Crockett County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate does, and the clock starts at arrest. The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) allows 48 hours at most. It may happen in person, or on a screen from the jail (CCP arts. 14.06 and 15.17). Crockett's district court lawyer plan echoes the same deadline.

Every justice of the peace in Texas is a magistrate (CCP art. 2A.151). Here, the Precinct 1 justice court works from the courthouse at 909 Avenue D, Ozona, TX 76943, 325-392-2253. The jail can tell you who will hear your person and at what hour.

Expect the magistrate to do three things there:

• name the charge, then go over rights like silence and a lawyer
• hand over the form for a court-paid lawyer and help with it
• set bail with the lightest conditions that keep people safe (CCP art. 17.028)

Where the most serious count is Class B or above, bail waits until the magistrate has the public safety report in hand. It is a record summary, not a risk grade, and it never proposes a number (CCP arts. 17.021, 17.022).

Under CCP article 17.01, Texas bail comes as a bail bond, with money or sureties behind it, or as a personal bond. In Ozona that plays out three ways:

• Cash. The entire bail is paid into court. It returns, less fees, after the case is done (art. 17.02).
• Surety. A bondsman, or a friend who qualifies, signs for the whole amount. A bondsman keeps the fee you pay.
• Personal. Your person's signature, promising a return to court, replaces money (art. 17.03).

Personal bonds are barred for crimes on the state's violent list, felons found with guns, terroristic threats at Class A level or up, and certain protective order cases. Violent-case parolees or probationers caught on a new charge are shut out too. For burglary and certain drug felonies, a personal bond waits on approval from the trial judge.

Our Texas bail laws page covers the bigger statewide picture. Release rules can come attached, like an ignition interlock on a repeat DWI (art. 17.441). On a fine-only ticket, release can come with just a court date on paper (art. 15.17(b)).

Texas never adopted one price list for bail. The magistrate fits the figure to the person, and CCP article 17.15 lists what counts:

• bail high enough for a court return, never so high it oppresses
• what the crime is and how it allegedly happened
• the money your person really has
• risk to the victim, officers and neighbors
• the record, along with that safety report
• citizenship

Two dollar limits are written into law. Suppose a warrantless arrest, and no magistrate finds probable cause in time. A misdemeanor then means release by hour 24 with bail no higher than $5,000. A felony means release by hour 48 with bail no higher than $10,000. A person too poor for even that gets a personal bond. The state can request more time, to 72 hours at most (art. 17.033). Call the jail at 325-392-2661 for the actual amount set.

Bond starts at the Sheriff's Office building, 121 S. Hwy 163, Ozona, TX 76943. Letters go to P.O. Box 1931, Ozona, TX 76943. Take these steps in order:

1. Ring 325-392-2661 before you get in the car.
2. Spell out the name, share the date of birth, then ask the bond on each charge.
3. Find out who takes bond right now and in what form.
4. Have staff list any holds, so the money isn't wasted.
5. Carry a photo ID and the payment. Guard the receipt.

Staff must run the person's record before taking any bond. On a violent charge they can never set the amount themselves, under CCP articles 17.20 and 17.22.

It may be. The jail could send you over there, so call first. Both offices below are inside the courthouse at 909 Avenue D, Ozona, TX 76943.

• District and County Clerk. One line serves both: 325-392-2022. Mail: P.O. Drawer C, Ozona, TX 76943. Ask if the clerk files cash bonds, at what hours, and what form of money it wants.
• Precinct 1 justice court. For Class C tickets, dial 325-392-2253. Personal bonds are routine there (CCP art. 45A.107).

Have photo ID and the case or ticket number in hand. Also ask how soon the jail lets your person walk once the bond is logged.

Ask by phone first, because what the window accepts can change. When someone answers at 325-392-2661, find out:

• Is cash fine, and do you need the amount to the penny?
• Who should a money order or cashier's check be payable to?
• Does a debit or credit card work, and at what added cost?

The justice court lets drivers pay traffic fines on its ticket payment site. Bonds can't be paid there. Mailing cash is a bad idea.

Texas reserves the bail bond board requirement for counties of 110,000 or more. Smaller places like Crockett may form one by choice (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.002, 1704.051). In a no-board county, the sheriff can publish which sureties qualify (CCP art. 17.141). The Sheriff's Office at 325-392-2661 can say which it accepts.

