Deaf Smith County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

Here the Justice of the Peace serves as magistrate. That court's county web page even lists live YouTube magistrations. Reach the office at the courthouse, 235 E 3rd St, Hereford, TX 79045, 806-364-0999.

What happens at that hearing:

• It comes within 48 hours of arrest. Video counts (CCP arts. 14.06, 15.17).
• Out loud come the charge and the person's rights, including silence and a lawyer.
• People without money for a lawyer can request a free one, and the magistrate assists with the form.
• Bail gets decided person by person inside that 48-hour window, with the lightest conditions that will work (CCP art. 17.028).
• For any charge rated Class B or worse, the magistrate first reads a records-based public safety report. That report gives no risk score and no dollar figure. Two statutes, CCP arts. 17.021 and 17.022, create it.

The jail gets 12 hours to flag possible mental illness to the magistrate, under CCP art. 16.22.

Under CCP arts. 17.01 through 17.03, Texas recognizes three ways out on bail:

• Cash. Every dollar is paid at once and held by the court through the end of the case. It is then refunded, minus small fees.
• Surety. A licensed bondsman guarantees the whole amount. You pay that company a fee, and it stays with them.
• Personal bond. Release on a written pledge to show up, with no bail money handed over. A modest fee may be charged unless the judge waives it.

A personal bond can't be granted on many violent charges. Also excluded: a felon with a gun, some protective order breaks and Class A or higher terroristic threat. A person already serving supervision over a violent case, now arrested again, is barred as well. CCP art. 17.03 reserves personal bonds in burglary, organized crime and some drug felony cases for the trial court alone.

Conditions can ride on any bond, like staying away from the victim. Repeat DWI, DWI with a child passenger, intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter bring a required ignition interlock (CCP art. 17.441). Fine-only charges may end with release on a written court date alone.

Each figure is chosen fresh by the magistrate, for this person and this charge. A magistrate setting the amount follows CCP art. 17.15. Bail should:

• be high enough to bring them back to court
• never work as a tool of oppression
• fit the offense and how it was done
• take their real budget into account
• protect the victim, officers and neighbors
• reflect criminal history and citizenship status

Statute fixes just one ceiling. Suppose nobody rules on probable cause quickly after a warrantless arrest. Then a misdemeanor must get release by hour 24 on bail capped at $5,000, and a felony by hour 48 on bail capped at $10,000. If they can't raise even that, they get a personal bond. The state may seek a stretch to 72 hours (CCP art. 17.033).

Real figures come from the jail: ring 806-364-2311 and request the bond for every charge one by one.

The jail stands at 3780 N. Progressive Rd., Hereford, TX 79045. Some older Sheriff's Office papers still show a courthouse room, but bonds start at the Progressive Road building. A simple plan:

1. Call 806-364-2311, then request Booking.
2. Spell out their legal name and give their birthday.
3. Confirm the magistrate has already set an amount.
4. Learn the hours bonds are accepted and which payment types work that day.
5. Ask about holds from other counties, probation or ICE.
6. Arrive with photo ID and exact funds. Leave with a receipt showing the case number.

Jail staff accepting bail must run a criminal history check, and on violent charges they can't pick the amount themselves (CCP arts. 17.20, 17.22).

Start with the jail. A few offices at the courthouse may also help, so phone ahead.

• District Clerk, felony files: 235 East Third Street, Room 304, Hereford, TX 79045, 806-364-3901. Weekdays 8:00 to 5:00, shut from noon to 1:00. Ask whether felony cash bonds are taken at this window.
• County Clerk, Class A and B misdemeanors: 235 East 3rd Street, Room 203, Hereford, TX 79045, 806-363-7077. Weekdays 8 to 5, open through lunch.
• Justice of the Peace, Class C tickets: 806-364-0999. Fine-only bonds there are mostly personal bonds (CCP art. 45A.107).

When city officers did the arresting, phone the Police Department at 212 Lee Avenue, Hereford, TX 79045, 806-363-7120, to learn where your person went and where bond gets paid.

Before heading over, call 806-364-2311. Find out what forms of payment Booking takes for cash bail, and how to fill out a money order's "pay to" line.

Cash, credit cards, money orders and cashier's checks all work for the District Clerk's own charges. Ring 806-364-3901 to see whether those methods also cover a felony bond.

The Justice of the Peace's county page has an online spot for ticket fines. Bail goes through the jail instead.

