Kent County Jail

A magistrate makes that call. The written lawyer plan this county shares with three neighbors repeats the state rule: the person goes before a magistrate with no needless delay, inside 48 hours of the arrest (CCP 15.17). Magistrate duty can fall to the County Judge, a district judge or the local justice of the peace (CCP 2A.151).

During the hearing, which is short, the magistrate:

• states the charge and spells out two rights: silence and a lawyer;
• offers a county-paid lawyer and helps fill in the request;
• sets a bail figure and release terms, using the lightest rules that still bring the person back and keep people safe (CCP 17.028).

On Class B cases and above, a report on the person's record must reach the magistrate first. That report holds no score and no suggested amount (CCP 17.021, 17.022). Ask the Sheriff's Office, 227 S. Main Street, Jayton, TX 79528, at 806-237-3801 for the hearing time and place.

Under CCP 17.01, bail comes in two forms, a bail bond or a personal bond. For a family, that becomes three paths:

• Cash. The whole figure, paid in U.S. currency, is held by the court and refunded later, less any fee (CCP 17.02).
• Surety. A bondsman, or another qualified backer, guarantees the full figure. The backer charges you for this.
• Personal bond. Release on a signed pledge, with no money paid at the start (CCP 17.03).

Certain charges shut out the personal bond: offenses the statute lists as violent, terroristic threat at Class A or higher, some protective-order breaches and gun possession by a felon. Charges of burglary, organized crime or certain drug felonies work another way: only the trial court may say yes to one. On a repeat DWI, an ignition interlock in the car becomes a bond rule (CCP 17.441).

Families who want the full statewide picture can open our Texas bail laws page for more.

No two cases get the same figure, because the magistrate weighs facts about this person and this charge. State law (CCP 17.15) points to:

• a figure big enough that skipping court would cost real money;
• a sum that is never used as a weapon against them;
• the nature of the charge, and any injury or threat to someone;
• how much the person can honestly pay;
• danger to the victim, to police or to the community;
• the person's record, any other open cases and citizenship status.

Two dollar caps appear in the statute. They matter after an arrest with no warrant, if a probable-cause ruling comes too late. Then a misdemeanor arrestee must walk out by hour 24, with bail of $5,000 at most. A felony arrestee must walk out by hour 48, with bail of $10,000 at most (CCP 17.033). The state court system's bail information pages explain the forms magistrates fill out. Get the actual figure from the Sheriff's Office at 806-237-3801.

Plan on dealing with the jail where the person was booked. In order:

1. Ring the Sheriff's Office, 227 S. Main Street, Jayton, TX 79528, at 806-237-3801. Ask which jail took the person and the bail on each count.
2. For the Garza County Jail, housed in the Garza County Law Enforcement Center, 412 East 15th Street, Post, TX 79356, dial the jail desk at 806-990-9974.
3. For the Dickens County Jail, dial the Dickens Sheriff's Office, 201 US-82, Dickens, TX 79229, at 806-623-5533.
4. Ask that desk when bonds are accepted, which payments work and the exact wording for the money order's payee.
5. Arrive with photo ID, the money, the person's full name exactly as written on their ID, plus their birth date. Hold on to the receipt.

Under state law, cash bail may be deposited with the court's custodian of funds rather than at a jail (CCP 17.02). In this county one office handles both felony and misdemeanor files: the District and County Clerk, Kent County Courthouse, 101 N Main St., Jayton, TX 79528, 806-237-3881. Its mailing address is P.O. Box 9, Jayton, TX 79528.

• Phone ahead to learn if a cash bond on this case can be left with the clerk.
• Ask about office hours and which payments are welcome.
• Ask how word of the deposit reaches the jail, so the release moves fast.

For a cash bond, Texas law asks for current U.S. currency (CCP 17.02). Each jail and office decides the rest. Before the drive, ask whoever is taking the bond:

• whether money orders, cashier's checks or cards pass;
• what extra charge a card carries;
• how to fill in the payee line.

A bondsman collects the fee directly. Texas law makes the bondsman hand over a receipt whenever cash or property changes hands (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.305). Cash never belongs in an envelope. In Post, the jail desk at 806-990-9974 can answer. In Dickens, try 806-623-5533.

About 674 people lived here in mid-2025, by a Census Bureau estimate. The board requirement starts at a population of 110,000; below that, setting one up is optional (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.002, 1704.051). With no board, sureties may be approved by the sheriff once their backing passes a check (CCP 17.141).