• No state cap limits what a bondsman charges, so settle the price first.
• You are owed a receipt, and soliciting inside jails is against the rules (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.304, 1704.305).
• Ask for collateral, like a pickup title, back in writing after the last case ends; 30 days later it is due (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.301).
• Your person's own defense lawyer may also stand as surety.
• Any bondsman hoping to drop the bond has to warn your person's lawyer before filing an affidavit under oath (CCP art. 17.19).

Yes. Something else may still be on file. Common causes:

• Family violence. Bond doesn't open the door at once if the magistrate expects more violence; a four-hour hold follows. A written order may stretch the wait, adding as much as 48 hours under article 17.291(b).
• Another county's warrant. A magistrate in Ozona can take bail on the outside warrant and pass the bond along (art. 15.18). If not, that county must come get the person.
• Parole. When state parole files what people call a blue warrant, release waits until parole holds its violation hearing (Gov't Code 508.254(c)).
• Immigration. A detainer is binding on Texas jails unless legal status is proven (art. 2A.060).
• State appeal. On some violent charges, prosecutors can appeal a bail as too low. The person sits in jail while the higher court decides, which takes 20 days or less (art. 44.01).
• Two cases or more. Every case carries its own bond.

Before you pay, get the full list of holds from the jail at 325-392-2661.

Rarely. The state constitution grants bail to nearly everyone (Tex. Const. art. I, §11). The oldest exception is a capital case where proof of guilt is evident. Later sections reach certain repeat felony suspects, anyone charged with a felony while free on felony bail, and those who violate safety terms or protective orders (art. I, §§11a, 11b, 11c).

Voters said yes to Proposition 3 in November 2025, which put a new section 11d into article I. It applies to murder and capital murder; to kidnapping, robbery or sexual assault charged as aggravated; and to child indecency, trafficking and some aggravated assaults. Only a prosecutor can ask for the hearing. The state wins denial by showing, more likely than not, that the person would flee, or by giving clear and convincing proof of danger. Should the judge allow bail regardless, the order needs written findings.

The 112th District Attorney seeks these holds in felonies, from the courthouse at 909 Avenue D, Ozona, TX 76943, 325-392-2025. Misdemeanors belong to the County Attorney in that building, 325-392-3920.

Often, yes. The request goes to the trial judge on paper, filed by the defense. Bring papers that show what your person earns and owes, such as pay stubs, rent and bills. Ties to family and work help too. Bail may never be used as oppression (CCP art. 17.15).

Article 17.151 adds a deadline. If prosecutors still aren't ready for trial when it runs out, the bail drops or turns into a personal bond:

• 90 days when the charge is a felony
• 30 days if the misdemeanor allows jail past the 180-day mark
• 15 days on a lighter misdemeanor, where jail can't top 180 days
• 5 days on a ticket that only carries a fine

Prosecutors gained a 2025 option too: a felony bail they dislike can go up to a district judge, who may look again (art. 17.029). Felony cases: 112th District Court, 325-392-5225. Misdemeanor cases: the County Judge's office, 325-392-2965.

Most people here get a free lawyer from a list of local lawyers who take turns. Felonies follow the district court lawyer plan shared by Crockett, Reagan, Sutton and Upton counties:

• At the 48-hour hearing, the magistrate gives out the request and helps your person complete it.
• Copies are also at the clerk's office or on the state Indigent Defense Commission site. The finished form goes to the trial court's clerk.
• The court then gets three working days, counted from receipt, to name the lawyer.
• Capital murder goes to a Lubbock office that only takes death-penalty-level cases. Its formal title: Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases. Call 806-696-3740 or mail it at PO Box 2097, Lubbock, TX 79408.

On misdemeanors with nothing filed yet, the County Judge picks the lawyer (county court lawyer plan). Statewide help comes from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Almost every local court is under one roof, the courthouse at 909 Avenue D, Ozona, TX 76943. Phone during business hours before you visit.

