Hamlin County Sheriff's Office Inmate Bail & Bonds

A deputy from the county Sheriff's Office makes the arrest, then drives the person to Brookings or Watertown. A judge, or a court clerk using a printed schedule, decides bond. The courthouse in Hayti still owns the case, even though the person sleeps in another county.

The county sits in South Dakota's Third Judicial Circuit, which runs on its own arrest and release rules:

• Jail staff phone the on-call judge about bond between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Arrests after 9 p.m. wait until 8 a.m. or later the next morning.
• That judge picks the bond on every felony. Four Class 1 misdemeanors get the same call: simple assault, stalking, and two kinds of order violations, protection and no-contact.
• Class 2 misdemeanors end with the person signing a pledge to return.
• Someone who stays in a cell gets a judge's probable cause review within 48 hours. Without one, the jail has to release them.

Under SDCL 23A-4-1, the officer must get the arrested person before the nearest open judge without stalling. Many of these first looks happen by camera while the person stays at the host jail. At that hearing the charge is read aloud, and the judge explains silence and the chance to have a lawyer (SDCL 23A-4-3).

The state Constitution puts bail within reach of nearly every defendant. Only a death-penalty charge backed by strong proof is left out (S.D. Const. art. VI, § 8). The law also tells the judge to try the lightest option first and move up only when needed (SDCL 23A-43-2, 23A-43-3):

1. Personal recognizance. A signature and a pledge. Nothing is paid up front.
2. Unsecured appearance bond. The person signs for a dollar amount, and the court collects it only if they skip a date.
3. A supervisor. A named person or group agrees to keep watch.
4. Limits. Rules about travel, friends or where they live, plus any mental health conditions.
5. A 10 percent deposit. The court holds a slice of the bond, never more than one tenth, and hands it back when every term is kept.
6. Surety bond or full cash. A licensed bondsperson guarantees the total, or a relative lays down the total.
7. Other terms, like daily testing in the 24/7 Sobriety Program.

Before choosing, the judge sizes up the offense, the evidence, any mental health findings, and the risk that the person runs off or harms someone (SDCL 23A-43-4).

The state's court system uses one FY27 Fine and Bond Schedule, effective July 1, 2026, and each circuit adopts it. Typical figures:

• Class 2 misdemeanor: personal recognizance under the circuit's rules
• Most other Class 1 misdemeanors: a personal recognizance bond is allowed
• Two ounces of marijuana or less: personal recognizance
• First or second DUI: $225 to $1,000, with no judge call needed
• Third or later DUI, a felony: $1,000 to $5,000
• Grand theft: $1,000 to $10,000
• Robbery: $1,000 to $25,000
• Most other felonies: $1,000 to $10,000
• Domestic assault: bond comes only from a judge
• Murder, kidnapping or first-degree manslaughter: the first hearing is handled by a judge, never a clerk

Because a judge picks every felony bond by phone in this circuit, a real figure can fall outside these ranges. The Clerk of Courts at 605-783-3751 can read you the bond on a filed case.

Bond is paid where the person is held. Follow these steps:

1. Call the Sheriff's Office at 605-783-3232 and ask which jail has the person.
2. If it is Brookings: the Brookings County Detention Center, 315 7th Avenue, Brookings, SD 57006, has a payment kiosk in the front lobby that accepts bond in cash or by credit card. Call 605-696-8308 first to confirm the amount.
3. If it is Watertown: the Codington County Detention Center, 14 1st Avenue SE, Watertown, SD 57201, can tell you how, where and when it takes bond. Call 605-882-6284 before you drive over.
4. Bring a photo ID, the exact sum, and the person's full legal name plus birth date.
5. Keep every receipt until the case is closed.

The Brookings jail adds the same service charges it uses for account deposits: $3 on cash, and $3 or 10 percent on a card, whichever is more. A $25 Sheriff's fee may also apply in some cases.

Yes, online, when the person is in Brookings. That jail lets people pay bond by credit card on the Jail ATM deposit website, the same site used for inmate accounts. The card charge is $3 or 10 percent, whichever is higher.

The state court payment site, UJS ePayments, is a different tool. It takes cards for fines, court costs and restitution, but it is not built for bail.

