Dewey County Jail

Work through these steps before you make any long drive:

1. Open the official inmate lookup.
2. Search the last name alone first. Too many hits? Add the first name.
3. Compare each result's custody status, location and birth year.
4. Write down any booking or offender number, since jail staff search faster with one.
5. Before leaving home, phone the Sheriff at 605-865-3330 to confirm where the person is lodged.

SAVIN, a free state service, also follows custody status and can warn you when someone is released.

No match is not a sign of release. Check these possibilities:

• Booking still underway. Records may post hours after the arrest.
• Tribal arrest. Adults held by tribal officers go to the tribe's own detention center in Eagle Butte. Call it at 605-964-2157.
• Transfer. A transfer to another county's jail, to federal custody or to a state prison may have happened.
• Released. Bond might be paid already, or a judge might have ordered release.
• A minor. Cases for people under 18 run through a separate juvenile process.
• Name spelling. Try other spellings, plus any maiden name, middle name or nickname.

Day or night, the Sheriff's Office at 605-865-3330 can settle the question quickly.

The county runs no jail. Deputies work from the Sheriff's Office, 702 C Street, Timber Lake, SD 57656, 605-865-3330. After an arrest, adults go to a jail that houses the county's prisoners by written agreement, which state law permits (SDCL 24-11-3). Places worth knowing:

• Meade County Jail, 1400 Main Street, Sturgis, SD 57785, 605-347-2681. Under contract, it boards prisoners for neighboring counties. Corson and Perkins are two of them.
• Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Adult Detention, operated by the tribe's Law Enforcement Department, 2105 D St., WMLE Building, Eagle Butte, SD 57625, 605-964-2157. Adults booked by tribal officers stay here. Detention Services takes calls on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 605-964-6505.
• Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Juvenile Detention, also in Eagle Butte, 605-964-4577, for young people held by the tribe.

To learn which of these has your person right now, ask the Sheriff's dispatcher.

A booking photo belongs to the agency that snapped it. The official lookup exists to show custody and location, not mugshots, so photo requests go elsewhere. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 605-865-3330, or the jail that did the booking, and ask about its records request steps.

• For photos taken by immigration officers, file on the ICE records request page.
• Most federal booking images are kept private. One exception is a fugitive hunt, when federal marshals may make a photo public.

Yes. SAVIN is a free South Dakota notification service, and the Attorney General's office runs it. It checks custody status all day and night and sends a message when something changes, such as a release. Its help line, 844-299-4608, answers weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central.

• SAVIN covers adults. For a juvenile case, contact the State's Attorney handling it.
• Under Marsy's Law, crime victims are owed prompt notice of a release or escape (S.D. Const. art. VI, § 29).

A call to the Sheriff at 605-865-3330 makes a good backup check.

Nearly every defendant is guaranteed bail by the state constitution (S.D. Const. art. VI, § 8). Judges begin with release on the person's own promise. They add cash or conditions only when needed (SDCL 23A-43-2, 23A-43-3).

• Lots of misdemeanor amounts come from the state's FY27 bond schedule. DUI bond on a first or second offense ranges from $225 to $1,000.
• Kidnapping, murder, first-degree manslaughter and domestic abuse need bond set by a judge, not by the schedule.
• A domestic arrest brings a no-contact order by law. Until the first court date, the alleged victim and that whole household are off limits to the person, even through relatives (SDCL 25-10-43).
• For DUI or drug charges, the judge may order the 24/7 Sobriety Program: breath tests twice a day or a monitoring bracelet.
• Release on a tribal charge is decided by the tribe's court, 813 N. Willow St., Eagle Butte, SD 57625, 605-964-2996.

Our bail page explains how to pay, when a bondsman helps and how refunds work.

First, ask the Sheriff's dispatcher at 605-865-3330 what the booking charge was. The State's Attorney files the formal charge afterward. That office is at 710 C Street, Timber Lake, SD 57656, 605-865-3528.

