Brooks County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate, not the arresting deputy, decides. Officers in Texas have no more than 48 hours to bring a jailed person before one (Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 14.06(a) and 15.17(a)). That meeting may take place in person or through a camera hookup from the cellblock.

The law treats justices of the peace as magistrates, along with the county judge and district judges (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 2A.151). The two local justice courts share a building at 408 W. Travis Street, Falfurrias, TX 78355. Their offices answer through the courthouse switchboard, 361-325-5604.

During that brief hearing, expect three things:

• Your person hears the charge, plus warnings about silence and counsel.
• They are asked whether they want a free lawyer, and someone helps them sign the request.
• Bail is fixed, along with any release rules, choosing the lightest terms that still protect people (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.028).

Class B and heavier charges call for a public safety report. The magistrate must look it over first. It shows the person's record. You won't find a risk rating or a suggested dollar amount in it (Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 17.021 and 17.022). Booking can tell you the hearing time: 361-325-3696.

Texas sorts release into a bail bond or a personal bond (Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 17.01, 17.02 and 17.03). In everyday terms:

• Cash bond. Someone pays the entire amount to the court. The money comes back after the case if the person never misses a date.
• Surety bond. A state-licensed bondsman guarantees each dollar to the judge. You pay that bondsman a nonrefundable fee.
• Personal bond. Freedom hinges on the defendant's signature and pledge to return. No money changes hands up front.

Rules may ride along with any of these. Think no-contact orders, curfews or drug tests. A driver with a second DWI, or one caught drunk with a child aboard, gets a breath lock on the car (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.441).

A personal bond can't be used for many violent offenses, for felons caught carrying a gun, for some protective order breaches, or for someone on supervision for violence who gets charged again (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.03). See our state bail law page for every item.

No single chart prices every charge in Texas. The magistrate weighs each person's facts one by one (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.028). State law asks that the figure:

• Is large enough to bring the person back for each hearing.
• Stays short of being a tool to crush someone.
• Matches the crime and the person's real budget.
• Guards the victim, officers and neighbors.
• Reflects past record and citizenship (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.15(a)).

There are some hard limits. Fine-only tickets can end with a magistrate releasing the person with just a paper showing when court is (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 15.17(b)). Arrests made without a warrant need a quick probable cause ruling. Without one in time, the law orders release on a bond capped at $5,000 for a misdemeanor or $10,000 for a felony (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.033).

To hear the actual figure on your person's case, phone 361-325-3696 and ask for the jail.

You'll find the Sheriff's Office, and the small jail it runs, at 701 E. Rice Street, Falfurrias, TX 78355. Letters reach them at P.O. Box 558, Falfurrias, TX 78355. A sheriff or jailer can accept bail, must pull the person's history first, and cannot choose the figure in a violent case (Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 17.20 and 17.22). Then follow these steps:

1. Dial 361-325-3696 and request Booking.
2. Give the jailer their exact legal spelling and birth date.
3. Write down the figure on each charge and the bond type.
4. Ask whether another agency has a hold on them.
5. Ask how Booking wants the money and what payee to write.
6. Arrive with a photo card and the bond in full. File the receipt somewhere safe.

When your person is housed at the Detention Center on County Road 201, ask the deputies how that site processes a bond. In a family violence arrest, release may wait four hours past posting, or as long as 48 hours on a magistrate's signed order (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.291(b)).

State law allows a cash deposit with the court in place of sureties (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.02). Felony papers and their bonds land with the District Clerk.

• District Clerk: 100 E. Miller Street, Falfurrias, TX 78355 (P.O. Box 534). Phone 361-325-5604 and ask for that office. Doors open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Filing stops at 4:30 p.m., and staff break for lunch.
• County Clerk (misdemeanor records): P.O. Box 427, Falfurrias, TX 78355. Use the same switchboard and request the County Clerk.

Steps for either clerk's window:

1. Phone ahead with the cause number, if you know it.
2. Confirm that the window, and not just the jail, can take this bond.
3. Ask about every fee. The District Clerk prefers fee questions by phone.
4. Show ID and walk away with a stamped receipt.

Every window here makes its own money rules, so settle them on the phone first. When you reach the jail at 361-325-3696, run through these points:

• Is cash fine, and do they make change?
• Are money orders or cashier's checks welcome, and who is the payee?
• Are personal checks and debit cards turned away?
• Will a service charge be added?

Both justice courts link a pay-online service from their county pages, one for Precinct 1 and one for Precinct 2. A case number, citation number or driver's license number unlocks it. That service settles traffic and ticket fines, not the bail of someone sitting in a cell.