Protect yourself:

• Pay only at an official window or to a licensed bondsman.
• Insist on paper proof of every payment.
• Store that receipt safely. CCP art. 17.02 sends any refund to the name it shows.

A bondsman, also called a surety, guarantees the full bail to the court. What you pay buys that guarantee, and Texas law sets no cap on that charge; see Occupations Code ch. 1704.

Large counties of 110,000 or more run a bail bond board that licenses sureties. Smaller ones may instead have their Sheriff post approved names, as CCP art. 17.141 allows. Call 806-364-2311 to request that current roster of bondsmen.

Texas rules on your side:

• Hand over cash or property and you are owed a receipt (OC 1704.305).
• Jails are off-limits for bondsmen looking for business (OC 1704.304).
• Lawyers already handling the case may post the bond themselves (OC 1704.163).
• When all the cases are over, ask for your collateral in writing. Within 30 days the surety has to return it (OC 1704.301).

A surety who wants off the bond must warn the defense lawyer first. On felonies the prosecutor hears too. Then the surety files a sworn affidavit with the court, as CCP art. 17.19 directs.

Money alone may not free someone. Raise each of these with the jail:

• Family violence. When a magistrate expects the abuse may continue, the person stays 4 extra hours after posting bond. A written order can push that to 48 (CCP art. 17.291). Victims are notified first.
• Emergency protective order. One often comes out of the first hearing. CCP art. 17.292 sets most at 61 to 91 days.
• Warrant from elsewhere in Texas. A Hereford magistrate may set bail for another county's case, and the bond then travels to that county (CCP art. 15.18).
• Probation warrant. Can also block release.
• Parole "blue warrant." Usually means staying in until the parole violation hearing, under Gov't Code 508.254.
• ICE detainer. Texas jails honor these unless lawful status is shown, under CCP art. 2A.060.

Put it plainly when you call 806-364-2311: "Besides this bond, is anything else holding them?"

Bail is a right for nearly everyone. Article I of the Texas Constitution carves out exceptions:

• capital cases with evident proof (§11)
• certain repeat felonies, or fresh felonies committed during bail (§11a)
• violating safety-related bond terms (§11b) or a protective order (§11c)

Proposition 3, approved by Texas voters in November 2025, created §11d. It covers murder and capital murder, plus the aggravated crimes of kidnapping, robbery and sexual assault. Serious aggravated assaults, trafficking and indecency with a child are included too. The prosecutor must ask. At a hearing, the prosecutor has to prove the accused might skip town or would endanger someone. If so, bail "shall be denied." Any judge who sets bail anyway owes a written explanation.

Bond violations in family violence or child sex cases can also lead to denial (CCP arts. 17.152, 17.153).

For the state's side, contact the District Attorney's office at 806-364-3700 and ask for its street address and the assigned prosecutor.

A bond that a person could never pay can be challenged, since the magistrate must factor in the person's finances under CCP art. 17.15. Paths to a lower figure:

• Defense motion. Their lawyer files for a reduction. Pay stubs, rent and child care costs help make the case.
• Examining trial. Felony defendants can request this probable cause hearing before any indictment, and bail may be revisited there (CCP art. 16.01).
• Slow prosecution. If the state can't announce ready in time, the law forces either a personal bond or a bail reduction. Felonies get 90 days; fine-only cases get 5. For jailable misdemeanors, it's 30 days when the possible jail term tops 180 days, or 15 when it doesn't (CCP art. 17.151).

Prosecutors have tools too. Article 17.029 of the CCP lets them bring a felony bail before a district judge for another look. And when a violent charge gets what the state sees as too low a bail, it can appeal; the appeal is decided within 20 days while the defendant waits inside (CCP art. 44.01).

Felony paperwork runs through the District Clerk, 806-364-3901.

Appointed cases here go to the Panhandle Area Public Defender, which covers six counties including this one: 900 S. Polk, Suite 206, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-242-3415.

1. During magistration your loved one requests counsel and completes a financial form.
2. Within 24 hours, that request travels to whoever appoints lawyers (CCP art. 15.17).
3. In counties below 250,000 residents, CCP art. 1.051 sets the appointment deadline at the third working day's close, counting from when the request arrives.
4. The new lawyer then has until the next workday closes to try reaching the client, per CCP art. 26.04.

Posting bail doesn't disqualify anyone, except as evidence of finances. The local appointment plan is listed on the Texas Indigent Defense Commission's plan finder. TIDC: 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Nearly all local criminal hearings happen at 235 E 3rd St, Hereford, TX 79045.