• Once a case is open, UJS eCourts displays its docket entries.
• Each PARS search costs $20 and returns a case summary.
• On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the Clerk of Courts at 605-865-3566 can read the charge to you.

Each charge has a class, and the class sets the top penalty. The cap for a Class 2 misdemeanor is 30 days in jail. A Class 1 misdemeanor brings up to a year. A Class 6 felony brings up to two years in prison (SDCL 22-6-1, 22-6-2).

Ask for one at the first hearing in front of the judge. A person too poor to hire counsel gets one named by the judge (SDCL 23A-40-6). The county pays, though the person may be ordered to repay the cost later (SDCL 23A-40-10). See the UJS court-appointed attorney guidelines for more.

• Tribal court defendants can reach the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Public Defender at 813 N. Willow St., Eagle Butte, SD 57625, 605-964-4224.
• Relatives may hire a private attorney whenever they choose. That attorney can arrange jail meetings with the client.

The Clerk of Courts, 605-865-3566, answers questions about state cases.

The jail holding the person sets the visiting rules, and it may be a long drive from home. Phone ahead every time. Meade County Jail: 605-347-2681. Tribal detention in Eagle Butte: 605-964-2157.

• Learn the visiting schedule and whether you must reserve a slot.
• Ask if video visits work from home or from a kiosk at the jail. They could spare you the trip.
• Bring photo ID, and plan to lock your phone and bag in your vehicle unless staff say you may keep them.

General tips for most jails are on our visiting page.

With money on account, a prisoner can purchase food items, toiletries and phone minutes. Deposit options and limits differ from jail to jail. Learn from the Sheriff at 605-865-3330 which jail is holding the person, then ask that jail how deposits work.

You'll need the person's full name, and a booking number helps. Don't mail cash in an envelope. Our money page lists common deposit methods. Our commissary page lists items that funds can buy.

Each jail decides how calls are placed and priced, and whether tablets or e-messaging exist there. First confirm the jail through the Sheriff at 605-865-3330, then ask that jail how to open an account.

Expect jail calls to be recorded. Save the details of the case for meetings with the defense lawyer. After a domestic arrest, the no-contact rule covers calls too, including messages passed through family, until the first court date (SDCL 25-10-43). For details, read our jail calls page. For e-messages, see our inmate messaging page.

Letters belong at the holding jail. The Sheriff's Office in Timber Lake is the wrong address. Phone that jail before writing and confirm three things: the street or box address for mail, where a booking number goes, and which enclosures, like photos, pass inspection.

• Use the prisoner's complete legal name.
• Include your own return address.
• Leave out cash and anything with a sharp edge.

The Sheriff's line, 605-865-3330, can say which jail to use. Rules shared by most jails are on our mail page.

Whatever was taken at booking is held by the booking agency until the person is released. The holding jail might sit in another county, so check with the Sheriff at 605-865-3330 about where property is stored.

• Carry photo ID to any pickup.
• Ask if the jail needs written permission from the person before it hands their things to you.
• Ask how leftover jail account money is paid back.

Later, the person can be charged for the costs of their jail stay (SDCL 24-11-45).

Care is the holding jail's duty. Call that jail right away about any prescription, injury or illness. Share the medicine, the dose, and the prescriber's contact details. The Sheriff at 605-865-3330 can point you to the right jail. Mental health holds here are also a Sheriff's Office duty.

When a life is at risk, call 911 right away. Tell the dispatcher clearly if the crisis is about mental health.

Because deputies serve warrants all over the county, the Sheriff's Office at 605-865-3330 is the place to ask, any hour, about active ones. Online, a case on UJS ePayments carries a flag when a warrant is out, and Find a Court Date shows hearings by name. Two more state lists are the DOC Most Wanted page, which tracks escapes and walkaways, and the Sex Offender Registry. To resolve a warrant, call a lawyer first. Together, go to the issuing court. Clerk of Courts: 710 C Street, Timber Lake, SD 57656, 605-865-3566.