Do not mail cash, ever. Each receipt matters until the final court date.

Bondsmen, also called sureties, back the full bail for a fee. Texas requires a licensing board just in counties of 110,000-plus (Texas Occupations Code, Section 1704.002). This county is much smaller: its July 1, 2025 Census Bureau estimate was 6,579 people. Lacking a board, the sheriff may post a roll of sureties approved for this jail (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.141). Ask for it at 361-325-3696.

Before signing anything:

• Texas sets no fee limit, so get the price written down.
• You must get a receipt, and soliciting clients inside a jail is forbidden (Texas Occupations Code, Section 1704.304).
• After the case is over, ask for collateral back in a letter. It is due back within 30 days (Texas Occupations Code, Section 1704.305).
• A defense lawyer of record may sign a bond as well.
• Prior to surrendering a defendant, a surety has to warn the defense attorney and later swear out a form (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.19).

Each bond answers only for its own charge. Watch for these:

• ICE detainer. Jails in this state honor it unless the person shows lawful status (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 2A.060).
• Parole blue warrant. A parolee is held until the hearing on the violation (Texas Government Code, Section 508.254(c)).
• Out-of-county warrant. A magistrate in Falfurrias can accept bail for it, then send the bond papers to the county holding that warrant (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 15.18).
• Probation. Fresh charges can prompt a motion to revoke. Adult probation works out of the courthouse, 100 E. Miller Street, Falfurrias, TX 78355, 361-325-4500.
• Family violence wait. Release can pause for four hours, or up to 48 by written order (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.291(b)).
• Marshals custody. A federal detainee's release is a federal judge's decision.

Before paying, ask Booking at 361-325-3696 to list each hold by name.

The Texas Constitution says almost everyone can get bail. The chief carve-out (Texas Constitution, Article I, Section 11) covers capital cases where proof is evident. A judge can also deny bail in some repeat felony cases, after a safety rule is broken, or after a protective order is violated (Texas Constitution, Article I, Sections 11a, 11b and 11c).

A newer rule came from Proposition 3, which Texans approved on November 4, 2025 (Texas Constitution, Article I, Section 11d). Murder and capital murder qualify. So do aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, plus sexual assault when aggravated. So are trafficking, indecency with a child, and aggravated assaults that cause serious injury or involve a weapon. Only prosecutors can invoke it. At a hearing, the state must show flight risk or a danger to others. If it does, no bail. A judge who frees the person anyway must give written reasons.

Two 2025 changes also help prosecutors: a district judge review of felony bail, plus a state appeal when prosecutors call bail too low in certain violent cases (Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 17.029 and 44.01). The 79th Judicial District Attorney handles local felony prosecutions from an office upstairs in the courthouse, 100 E. Miller Street, Falfurrias, TX 78355. Phone 361-325-5604 and request the DA's office.

A judge alone can reduce bail, usually after the defense files a motion. Relatives can gather backup:

1. Recent pay stubs, proof of a Falfurrias-area home, and kin who live close.
2. An honest household budget. Bail is not meant to oppress (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.15(a)).
3. Ideas for conditions that ease the judge's fears, like weekly check-ins.
4. On a felony, ask for an examining trial, where a magistrate tests probable cause and may revisit bail (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 16.01).

Time limits matter. Should the prosecution still be unready at these marks, a personal bond, or a bail reduction, becomes mandatory (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.151):

• A felony case: 90 days.
• A misdemeanor with a top sentence above 180 days: 30 days.
• A lighter jailable misdemeanor: 15 days.
• A ticket punished by fine alone: 5 days.

Bail forms used statewide can be downloaded from the Texas Judicial Branch. The District Clerk takes felony filings at 361-325-5604.

When asked about counsel at the magistrate hearing, your person should request a lawyer. The magistrate has to walk them through it and assist with the paperwork (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 15.17(a)). Deadlines then kick in:

• Within 24 hours, the request travels to whoever appoints counsel.
• Counties under 250,000 people are allowed three working days. The court must pick a lawyer by quitting time on day three after the form arrives (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 1.051(c)).
• That attorney then has a working day to try to call or visit the jail (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 26.04(j)).

The judge reviews income, debts and dependents. Posting bail does not by itself disqualify someone (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 26.04). Here, private attorneys take appointments under the local plan. The plan is on the indigent defense plan site; choose Brooks from the list.