• To learn which sureties are accepted, phone the Sheriff's Office at 806-237-3801 or the jail holding the person.
• No Texas law limits the bondsman's fee. Compare a few, and ask for the terms in writing.
• Bondsmen may not drum up business while inside a jail or police station (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.304).
• Once the final case closes, send the bondsman a letter asking for your collateral. Thirty days is the legal limit for handing it over (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.301).
• Your own defense lawyer is allowed to sign the bond, no license needed (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.163).

A bond covers just the charge it was set on, nothing more. Before you pay, have jail staff read out each hold. Common ones:

• Another county's warrant. Local magistrates can take bail on such a warrant and send the bond along to the issuing county (CCP 15.18).
• A parole warrant. Someone on parole who is held for a violation waits in custody for the hearing (Tex. Gov't Code 508.254).
• Family violence. If the magistrate finds the violence is likely to go on, the person stays locked up four extra hours after bond. A written order may stretch the stay by up to 48 hours (CCP 17.291).
• ICE. Texas jails follow an immigration detainer unless the person shows lawful status (CCP 2A.060).
• Probation. Supervision for this county runs out of the Haskell CSCD, 1301 N. First St., Haskell, TX 79521, 940-864-3627. Ask whether a fresh arrest changes the terms.

Texas guarantees bail in most cases. Even so, the Texas Constitution carves out cases where a judge may deny it:

• capital cases with evident proof (art. I, §11);
• repeat felony offenders, and people charged with a felony while on felony bail (art. I, §11a);
• broken safety terms of a bond, or a broken family-violence protective order (art. I, §§11b, 11c).

Proposition 3, passed by voters on November 4, 2025, added art. I, §11d. It covers every type of murder and trafficking. Add to that indecency with a child, plus four aggravated crimes: sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery and some assaults. The prosecutor alone can request it. After a hearing, bail must be denied if prosecutors prove the person would more likely than not flee, or that the person is dangerous, under the higher clear-and-convincing standard. A judge who lets the person out on bail anyway must give written reasons.

For felonies, that request would come from the 39th District Attorney, whose local office is in the Jayton courthouse, 101 N Main St., Jayton, TX 79528, 940-864-2072.

A defense lawyer asks for it in writing, filed in the court with the case. The family's part:

1. Gather pay stubs, a lease or deed, proof that family lives nearby, and a simple budget. The law bans oppressive bail and tells the magistrate to weigh what the person can pay (CCP 17.15).
2. Watch the days. If prosecutors are still unready when the deadline passes, the judge must release on personal bond or reduce bail. The windows are 90 days for a felony, 30 for a misdemeanor carrying over 180 days of jail, 15 for a lesser jailable misdemeanor and 5 for a fine-only charge (CCP 17.151). Exceptions exist.
3. Expect a reply from the state. A 2025 law gives the prosecutor a route to a district judge's review of any felony bail (CCP 17.029).

The clerk at 806-237-3881 knows which court has the file.

The county does, when they can't afford one. Ask at the first hearing; the magistrate must help with the form. Haskell, Kent, Stonewall and Throckmorton counties follow one written plan. Under it, the request is passed along within 24 hours. The appointment follows within three working days of its arrival (area lawyer plan).

• Felony requests: the 39th District Judge's office, Haskell County Courthouse, 1 Ave D, Haskell, TX 79521, 940-864-2661.
• Misdemeanor requests: the County Judge, at the courthouse, 101 N Main St., Jayton, TX 79528, 806-237-3373.
• Public defender: for cases it can accept, judges must turn first to the Caprock Regional Public Defender. It is housed at Texas Tech's law school, 3311 18th St., Lubbock, TX 79409, 806-742-4312.

• Kent County Courthouse, 101 N Main St., Jayton, TX 79528, 806-237-3373. The County Judge presides over the County Court here, which takes Class A and B misdemeanors. Every criminal file, felony or misdemeanor, is kept by the District and County Clerk in the same building, 806-237-3881. That office can also point you to the justice of the peace, who handles Class C tickets.
• 39th District Court, for felonies. One judge covers this county plus Haskell, Stonewall and Throckmorton. The judge's office is in the Haskell County Courthouse, 1 Ave D, Haskell, TX 79521, 940-864-2661.
• Federal court, Lubbock Division, Mahon Federal Building, 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 209, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-1900.

When cash bail is refunded, it goes to the receipt holder. That happens after the case closes, if the person never missed court (CCP 17.02). Guard that slip of paper.