Ask the Clerk of Courts whether its window takes a bond on a local case. The office is at 350 Fourth Street, Hayti, SD 57241, 605-783-3751. It is open Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

At the Brookings jail, the lobby kiosk takes cash and credit cards, and the deposit website takes cards. Each comes with a service charge.

For a bond handled in Watertown or by the clerk in Hayti, call ahead and run through the list: bills, a cashier's check, a money order, a debit or credit card. If paper is fine, find out the exact payee name. Cash should never go in an envelope.

A card bond can cost more than the amount the judge set. On a $1,000 bond, a 10 percent card charge adds $100. Paying cash at the kiosk costs $3.

A bondsperson backs the whole bond with the court. In return, the family pays a premium, a fee that stays with the bondsperson even after the case ends. Points to know before you sign:

• Every bondsperson needs a license from the South Dakota Division of Insurance, 124 South Euclid Avenue, 2nd Floor, Pierre, SD 57501, 605-773-3563. Call to check a license or report a problem.
• Running a bail business unlicensed is a Class 6 felony (SDCL 58-22-4).
• Jailers, deputies and police may not profit from any bail bond (SDCL 58-22-3).
• State law bars bondspersons from seeking business where prisoners are held (SDCL 58-22-32).
• Fees vary from one agent to the next. Ask for the price and a list of any pledged property on paper, and keep the receipt.

The courts post a list of licensed bail bond agents. A parent or friend may stand as a personal surety too, but must file a sworn list of their property and any loans against it (SDCL 23A-43-20).

After an arrest for abuse of a partner or family member, the jail cannot let the person go on its own. The arresting officer has to alert a judge, and that judge sets bond and the terms (SDCL 25-10-40). Terms can include moving out, staying away, no drinking and counseling (SDCL 25-10-41).

From booking until the first hearing, the law cuts off all contact with the alleged victim and that person's household. That bans calls, texts, posts and notes sent along through a cousin or friend. A willful break is a Class 1 misdemeanor (SDCL 25-10-43). Please don't carry messages for them.

A paid bond is sometimes only half the battle. Watch for these:

• A warrant from some other county, or from across a state line
• A probation or parole hold
• An ICE detainer
• A domestic abuse case where a judge has not yet ruled on release
• A 24/7 Sobriety Program order that must be set up first

A judge can make the 24/7 program part of bond (SDCL 1-11-20). That can mean two breath tests a day at a set place. A judge may pick an ankle alcohol monitor, urine checks or a sweat patch for drugs instead. The law caps the costs. A breath test is $3 at most, urine $10 and a patch $70. A bracelet runs no more than $10 daily, with install and removal fees of $50 or less apiece. Skip a test or fail one, and the person can be jailed with no bond until a hearing. The county Sheriff's Office offers 24/7 electronic alcohol monitoring. Call 605-783-3232 to learn the testing place and fees.

Hardly ever. The only no-bail case the state Constitution names is a capital case (one where death is a possible punishment) with strong proof of guilt (S.D. Const. art. VI, § 8). Far more often the judge sets strict terms or a large bond. Breaking release terms is another way to land back inside, since it brings a warrant (SDCL 23A-43-21).

The State's Attorney asks for bond terms on behalf of the state. That office is at 300 4th Street, Hayti, SD 57241, 605-983-9900, and sees people by appointment. Alternative number: 605-690-2378. A crime victim may speak up at a bond hearing too (S.D. Const. art. VI, § 29).

The defense lawyer makes the request. SDCL 23A-43-8 opens a review for anyone who still can't make bond 24 hours after the release hearing. The judge can change conditions at any time (SDCL 23A-43-7). If a magistrate judge set bond, a circuit judge can be asked to amend it (SDCL 23A-43-14).

Help the lawyer by gathering proof of steady ties: a job, a lease, family nearby and school or treatment plans. Proof that the person showed up to past court dates helps too. Those steps match the family checklist on our South Dakota bail page, which also covers a review when bond is out of reach.

A person with no money for a private attorney should say so when the judge asks at the first appearance (SDCL 23A-40-6). The county then covers appointed defense counsel (SDCL 23A-40-7, 23A-40-8). The Clerk of Courts at 605-783-3751 can explain the forms.

