winkles Road, Sumter, SC 29153. The jail's own guidance says a bonding agency starts a surety bond, and that agency works with the courts to get the release papers. Jail staff are not allowed to suggest one. Follow these steps:

1. Call 803-436-2340 after the hearing and ask for the exact bond on each charge.
2. Ask what kind of bond the judge set: a promise, cash, surety or a ten percent deposit.
3. For a surety bond, contact a licensed bondsman of your choice. The bondsman handles the paperwork with the court.
4. For a cash bond, ask where the money must be paid today and which forms of payment that office takes.
5. Bring a photo ID and keep every receipt.

Once the bond reaches the jail, the law allows no more than four hours before release (S.C. Code 22-5-510(B)).

State law lets cash be left with the magistrate or city judge (S.C. Code 22-5-530), and a ten percent deposit goes to the Clerk of Court. All three offices below keep weekday hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Summary Court (county magistrates): 190 E. Canal St., Sumter, SC 29150, 803-436-2280. Bonds, warrants and preliminary hearings are part of its work.
• Municipal Court (city charges): 190 E. Canal Street, Sumter, SC 29150, 803-436-2290.
• Clerk of Court (General Sessions): Judicial Center, third floor, 215 N. Harvin St., Sumter, SC 29150, 803-436-2227.

Phone the office before you drive over. Confirm the amount, the name to write on a money order, the payment types it accepts and how soon the jail will be told once you pay.

The Clerk of Court, 215 N. Harvin St., Sumter, SC 29150, takes cash or money orders for General Sessions payments. Personal checks are turned away. Ask the office holding the bond whether the same rule applies before you bring money.

The county and the City of Sumter both link the state court system's online payment site. It is meant for traffic tickets and fines. It is not built to post bond for someone in jail.

The kiosk in the jail lobby, 1250 Winkles Road, Sumter, SC 29153, adds funds to an inmate's spending account. It cannot be used for bond. For anything about bond payment, call the Detention Center at 803-436-2340. Never mail cash.

Bondsmen here must hold a license from the South Carolina Department of Insurance. The state sets firm rules on what they charge and how they act (Title 38, Chapter 53):

• Fees are capped at 15 percent of the bond amount, with a floor of $100 or 10 percent, whichever is higher. On a $5,000 bond, that means $500 to $750.
• A payment plan needs at least $100 down and can last no more than 18 months (S.C. Code 38-53-170(e)).
• That fee belongs to the bondsman and is not refunded, even if charges are dropped.
• They may not hunt for clients inside courthouses, magistrate offices or jails. Pushing you toward a certain lawyer is also against the rules.
• Collateral, like a car title, must come back to you within ten days after the bondsman's duty ends, unless a bench warrant was issued.

To report a bondsman, contact the South Carolina Department of Insurance, 1201 Main Street, Suite 1000, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-737-6160.

A bond covers its own charge and nothing more. Even after one bond is paid, other problems can block release:

• More than one case. Each case, whether city or county, carries a separate bond.
• An outside warrant. Police elsewhere, in this state or another, may also want the person.
• A charge above the magistrate's power. Murder and other life-sentence charges need a circuit judge's bond hearing.
• A second violent or gun felony charged while on bond. The first bond ends on its own, and a circuit court hearing comes within 30 days (S.C. Code 17-15-55(C)).
• Probation or parole. The state probation office is at 20 N. Magnolia Street, Sumter, SC 29150, 803-778-5185.
• Holds from federal agents or ICE. Paying the county bond leaves these in place.

Before you pay anything, call the jail on Winkles Road at 803-436-2340 and have staff check for any other holds.

South Carolina's Constitution makes bail the normal outcome for most people and forbids excessive bail (S.C. Const. art. I, § 15). Bail can be refused for capital crimes, for offenses that carry a possible life term, and for violent crimes listed in state law (S.C. Code 16-1-60). The judge must give fair weight to the evidence and the facts.

For a violent crime on that list, a magistrate may set bond or deny it. A judge must also think about danger to the community and the risk the person will not come back. A new violent offense committed under a bond order for an earlier violent offense is a separate felony carrying up to five years (S.C. Code 17-15-270).

The prosecutor who argues about bond in General Sessions cases is the Third Circuit Solicitor's Office, Judicial Center, 215 N. Harvin St., Sumter, SC 29150, 803-436-2185.

A circuit judge can review bond amounts set in summary court for General Sessions charges (S.C. Code 17-15-55). Either side can also ask the court to change the rules of release after notice and a hearing (S.C. Code 17-15-50). Steps that often help:

1. Ask the defense attorney to request a bond review in writing.
2. Gather proof of steady work and a local address, plus family ties and what the family can actually afford.
3. Suggest conditions that answer the judge's concerns, like an ankle monitor or a promise to avoid a certain person.
4. Show up at the hearing if you can. A steady family member in the room can matter.

The Clerk's General Sessions office, Room 311, 215 N. Harvin St., Sumter, SC 29150, answers questions about filings at 803-436-2264.