Find a Court Date is the court system's free search tool. Enter a name or case number. A daily county calendar is there too.

• State cases: Clerk of Courts, 710 C Street, Timber Lake, SD 57656, 605-865-3566. Hours are Mondays and Wednesdays 9:00 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 4:00 p.m., and Fridays 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.
• Tribal cases: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Criminal Court, 813 N. Willow St., Eagle Butte, SD 57625, 605-964-2996.
• Federal cases: Clerk of the U.S. District Court, 225 South Pierre Street, Pierre, SD 57501, 605-945-4600.

For a hearing-by-hearing walkthrough, see our court page.

Federal charges from this area go to Pierre, where the Central Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota sits. The clerk's office is at 225 South Pierre Street, Pierre, SD 57501.

1. A detention hearing near the start decides if the person waits for trial in custody or out on conditions (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Pretrial, anyone charged federally answers to the U.S. Marshals Service in Pierre. Many such prisoners stay in county jails. Call the Marshals' Pierre office at 605-224-8396 to learn the location.
3. Under the Major Crimes Act, many serious crimes on reservation land become federal cases (18 U.S.C. 1153).
4. After a federal sentence, check the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Immigration custody usually begins with a hold placed at the jail:

1. Step one: ICE delivers a detainer to the jail on its Form I-247A.
2. With that request, the jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)). That gives ICE time to collect them.
3. For South Dakota, the responsible ICE office is the St. Paul Field Office, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, 612-843-8600. Bond appointments run weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
4. One detention site ICE lists is the Pennington County Jail, 307 Saint Joseph St, Rapid City, SD 57701. Its detainee line, 605-394-6116, is staffed 24 hours.
5. Look the person up in the ICE Online Detainee Locator by entering a full name plus country of birth.
6. A 2025 state law applies too: SB 7 (SL 2025, ch 100). Under it, towns and counties can't stop their officers from sharing immigration status information with federal agents.

Felony prison time is served under the South Dakota Department of Corrections. Jail time for a misdemeanor is spent in a county jail instead.

• Search the DOC offender locator by name. A DOC number, if you know it, narrows the search. Its records cover those sentenced to the department, not county jail stays or probation.
• Our South Dakota state prisons page has an entry for each prison.
• DOC central office: 3200 East Highway 34, Pierre, SD 57501, 605-773-3478.

Police usually send a minor home with a parent. State law lists the only reasons an intake officer may hold a child (SDCL 26-8C-3). For anyone 10 or older, the case is heard in the juvenile part of circuit court (SDCL 26-8C-2).

• After an arrest by deputies, the Sheriff at 605-865-3330 can say where the child is.
• After an arrest by tribal police, try Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Juvenile Detention at 605-964-4577.

Look at the booking record to see which agency made the arrest. These agencies operate here:

• Dewey County Sheriff's Office, 702 C Street, Timber Lake, SD 57656, 605-865-3330, staffed 24 hours. Mail: PO Box 340, Timber Lake, SD 57656-0340. Deputies have authority across the whole county, including Isabel and Firesteel.
• Tribal police: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Department, 2105 D St., WMLE Building, Eagle Butte, SD 57625. Dispatch and non-emergency line: 605-964-2155. Office, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: 605-964-4567. Tribal officers work in Eagle Butte and on reservation land.
• South Dakota Highway Patrol. District One, PO Box 1797, Aberdeen, SD 57402-1797, 605-626-2286, covers Pierre and the north-central region. District Three, PO Box 2474, Rapid City, SD 57709-2474, 605-394-2286, covers the western half of the state. The Sheriff can say which district handled a stop.
• BIA Office of Justice Services, District I (Bureau of Indian Affairs), 115 4th Avenue SE, Aberdeen, SD 57401, 605-226-7347. It is the federal justice office serving tribes in North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.