Hockley County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate, never the jailer. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP §15.17), that must happen within 48 hours. Here the magistrate can be one of the JPs, the County Judge, or whoever presides in the 286th (CCP §2A.151), and the hearing may happen on a jail video screen. Avenue H staff at 806-894-9334 can say when.

Expect a quick hearing. The charge is read, rights are explained, and a free-lawyer request form is offered. Bail follows, tailored to your loved one, with the least burden that still works (CCP §17.028). For Class B and anything heavier, a written public safety report about past cases reaches the magistrate before bail is set. It gives no score and no suggested figure.

Around Levelland you will hear about four:

• Cash. The family pays the full bond. It comes back after the case if all rules were kept.
• Surety. A bondsman backs the full bond for a fee. That fee is gone for good.
• Personal bond. Your loved one goes home on a signature alone, no money down, though a small fee may apply.
• Conditions. Curfews, stay-away orders or an ignition interlock can be tacked onto any bond.

Personal bonds are barred for a set of violent charges and a few gun and protective order cases (CCP §17.03). A fine-only Class C arrest may end with just a written notice of the court date, no bond required.

Check the roster first. Next to each charge it prints a bond, and each entry has a total. Texas uses no statewide price list, so each Hockley magistrate sets amounts case by case, guided by CCP §17.15: making sure of a return to court, not oppressing, the charge and its facts, ability to pay, everyone's safety, record and citizenship.

Dollar caps exist in one rule. Hour 24 and $5,000 for a misdemeanor; hour 48 and $10,000 for a felony. Those limits kick in only after a warrantless arrest where probable cause went undecided in time (CCP §17.033). For one person's exact number, call 806-894-9334.

Jailers at 1310 Avenue H, Levelland, TX 79336 can take bail once a magistrate has set it. Steps:

1. Phone 806-894-9334 first.
2. Give the name and birthday; note every count's bond and the sum.
3. Make sure the amount is set. Nothing can be paid sooner.
4. Ask what payment works and what hours bonds are taken.
5. Ask about probation, ICE or out-of-county holds.
6. Bring photo ID. Keep the receipt.

Line busy? The Sheriff's main number is 806-894-3126.

Ask the jail at 806-894-9334 before trying a clerk. Bond paperwork ends up with whichever clerk keeps the case file:

• Felonies: District Clerk, 802 Houston Street, Suite 316, Levelland, TX 79336, 806-894-8527.
• Class A and B: County Clerk, 806-894-3185. Ask its location and whether it accepts bond money.
• Class C: the four JP precincts, one shared number, 806-894-4104.

Levelland police deliver prisoners to the county jail, so city arrests are bonded out through Avenue H. Get paper proof at every window.

That answer comes from the jail itself at 806-894-9334, so ask before you leave home what it takes and what it turns away. Never mail cash.

Two county pay links exist, and neither is for bond:

• Hockley County citation payments, for JP tickets; pick your precinct from the list.
• The adult probation page, whose portal takes probation payments.

Using a bondsman? They handle the court side. You pay their fee and must be given a receipt (Occupations Code §1704.305).

Occupations Code §1704.002 requires a bail bond board only at 110,000 residents. This county had about 21,600 in a July 2025 Census Bureau estimate. A sheriff without a board may post the sureties it has cleared (CCP §17.141), so ask Avenue H staff for any such list.

• Bondsman fees have no state cap and are kept.
• Money or property handed over earns a receipt (§1704.305).
• Collateral comes back within 30 days after a written request made at the close of the case (§1704.301).
• No soliciting inside a jail (§1704.304).
• A lawyer of record in the case can also post the bond (§1704.163).

A bondsman surrendering a client must tell the defense lawyer before filing the affidavit (CCP §17.19). If that happens, call the lawyer right away.

One bond frees one case. Ask the jail at 806-894-9334 to read out every hold, such as:

• Family violence. A magistrate who thinks the violence may go on triggers a four-hour wait after bond is paid. A written order can make it as long as 48 hours (CCP §17.291).
• Warrant from another county. Bail on that warrant can be handled in Levelland, with the bond forwarded (CCP §15.18).
• Parole. Someone on a parole warrant is held for a violation hearing (Gov't Code §508.254).
• Local probation. A fresh arrest may bring a motion to revoke. Hockley adult probation: 806-894-9621, mailing 1212 Houston, Box 3, Levelland, TX 79336.
• ICE. Covered further down.

Rarely. Bail is a constitutional right in Texas for nearly all defendants (art. I, §11). A capital case with strong proof is the old exception. Sections 11a through 11c allow a handful of other no-bail holds, such as two past felonies or a broken bond rule in a family violence case. Each one needs a hearing.

Texans passed Proposition 3 on November 4, 2025, which created §11d. The list: murder or capital murder; aggravated robbery; human trafficking; aggravated sexual assault; aggravated kidnapping; indecency with a child; aggravated assault (serious injury or deadly weapon). Proof of flight risk or of danger to the victim, police or public means no bail. Granting bail in those cases requires written findings. Since 2025, prosecutors may appeal what they see as too little bail in those violent cases. The accused stays jailed until it is decided (CCP §44.01).