Anyone charged who cannot afford a lawyer can ask the court for one (S.C. Code 17-3-10). To qualify, the person swears in writing that they cannot pay a lawyer, and a $40 application fee applies. The clerk can lower or waive that fee for someone who cannot pay (S.C. Code 17-3-30).

The Third Circuit Public Defender serves this county from the Judicial Center, 215 North Harvin Street, Room 151, Sumter, SC 29150, 803-436-2424. The office is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can start the request with the county's online Application for Counsel.

Statewide oversight comes from the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343.

Most cases here are heard in two downtown buildings. Each office below is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Judicial Center (felonies and serious misdemeanors in the Court of General Sessions, plus Family Court): Clerk of Court, third floor, 215 N. Harvin St., Sumter, SC 29150, 803-436-2227.
• Summary Court (county magistrates, smaller charges, preliminary hearings): 190 E. Canal St., Sumter, SC 29150, 803-436-2280.
• Municipal Court (charges filed by city police): 190 E. Canal Street, Sumter, SC 29150, 803-436-2290.
• Federal court (federal charges): Matthew J. Perry, Jr. U.S. Courthouse, 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5816.

For a ticket from a small town, ask the Summary Court which bench will hear it.

Cash posted with a court is paid back when the reason for holding it ends. That normally means the case has ended and the person came to each hearing (S.C. Code 17-15-220). A ten percent deposit is paid back once the person has followed every bond condition. Any restitution the judge ordered comes out first (S.C. Code 17-15-15). A bondsman's fee is never refunded.

Missing court turns things around quickly:

• A judge signs a bench warrant, which lets officers arrest the person.
• If 90 days pass after the warrant and the bondsman has not surrendered the person, the surety bond is forfeited (S.C. Code 38-53-70).
• Willfully missing court is a separate crime. In a felony case, the penalty can reach five years in prison plus a $5,000 fine (S.C. Code 17-15-90).

To ask about a refund, call the office that took the money. For a General Sessions case, that is the Clerk of Court, 215 N. Harvin St., Sumter, SC 29150, 803-436-2227.

Belongings are kept at the Detention Center, 1250 Winkles Road, Sumter, SC 29153. Pickup hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Staff will hand personal or valuable items to someone else only when the person in jail signs a form allowing it.

Money left on a jail account is private. Staff share the balance only if the person chooses to. Ask them about it before they leave. Our inmate money page explains deposits and refunds. With other questions, call 803-436-2340.

Yes. A federal judge decides, not a magistrate at the jail. Federal charges filed here belong to the Columbia Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Hearings are held in Columbia at the federal courthouse named for Matthew J. Perry, Jr., 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5816.

• At the first appearance, the federal judge chooses between release and detention (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• That hearing can be pushed back a few days: up to five if the defense asks, up to three if the government asks.
• While the case waits for trial, federal deputies guard the person. To learn where they are held, call the Columbia office of the U.S. Marshals Service, 901 Richland Street, Suite 1300, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5821.
• The local Detention Center, 1250 Winkles Road, Sumter, SC 29153, also takes federal inmates, so your person may stay close by.
• After sentencing, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Yes. A detainer stays in place even after the county bond is paid. Here are the steps:

1. Immigration officers with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) file a written hold request, Form I-247A, at the jail.
2. It allows a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE agents then come for the person and bring them to a site the agency uses.
4. Look them up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator with their name and country of birth.
5. ICE's office for South Carolina is at 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.

Under S.C. Code 23-3-1100, within 72 hours of booking anyone on a criminal charge, the jail must try to learn whether that person is unlawfully present in the United States. When the answer is yes, the jail must notify the Department of Homeland Security. Bond judges must also weigh unlawful presence and flight risk (S.C. Code 22-5-510(D)(4)).

Short sentences of up to three months normally stay in the county jail (S.C. Code 24-3-30). Longer terms put the person under the South Carolina Department of Corrections, which chooses where they serve (S.C. Code 24-3-20).

• The first stop for every new state prisoner is reception and evaluation, a sorting period. Family can't visit in person then, unless it lasts longer than 30 days.
• Then the state assigns a prison that suits them.
• Find them with the state inmate search. Its data runs through midnight of the previous day.
• The department's main office is at 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500.
• Each prison has its own listing on our South Carolina state prisons page.

Family Court, not the adult court, handles most people younger than 18. One group is handled as adults: 17-year-olds facing the four top felony classes (A through D), or any felony with a top penalty of 15 years or longer (S.C. Code 63-19-20(1)). Six hours is the longest a child may sit in an adult lockup. Children aged ten or younger cannot be jailed at all (S.C. Code 63-19-820).

• A detention hearing must follow within 48 hours. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays do not count toward that (S.C. Code 63-19-830).
• Youth who are held usually go to the state's Juvenile Detention Complex, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440. One of its two buildings, the JDC Annex, was once called the Midlands Evaluation Center.
• The local Department of Juvenile Justice office is at 20 Magnolia St., Sumter, SC 29150, 803-778-2368.
• Family Court records are kept by the Clerk of Court at the Judicial Center, 215 N. Harvin St., Sumter, SC 29150, 803-436-2366.