• The clerk may keep up to 5%, never more than $50. That fee applies only after a guilty result or deferred adjudication. The cash may also cover fines and costs (state court guide to money bonds).
• Missing court triggers a forfeiture. The judge has the name called at the courthouse door, then enters judgment against the bond (CCP 22.02).
• The surety's debt ends if police jail the person again in time. For a misdemeanor bond, that window is 180 days. For a felony bond it stretches to 270 (CCP 22.13).
• Failing to appear is a crime too, graded by the original charge. A no-show on a fine-only ticket is a Class C offense. On any other misdemeanor it becomes Class A. On a felony, it is a third-degree felony (Tex. Penal Code 38.10).

Refunds start with a call to the clerk's office at 806-237-3881.

The booking jail keeps the person's things and any account balance. Call that jail to arrange pickup:

• Garza County Jail, 412 East 15th Street, Post, TX 79356, 806-990-9974
• Dickens County Sheriff's Office, 201 US-82, Dickens, TX 79229, 806-623-5533

A car, phone or other item that deputies held after the arrest is a matter for the Sheriff's Office, 227 S. Main Street, Jayton, TX 79528, 806-237-3801. Have a photo ID with you. Our jail account money page covers how leftover balances are usually paid out.

Cases charged by federal prosecutors here go to the Northern District's Lubbock Division, at the Mahon Federal Building, 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 209, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-1900.

• Release or detention is settled by a U.S. magistrate judge after a hearing. No bondsman is involved (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Until the case ends, U.S. marshals hold the person, often paying a county jail for the bed. Its Lubbock office is at 1205 Texas Avenue, Room C-126, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7655.
• The Federal Public Defender keeps a Lubbock office at 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 507, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7236.
• After a federal prison sentence, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. Bail settles the state charge only, while the ICE hold is a separate federal matter. The steps:

1. Step one: ICE, which enforces federal immigration law, asks the Texas jail in writing to hold the person. The form is I-247A.
2. The detainer allows a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. A Texas jail is bound to honor the detainer under CCP 2A.060 unless the person proves citizenship or lawful presence. Since 2017, local policies that limit immigration enforcement are banned (Tex. Gov't Code 752.053). Every county that operates a jail now faces a 2025 state law, S.B. 8, demanding that it sign a 287(g) agreement with ICE. The deadline is December 1, 2026.
4. Magistrates appointed under Gov't Code chapter 54 cannot grant bail to a person with a detainer (CCP 17.027).
5. ICE officers collect the person. This region falls under the Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.
6. Look the person up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator with their name and country of birth.

A state jail term, the lowest felony level, has a floor of 180 days and a ceiling of two years. Felonies of the third degree or worse mean TDCJ prison (Tex. Penal Code ch. 12). The person waits at the contract jail for a TDCJ transfer, then goes through intake, where staff choose a unit that fits.

• Read unit profiles on our Texas state prisons page.
• Find someone through the TDCJ inmate search with a last name and first initial, or a TDCJ number. It is updated each working day.

Texas juvenile court hears cases of kids who were at least 10 and still under 17 when the offense took place. Charges against a 17-year-old start out in the adult system (Tex. Fam. Code 51.02). A youth goes to a juvenile office rather than the adult jail, and a parent must be told (Tex. Fam. Code 52.02).

• Under the area's juvenile board plan, a child may stay in a processing office six hours at most.
• A detention hearing follows fast, no later than the second working day. When the pickup happens on a Friday or Saturday, the hearing lands on the first working day. A lawyer gets appointed ahead of it (Tex. Fam. Code 54.01).
• The juvenile judge decides on release. No bail schedule applies.

The Sheriff's Office at 806-237-3801 can say where a child was taken.

Texas sorts charges by weight, and each weight has its own court (state court guide):

• Class C (a fine up to $500, no jail) goes to the justice of the peace (Tex. Penal Code 12.23).
• Class B (up to 180 days and a $2,000 fine) and Class A (up to a year and a $4,000 fine) are tried in County Court before the County Judge (Tex. Penal Code 12.21, 12.22).
• Felonies belong to the 39th District Court, a court this county splits with three neighbors.

After a conviction, an appeal is possible. Criminal appeals may rise from there, and the Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin rules last. Not sure of the level? The clerk at 806-237-3881 can read it off the file.

• Kent County Courthouse, 101 N Main St., Jayton, TX 79528. The County Judge holds County Court here. Main number 806-237-3373.
• District and County Clerk, same building, 806-237-3881. This single office files felonies and misdemeanors alike. Mailing: P.O. Box 9, Jayton, TX 79528. Ask by phone about its business hours.
• 39th District Court, hearing felonies from Haskell, Kent, Stonewall and Throckmorton counties. Its judge works from 1 Ave D, Haskell, TX 79521, inside the Haskell courthouse, 940-864-2661. The clerk in Jayton knows where each felony setting will be held.
• Federal court: Mahon Federal Building, 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 209, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-1900.