Felonies are prosecuted by the 286th District Attorney, 802 Houston Street, Suite 212, Levelland, TX 79336, 806-894-3130.

Only a judge can lower it, usually on a defense motion. Hand the lawyer proof of income and bills, a local address, steady work and nearby family, plus ideas like a curfew. Bail must fit what a person can pay (CCP §17.15).

Delay matters too. The law requires a personal bond or a smaller bail once the state misses its trial-ready deadline: 90 days for felonies, 30 for misdemeanors over 180 days, 15 for other jailable misdemeanors, 5 for fine-only charges, with exceptions (CCP §17.151). The District Clerk, 806-894-8527, knows which judge has a felony file.

Yes, anyone who can't afford one. Tell the magistrate; the form must be passed on within 24 hours (CCP §15.17). A county of this size then has three working days to appoint counsel (CCP §1.051(c)). The lawyer then owes the client a real try at contact within one more working day (CCP §26.04). Posting bond alone is no reason to deny one.

Judges here follow a written plan. Choose Hockley on the indigent defense plan search, run by a state commission at 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Hours vary by office, so phone ahead.

• 286th District Court (felonies; shared with Cochran County): District Clerk, 802 Houston Street, Suite 316, Levelland, TX 79336, 806-894-8527. Courthouse switchboard: 806-894-6856.
• County Court (Class A and B): County Clerk, 806-894-3185. Ask for the street address.
• JP courts (Class C), all at 806-894-4104: Precinct 5, 624 Avenue H, Suite 205, Levelland, TX 79336; Precinct 4, 313 Main, Anton, TX 79313; Precinct 2, 209 E. Richardson Street, Sundown, TX 79372; and Precinct 1, by mail at P.O. Box 203, Ropesville, TX 79358.
• Federal: Mahon federal building, 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 209, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-1900.

The money returns to the receipt holder after the bond is satisfied (CCP §17.02). The deposit can also cover fines and costs (CCP §17.53). A clerk may skim 5 percent, $50 at most, but only when the Levelland case ends in conviction or deferred adjudication. Keep the receipt somewhere safe.

A skipped court date leads to a judgment nisi against the bond (CCP §§22.01, 22.02). Bondsmen get a grace window, 180 days (misdemeanor) or 270 (felony), to see the runaway jailed again and be let off (CCP §22.13). Penal Code §38.10 also makes a no-show its own offense, graded to match the seriousness of the case that was missed.

Refunds: District Clerk, 806-894-8527, for felonies; County Clerk, 806-894-3185, for misdemeanors.

Sort this out before they leave Avenue H. Call 806-894-9334, ask how any money left on their jail account gets refunded, and learn what day and time belongings may be collected at 1310 Avenue H, Levelland, TX 79336.

A photo ID is needed. When collecting for another person, ask if a signed note is needed too. Our page on sending money to someone in jail explains deposits and refunds in general.

Federal charges from here go to the Lubbock Division, Northern District of Texas, 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 209, Lubbock, TX 79401, clerk 806-472-1900.

• In Lubbock, a federal judge picks pretrial release or detention after a hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Custody until trial is the U.S. Marshals' job. Lubbock office: 1205 Texas Avenue, Room C-126, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7655. They can say which jail has your loved one.
• Federal Public Defender, Lubbock: 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 507, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7236.
• After a prison sentence, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Yes, if ICE has placed a hold. A paid state bond does not cancel it.

1. The jail receives a detainer, ICE Form I-247A.
2. The jail may keep your loved one up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, for ICE pickup (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Every Texas jail has to honor a detainer. Proof of lawful status or U.S. citizenship ends that duty (CCP §2A.060). Gov't Code §752.053, passed in 2017, keeps local governments from limiting immigration enforcement.
4. A December 1, 2026 deadline from Senate Bill 8 requires each jail-running county to be signed up for 287(g) with ICE. For this sheriff's status, call 806-894-3126.
5. Plug the A-number, or name and birth country, into the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

Penal Code §§12.31-12.35 decide it. A state jail felony sentence means a state jail unit, and anything higher means a TDCJ prison (Texas Department of Criminal Justice). Until TDCJ has space, a sentenced person usually stays put in Levelland. Intake sorts them first, and then the state assigns a unit.

• On the TDCJ inmate search, a TDCJ number or SID number works best, and a last name with first initial works too. Results trail by a day or more.
• JailExchange's Texas state prisons listings describe each unit.

Ages 10 through 16 go to juvenile court; 17-year-olds are adults (Family Code §51.02). Parents get prompt notice. For a detained child, a detention hearing must happen no later than the second working day after custody, and the court appoints a lawyer before it (Family Code §54.01).

Call Juvenile Probation, 613 Ave G, Levelland, TX 79336, 806-894-4128, to learn where the child is. The nearest center on the state registry is the Lubbock County Juvenile Justice Center, 2025 N Akron Ave, Lubbock, TX 79415, 806-775-1800; ask probation staff whether the child went there.