• 112th District Court, for felonies. Its judge rides circuit to Pecos, Reagan, Sutton and Upton counties as well. Office line: 325-392-5225.
• District and County Clerk, keeper of the files: 325-392-2022. Its postal address is P.O. Drawer C, Ozona, TX 76943.
• County Court: Class A and B cases are heard here, with the County Judge presiding. Mail: P.O. Box 1857, Ozona, TX 76943, 325-392-2965. Ask that office which room to go to.
• Precinct 1 justice court, which takes Crockett's Class C tickets: 325-392-2253.
• Federal court in San Angelo: O.C. Fisher Federal Building, 33 E. Twohig Avenue, Room 202, San Angelo, TX 76903, 325-655-4506.

The cash receipt decides who gets the refund: the named person is repaid when the bond's terms are fulfilled (CCP art. 17.02). A 5% fee (top: $50) can stay with the clerk if your person is found guilty or placed on deferred adjudication (Loc. Gov't Code 117.055). Article 17.53 even lets the court pay the person's fines and costs from that cash.

A missed court date changes things:

• A judgment nisi is entered, and the bail is forfeited (arts. 22.01, 22.02).
• Sureties get a reprieve if the person lands back behind bars soon enough: 180 days on misdemeanors, 270 on felonies (art. 22.13).
• Missing court can bring a separate bail jumping charge. Its grade follows the original case, up to a third-degree felony in the worst cases (Penal Code 38.10).

The clerk handles refund questions at 325-392-2022.

The day your person leaves, ask about money still in their jail account and the things logged at booking. Staff at 325-392-2661 can explain refunds of the balance and set a time to collect items at 121 S. Hwy 163, Ozona, TX 76943.

Bring photo ID. Picking up for another adult may require their written OK, so ask. Our jail money page covers how these accounts usually work.

In San Angelo. A federal case from the county is filed with the San Angelo Division, Northern District of Texas. Its home is the O.C. Fisher Federal Building, 33 E. Twohig Avenue, Room 202, San Angelo, TX 76903, 325-655-4506.

• A federal magistrate judge in San Angelo decides at a detention hearing between supervised release and jail until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142). Commercial bondsmen have no role in federal cases.
• The U.S. Marshals Service handles pretrial custody, frequently in rented county jail space. Its San Angelo office is staffed only during terms of court: 33 East Twohig Street, Suite 106-D, San Angelo, TX 76903, 325-658-4056. The Northern District office is at 1100 Commerce Street, Room 1657, Dallas, TX 75242, 214-767-0836.
• After a federal prison sentence, use the BOP's inmate locator by name or register number.

It can. The ICE hold stands apart from the state bond:

1. It begins with paperwork: the jail gets ICE's Form I-247A, a detainer.
2. Your person can then be held up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails must follow it (CCP art. 2A.060). Proof that the person is here lawfully is the one way around it. A 2017 statute bars any Texas city or county from restricting how immigration law gets enforced (Gov't Code 752.053).
4. Lawmakers in 2025 (S.B. 8) ordered each jail-running sheriff to pursue 287(g) partnerships with ICE, due by December 1, 2026. The Ozona Sheriff's Office can tell you how that stands.
5. When ICE collects the person, look them up with the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Search by A-number, or by full name joined with birth country.

State jail felonies: a state jail stay of 180 days minimum, two years maximum. Third degree and above means prison under TDCJ (Penal Code 12.31-12.35), the state's Department of Criminal Justice. Ozona keeps the person in its jail until TDCJ sends for them. TDCJ then runs intake and assigns a unit that matches the person's needs.

• Our Texas state prisons page walks through visits, letters and deposits, unit by unit.
• Name or TDCJ number: either one pulls up a record in the TDCJ inmate search, updated each working day.

Texas youth courts hear cases about acts done at ages 10 through 16. After the 17th birthday, the case is an adult one (Tex. Fam. Code 51.02). A judge, not a bail payment, decides when a child goes home.

• Officers must notify a parent or guardian without delay (Tex. Fam. Code 52.02).
• A detained child's hearing comes fast: two working days at most, one when custody began on Friday or Saturday. Appointed counsel comes first (Tex. Fam. Code 54.01).
• Crockett, Reagan and Upton counties share one juvenile board and a juvenile lawyer plan.

The state's registry places no juvenile detention center within the county's borders, so a child who is held is sent out of county. Ask the Sheriff's Office, 325-392-2661, which center has the child. Statewide oversight sits with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, 1711 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701, 512-490-7130.