Keep in mind:

• A judge can later make the defendant repay that cost, even if the charge is dropped or ends in an acquittal (SDCL 23A-40-10).
• The county may place a lien on what the person owns, yet a home can't be taken through foreclosure to pay it (SDCL 23A-40-11, 23A-40-15).
• A Class 2 misdemeanor with no jail risk does not come with a free lawyer (SDCL 23A-40-6.1).

Every state case from the county is heard in Hayti, even when the person is jailed elsewhere. The Clerk of Courts serves both the circuit court and the magistrate court at 350 Fourth Street, Hayti, SD 57241, 605-783-3751. The Sheriff's Office brings people in from Brookings or Watertown for hearings.

Probation for the county is run by Court Services, 314 Sixth Avenue, Suite 6, Brookings, SD 57006, 605-688-4208.

Federal charges go to the Northern Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, which holds court at 102 Fourth Avenue SE, Aberdeen, SD 57401. Its clerk's office in Sioux Falls answers at 605-330-6600.

When the person has kept every promise and the case wraps up, the court frees the bail (SDCL 23A-43-26). A 10 percent deposit is returned too, once all terms are met (SDCL 23A-43-3). Ask the Clerk of Courts at 605-783-3751 how cash comes back, and if any court debts get subtracted before it does.

Skipping a hearing is costly:

• The bail is forfeited.
• A fresh charge is filed. Someone freed on a felony or a DUI faces a Class 6 felony, and on a misdemeanor, a Class 1 misdemeanor (SDCL 23A-43-31).
• A warrant is issued (SDCL 23A-43-21).

Forfeiture is not always final. A judge may cancel it, often when the person comes back fast and can explain the miss (SDCL 23A-43-22).

Each host jail handles release at its own building. Call before you go so the money and items are ready:

• Brookings County Detention Center, 315 7th Avenue, Brookings, SD 57006, 605-696-8308. Its front desk keeps weekday hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Codington County Detention Center, 14 1st Avenue SE, Watertown, SD 57201, 605-882-6284. Property pickup runs Tuesday 6 to 10 p.m., Wednesday and Friday noon to 4 p.m., and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.

On that call, ask if the account balance leaves as cash, a check or a card, and if family can collect bags with a signed release.

A federal judge rules on it, not the county. At the first appearance the judge picks one of four paths: release on a pledge, release with rules, a short hold, or detention until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142). That hearing usually takes place on the spot. A delay is possible, five days at most if the accused asks, three if the government does.

Federal detainees go into U.S. Marshals Service custody until trial. Its Aberdeen office sits at 102 Southeast 4th Avenue, Suite 409, Aberdeen, SD 57401, 605-226-1794. State bail paid in Hayti does not free someone on a federal hold.

It does not. Immigration has its own process, apart from the state charge:

1. ICE files Form I-247A with whichever jail holds the person.
2. That form requests a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)), giving agents time to arrive.
3. ICE's St. Paul office covers the Dakotas and three nearby states: 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, 612-843-8600.
4. Once ICE has the person, the ICE Online Detainee Locator shows where.

On ICE's own facility list is the Pennington County Jail, 307 Saint Joseph Street, Rapid City, SD 57701, 605-394-6116, in Rapid City. SB 7 (SL 2025, ch 100), passed in 2025, cancels any local rule, county or city, that tries to keep staff from giving a person's immigration status to federal officials.

A misdemeanor jail term is done in a county lockup, and here that means one of the two host jails. Felony prison time belongs to the South Dakota Department of Corrections (SDCL 22-6-1, 22-6-2). On a Class 5 or 6 felony, a judge can order up to one year of local jail time in place of prison (SDCL 22-6-1.1).

Look up someone in a state prison with the DOC offender locator. The department's central office is at 3200 East Highway 34, Pierre, SD 57501, 605-773-3478. If you want to learn about the prison itself, try our South Dakota state prisons page.

Juvenile court in South Dakota covers kids from age 10 up, and those cases are heard in circuit court (SDCL 26-8C-2). Usually a parent picks the teen up. Detention is allowed only for reasons the statute spells out, and the gentlest workable setting comes first (SDCL 26-8C-3). This circuit uses a risk screening to make that call.

The Codington County Detention Center, 14 1st Avenue SE, Watertown, SD 57201, has juvenile care in the same building. Ask the Sheriff's Office at 605-783-3232 where a local youth was taken. A teen's case goes to adult court only if a judge orders it at a transfer hearing (SDCL 26-11-4).