Fine-only tickets written by deputies or troopers out here are answered before the justice of the peace. State law lets justice courts and city courts split Class C work. For the justice court's office, or to learn whether a ticket names a city court, phone the District and County Clerk, 101 N Main St., Jayton, TX 79528, at 806-237-3881.

• Except for public intoxication, a Class C offense can end with a written citation rather than a trip to jail (CCP 14.06).
• Short on money for the fine? Ask the judge about a payment plan, community service (each 8 hours knocks $150 off), or a waiver. Before anyone sits in jail for an unpaid fine, the judge must hold a hearing (CCP 45A.252 to 45A.261).
• The ticket itself lists the court and the date to show up.

Booking at the out-of-county jail comes first. Then, inside 48 hours, a magistrate meets the person (CCP 15.17) and covers:

• the accusation, plus the right to stay silent and to stop an interview whenever they like;
• the choice between hiring a lawyer and requesting a county-paid one;
• for a felony, the chance at an examining trial, where a magistrate weighs whether the proof holds up (CCP 16.01).

Bail gets set at the same sitting. When jail staff spot possible mental illness, they have 12 hours to alert the magistrate (CCP 16.22). With no warrant and no probable cause finding, the area's lawyer plan frees a misdemeanor arrestee inside 24 hours and a felony arrestee inside 48. To learn when the hearing happened, call the Sheriff's Office at 806-237-3801.

The prosecutor opens a misdemeanor in County Court with an information, the paper that spells out the accusation. Then:

1. Arraignment fixes who the person is and takes the plea (CCP 26.01).
2. Pretrial settings are where the defense and prosecutor trade evidence and haggle over terms.
3. Plea or trial. When a deal exists, the judge tells everyone in court whether it stands. Should the judge refuse it, the plea can be pulled back (CCP 26.13).

Penalties track the class: up to 180 days and $2,000 for Class B, up to one year and $4,000 for Class A (Tex. Penal Code ch. 12). Instead of jail, a judge may order probation for as long as two years, or deferred adjudication, which ends in a dismissal once the terms are met (CCP 42A.053, 42A.103).

Probation officers for this county work from the Haskell CSCD, 1301 N. First St., Haskell, TX 79521, 940-864-3627.

1. Magistrate and bail, inside 48 hours.
2. Examining trial, if the defense requests one before indictment. A magistrate tests whether the evidence is enough (CCP 16.01).
3. Grand jury. Prosecutors from the 39th District Attorney's office lay out the case behind closed doors, and nine or more grand jurors must back an indictment (CCP 20A.301).
4. Arraignment before the 39th District Court, followed by motion and evidence hearings.
5. Plea or trial. A plea bargain settles most felonies.

Each degree carries its own range (Tex. Penal Code 12.32 to 12.35). The mildest tier is the state jail felony, worth between 180 days and 2 years of state jail time. Higher up, third degree means a prison term of 2 to 10 years, second degree means 2 to 20, and first degree means life or anywhere from 5 to 99 years. Every level allows a fine as high as $10,000, and earlier felonies can bump the range higher (Tex. Penal Code 12.42).

For felony cases, deferred adjudication may stretch to 10 years and ends in dismissal when completed (CCP 42A.103, 42A.111). The clerk at 806-237-3881 has the case number and next date.

Violent felonies walk the same path, with steeper odds at every turn:

• A personal bond is usually off limits, so getting out usually means cash or a bondsman (CCP 17.03).
• Proposition 3 passed in 2025. It lets a prosecutor seek a no-bail order on listed charges, murder and aggravated robbery among them (Tex. Const. art. I, §11d).
• For an adult, a capital murder conviction means life without parole or a death sentence (Tex. Penal Code 12.31).
• Victims may ask to be told of each hearing and may speak to the court about the harm done (CCP 56A.051).

The 39th District Attorney, 940-864-2072, handles these cases in the 39th District Court. A capital defendant too poor to hire counsel has the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases appointed. Call 806-696-3740 or write PO Box 2097, Lubbock, TX 79408.

Who prosecutes

• Felonies: the 39th District Attorney, covering Haskell, Kent, Stonewall and Throckmorton counties. The Jayton office is at 101 N Main St., Jayton, TX 79528, 940-864-2072. Letters go to P.O. Box 193, Haskell, TX 79521, not Jayton.
• County-level matters: the County Attorney, also at the courthouse, through its main number, 806-237-3373. Ask which office has a given misdemeanor.