The Texas Indigent Defense Commission oversees all such plans: 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Almost all local criminal cases are heard in a single building:

• Brooks County Courthouse, 100 E. Miller Street, Falfurrias, TX 78355, 361-325-5604. Felonies go before the 79th District Court here, and the County Court handles Class A and Class B cases. The District Clerk, the DA's office and adult probation have offices inside.
• Justice courts, Precinct 1 and Precinct 2, 408 W. Travis Street, Falfurrias, TX 78355. Fine-only Class C matters land here. Precinct 1 also answers 361-667-3303. On January 1, 2023, the former Precincts 3 and 4 were folded into Precinct 1.
• U.S. District Court, Corpus Christi Division, 1133 N. Shoreline Blvd., Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3142, for federal crimes.

Tickets from city officers might be filed in a city court. The Sheriff's Office, 361-325-3696, can tell you where a case went.

After the case ends and the bond is discharged, the money goes back, less any fee, to the person listed on the cash receipt (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.02). Only after a conviction or deferred adjudication may the clerk hold back 5%, capped at $50. The court can also apply that deposit to the defendant's fines and court costs (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.53). Read the state's money bond guide for more.

Skip a court date and trouble follows:

• A judgment nisi, the first step to keep the bond, is entered (Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 22.01 and 22.02).
• A surety may be let off when the defendant is rearrested in time. Misdemeanor cases allow 180 days. Felony cases allow 270 (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 22.13).
• Missing court is also a crime in itself. Under Texas Penal Code, Section 38.10, its level matches the case that was skipped, ranging up to a third-degree felony.

Felony bond refunds: phone the District Clerk at 361-325-5604. Take your receipt and a photo ID.

Raise the question of cash and personal items before release, since the two buildings run on separate systems.

• County jail: call the Sheriff's Office at 361-325-3696, 701 E. Rice Street, Falfurrias, TX 78355. Ask how remaining funds are refunded and what hours property is released.
• Detention Center, 901 County Road 201, Falfurrias, TX 78355: ask that same Sheriff's line how this site hands back funds and property.

Take ID with you. Collecting items for another person often requires their written OK, so check beforehand. General deposit and refund info is on our inmate account page.

Federal crimes charged here go to the Corpus Christi courthouse of the Southern District of Texas: 1133 N. Shoreline Blvd., Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3142.

• At the first federal appearance, a judge hears whether pretrial release is allowed. That hearing can be postponed for only a few days (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal defendants waiting for trial remain in U.S. Marshals Service custody. Its Corpus Christi office: 1133 North Shoreline Boulevard, Suite 109, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3154.
• The Detention Center on County Road 201 has an agreement to house Marshals prisoners, so a federal defendant could be held a few miles from home. The Marshals can confirm the location.
• If the person can't pay, the Federal Public Defender may represent them: 500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Room 301, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3532.
• Once the Bureau of Prisons takes a sentenced person, the BOP inmate locator lists them.

It stays. Paying the Texas bond leaves the federal immigration request untouched. The steps go in this order on Rice Street and County Road 201:

1. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issues Form I-247A to the Brooks jail or Detention Center.
2. This paper asks that the person be kept up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails must comply with it, unless the person shows they are in the country lawfully (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 2A.060). A 2017 statute forbids local rules that restrict immigration enforcement (Texas Government Code, Section 752.053).
4. A 2025 law covers counties that run a jail or hire a company to run it. Each one has until December 1, 2026 to enter a 287(g) agreement with federal immigration officials.
5. ICE officers collect the person. Local cases fall to the Harlingen Field Office, 1717 Zoy Street, Harlingen, TX 78552, 956-389-7800.
6. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by alien number, or by full name and birth nation.

Felony prison terms are served with TDCJ. State jail felonies differ (minimum 180 days, maximum two years, in a state jail) (Texas Penal Code, Section 12.35). After the sentence, the person usually waits in the local jail until TDCJ accepts them at intake. Staff there sort them by needs and risk, then pick a unit.

• The TDCJ inmate search finds state prisoners by last name or TDCJ number. The data updates on working days.
• Read up on each unit in our Texas prison directory.

Juvenile court (Texas Family Code, Section 51.02(2)) is for kids from 10 through 16. Someone aged 17 is tried in adult court instead. Parents must be told quickly (Texas Family Code, Section 52.02).

• Detained youths get a fast hearing. Count two working days from custody. If custody started on a Friday or a Saturday, count one (Texas Family Code, Section 54.01).
• Before the hearing begins, the youth is given a lawyer.
• Kids are not bonded out the way adults are. The juvenile judge rules on release at the hearing.

The Sheriff's Office at 361-325-3696 can say where the child is and how to contact juvenile probation. The statewide agency is the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, 1711 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701, 512-490-7130.