• 222nd District Court (felonies; it also covers Oldham County): 806-364-7222
• District Clerk: Room 304, 235 East Third Street, Hereford, TX 79045, 806-364-3901
• County Court (Class A and B misdemeanor cases), files kept by the County Clerk: Room 203, 235 East 3rd Street, Hereford, TX 79045, 806-363-7077
• Justice of the Peace (Class C cases and magistrations): 806-364-0999
• Hereford Municipal Court (Class C inside city limits): P.O. Box 2277, Hereford, TX 79045, 806-363-7127

Federal matters are heard in Amarillo, 205 SE 5th Avenue, Room 133, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-468-3800.

Who gets cash bail back is set by CCP art. 17.02: whoever the receipt names, once the case and all bond terms are done.

• A 5% clerk's fee, capped at $50, may be taken, but only if the result was a conviction or a deferred adjudication order. Nobody pays it after an acquittal or a dismissal.
• Outstanding fines and costs can be paid from the deposit first (CCP art. 17.53).
• When the case closes, the clerk supplies the state's free form for asking that cash bail funds be released.

A skipped court date puts everything at risk. Bail is forfeited through a judgment nisi, a first ruling against both the defendant and the bondsman (CCP arts. 22.01, 22.02). Sureties escape liability if the defendant lands back in custody inside 180 days on misdemeanors or 270 on felonies. Skipping court is also its own crime, bail jumping, under Penal Code 38.10.

Refund questions: District Clerk 806-364-3901 for felonies; County Clerk 806-363-7077 for misdemeanors.

Belongings taken at booking stay in jail storage. To collect anything on your loved one's behalf, call 806-364-2311 and ask for the property release rules.

• Is a signed release from them required?
• Which ID should you bring?
• How is leftover account money returned?
• What happens to unused phone credit?

The Sheriff's website links separately to commissary deposits and telephone deposits. Our deposit page and commissary page explain those accounts.

Federal prosecutions here belong to the Amarillo court of the Northern District of Texas: 205 SE 5th Avenue, Room 133, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-468-3800.

A federal magistrate judge rules on release under 18 U.S.C. 3142, either setting conditions or holding a detention hearing. If no mix of conditions can protect the community and ensure appearance, pretrial custody follows.

Before any federal trial, the Marshals Service holds the defendant, and its Amarillo office decides the housing: 205 SE 5th Street, Unit 214, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-324-2350. Federal Public Defender, Amarillo: 600 S. Tyler Street, Suite 2300, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-324-2370.

The federal prison system's own inmate locator lists them after sentencing.

Paying state bail won't erase an ICE detainer. In order:

1. ICE puts the request in writing on Form I-247A for the jail.
2. Once it is filed, the jail may hold them up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. This gives ICE time to arrive (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Once ICE has them, they move into immigration detention.
4. Track them on the ICE Online Detainee Locator using an A-number, or full name and birth country.

Since 2017, Gov't Code 752.053 has required Texas jails to cooperate with ICE detainers. Only proof of citizenship or lawful presence gets around one (CCP art. 2A.060). A newer law from 2025 puts counties that run jails on a December 1, 2026 deadline to seek 287(g) agreements with ICE. Ask the Sheriff's Office about local progress at 806-364-2311. ICE's Dallas Field Office, whose territory ICE describes as North Texas, sits at 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.

Misdemeanor jail time stays local. Felony time goes to the state. State jail felonies carry 180 days to two years (Penal Code 12.35), spent inside a state jail. Bigger felonies mean prison, and Texas prisons belong to the TDCJ, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Everyone sent there starts at an intake unit for assessment, then transfers to a unit matched to their needs and custody level.

Families can check the TDCJ inmate search, which updates on workdays; a last name or TDCJ number works. Our Texas state prisons page covers visits, letters and deposits once they arrive.

Texas sends a child's case to juvenile court if they were no younger than 10 and no older than 16 when it happened. For a 17-year-old, adult court is where the case goes (Family Code 51.02).

• Officers must promptly tell a parent and give the reason for custody.
• Youths are held in juvenile detention, never alongside adults in the county jail.
• Juvenile detention gets a court check by the second working day. If intake was on a Friday or Saturday, that check comes on the first working day. Before it, the child gets appointed counsel (Family Code 54.01).
• Unless one of five legal grounds applies, the judge sends the child home.
• Serious felonies can move to adult court starting at 14 or 15 (Family Code 54.02).

Which detention center has your child? The Sheriff's Office knows, and can also point you to juvenile probation: 806-364-2311.