Free defense when money is short

• Tell the magistrate you want one. Under the area lawyer plan, the request is forwarded inside 24 hours, and the appointment comes by the third working day.
• Judges offer eligible cases to the Caprock Regional Public Defender before anyone else. Its office is at the Texas Tech law school, 3311 18th St., Lubbock, TX 79409, 806-742-4312.
• After the appointment, the lawyer owes the client a first contact attempt before another working day ends (CCP 26.04).

A phone call is the fastest route. The District and County Clerk, 101 N Main St., Jayton, TX 79528, 806-237-3881, holds every criminal file here and can share the case number, the charge and the coming setting. Know their legal name and birthday first.

• re:SearchTX is the statewide court filing site, and it asks you to register at no cost. The public can view a case's index along with the indictment or information and the judgment. For hearing dates, go back to the clerk.
• The DPS conviction search shows past convictions and deferred adjudications for a fee.

Deputies with the Sheriff's Office serve warrants here, from 227 S. Main Street, Jayton, TX 79528, 806-237-3801. Give the deputy a full name and birthday, then ask if a warrant is out. DPS lists the top fugitives statewide on its Texas 10 Most Wanted list. The District and County Clerk, 101 N Main St., Jayton, TX 79528, 806-237-3881, can tell which court signed a warrant. A lawyer, hired or appointed, makes clearing one safer. Go in together to the judge who signed it, or have the lawyer ask that judge's court for a fresh date.

Federal prosecutions from this county are handled by the Northern District of Texas at its Lubbock courthouse, the Mahon Federal Building, 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 209, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-1900.

1. A U.S. magistrate judge sees the person first and, after a hearing, orders release or detention (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Someone kept in custody is under the U.S. Marshals Service, whose Lubbock office is at 1205 Texas Avenue, Room C-126, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7655. That office can name the jail.
3. A defendant who can't pay a lawyer gets the Federal Public Defender: 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 507, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7236.
4. After sentencing, look for them on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

The state case moves ahead, yet an ICE detainer reshapes the release. Steps in order:

1. ICE delivers Form I-247A, asking jailers to keep custody past the normal release.
2. When bail is posted or the case ends, the jail may hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas requires jails to honor detainers unless the person proves lawful status (CCP 2A.060). Counties may not restrict cooperation with immigration enforcement (Tex. Gov't Code 752.053). Also, a 2025 law tells counties with jails to have 287(g) agreements in place by December 1, 2026.
4. ICE picks the person up. This area belongs to the Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

For a defendant without U.S. citizenship, the judge gives a deportation warning, spoken and written, before any guilty or no-contest plea counts (CCP 26.13). Have a lawyer check the immigration risk before any deal.

Felony time splits in two. TDCJ runs the state jails where state jail sentences are served (Tex. Penal Code 12.35). Anyone sentenced for a third-degree felony or worse heads to a TDCJ prison unit. Following sentencing, the person waits at whichever jail is holding them until TDCJ has room. Intake staff then match them with a unit.

• TDCJ's own inmate search finds people by name or ID number once they reach a unit. People still waiting in a county jail won't come up yet.
• For each unit's details, open our Texas state prisons page.

Juvenile court handles offenses by children who were 10 through 16 when they acted. At 17, a person's case is heard in adult court instead (Tex. Fam. Code 51.02). For Haskell, Kent, Stonewall and Throckmorton counties, one juvenile board chooses the court for these cases (Tex. Fam. Code 51.04).

• Officers notify a parent quickly. The child may be held at a juvenile processing office, and the juvenile board plan caps that stay at six hours.
• Within two working days comes a detention hearing, and the child's lawyer is in place by then under Tex. Fam. Code 54.01.
• A full hearing can end with a transfer to adult court. Such a transfer is allowed from age 14 for capital murder, first-degree felonies and aggravated drug felonies. For other felonies, the youngest age is 15 (Tex. Fam. Code 54.02).

The Sheriff's Office at 806-237-3801 can say where a child was taken. Statewide, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department is at 1711 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701, 512-490-7130.

Texas law hands crime victims real rights. Their safety counts at bail, they can ask for hearing notices, and they may give an impact statement before sentencing (CCP 56A.051).

• Custody alerts. Sign up on Texas IVSS-Counties or dial 866-268-8959, day or night. It is free, and the inmate is never told.
• Bills. A state program, Crime Victims' Compensation, overseen by the Attorney General, can reimburse up to $50,000 in bills such as medical care and counseling. Phone 800-983-9933.
• The prosecutor. For a felony, contact the 39th District Attorney, 101 N Main St., Jayton, TX 79528, 940-864-2072.