The Sheriff's website sends searchers to the state's IVSS-Counties tool. To use it:

1. Open Texas IVSS-Counties in any browser.
2. Enter a surname, even a partial one, and add a given name when you have it.
3. Choose the entry tied to this county. The list covers people jailed or under supervision right now.
4. Not sure it is the right person? Phone the jail at 806-561-4505 and ask for Booking.

The official jail search link may help too. For an arrest made within the last few hours, a phone call is the surest check.

Work through these, one at a time:

• Try other spellings, or cut the surname down to its first few letters.
• Call the jail at 806-561-4505. Give a name and birth date; staff can confirm whether the person is still there, transferred, or gone.
• They may already be out on bond, or released with no charge filed.
• The arrest may have happened in a neighboring county. The next answer lists nearby jails.
• A held youth of 16 or under goes to juvenile detention; for them, call juvenile probation at 806-561-5244.

Inside the county, adults are held at just one site: the county jail, 810 Lockwood Street, Tahoka, TX 79373, 806-561-4505. State inspectors listed 54 beds there in 2022. On June 1 of that year it held 46 people, 13 of them on contract for other agencies.

An arrest just across the line in a neighboring county could mean one of these jails:

• Garza County Jail, 412 East 15th Street, Post, TX 79356, 806-990-9974
• Terry County Jail, 1311 Tahoka Road, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-2212
• Lubbock County Detention Center, 3502 N. Holly Ave., Lubbock, TX 79403, 806-775-7009

Mugshots from this jail are best requested in writing. Texas's Public Information Act calls for prompt release of basic facts about an arrest (Gov't Code 552.108(c)), and families or reporters can use it to ask for a booking photo. Mail a written request to the Sheriff's Office, 810 Lockwood Street, Tahoka, TX 79373. Phone 806-561-4505 first to learn how the office likes to receive requests.

• ICE handles its own photos through a FOIA request at its records request page.
• Agencies of the federal government seldom hand out booking photos. The Marshals sometimes make an exception, for instance to help catch a fugitive.
• Mugshot sites that charge $150 or more for removal fall under Texas Business and Commerce Code ch. 109. They have to fix inaccurate records at no charge and may not post records they know were expunged or sealed.

Sign up with Texas IVSS-Counties, the state's current notice system for people in county custody.

• Search the name, choose the person, and request notices. You can sign up with or without an account.
• English and Spanish speakers can get phone help at any hour: 866-268-8959.
• Notices tell you about changes in custody, such as a release.

When someone moves on to a state prison, TDCJ's own search takes over. See the prison answer below.

A magistrate meets each arrestee within two days of the arrest and names the bail amount. The 106th District plan calls for a magistrate's hearing every day. Release usually comes through one of three bonds:

• cash: the whole bail amount, paid up front
• surety: you pay a licensed bondsman's fee, and the bondsman pledges the full bail
• personal: no money down, just the defendant's signature and promise

For the amount and how to pay, call the jail at 806-561-4505. For holds, refunds and how bondsmen work, open our bail page.

Ask the jail first, at 806-561-4505; staff can read the booking charges. After filing, charging papers sit with the clerk for that level of case:

• Felony: District Clerk, 1501 South 1st Street, Tahoka, TX 79373, 806-561-4274
• Misdemeanor, Class A or B: the County Clerk, also at the courthouse, 806-561-4750
• Class C ticket: Precinct 1 justice court, 905 Lockwood Street, Tahoka, TX 79373, 806-561-4337, or the O'Donnell justice court (806-428-3711), 1015 South Loop 76, O'Donnell, TX 79351

The magistrate also reads out the accusation at the first hearing.

The request starts at the magistrate's hearing, where the person can say they want a court-appointed lawyer. On a felony, the form comes from the jail or the District Court Coordinator. Completed forms reach the District Judge within a day under the 106th District plan. An appointment should follow inside three working days.

In a case where the State may seek death, a regional office handles the defense. Reach the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases at 806-696-3740. Read how this county appoints counsel on the Texas Indigent Defense Commission website. The commission sits at 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994. Families can retain a private attorney instead, at any stage.

Before you drive over, call 806-561-4505 for visiting days, hours and the visitor list rules. Texas jail standards set the minimum:

• a weekly minimum of two noncontact visits of 20 or more minutes apiece
• an evening or weekend time slot for at least one of them
• for visitors under 18, the jail may require a parent, guardian or attorney at their side
• bonus visits for verified veterans, outside the weekly minimum

Ask whether video visits are offered too. Our jail visiting page explains how visits generally work.

Call the jail at 806-561-4505 and ask how deposits are taken: in the lobby, by money order, or through an online vendor. Ask about fees and limits too. Deposits are explained on our money page; the jail store is on our commissary page.

Texas rules for jail buildings call for a phone in booking, so a newly arrested person has one to use. For calls after booking, ask the jail at 806-561-4505 which phone company it uses and if tablets or electronic messages exist there. For how these services usually run, see our inmate phone page or our jail messaging page.

Call the jail at 806-561-4505 to confirm the mailing address and any limits on envelopes, photos or books before you write. The jail building stands at 810 Lockwood Street, Tahoka, TX 79373. Use the inmate's legal name, first and last, on the envelope.

• Texas standards allow letters in any number and of any length, both outgoing and incoming.
• Legal mail is unsealed with the inmate present, and the check is limited to contraband.
• An inmate without money still gets enough supplies and stamps for three letters a week, at minimum.

More pointers sit on our jail mail page.

The jail keeps whatever it took from the person at booking, under their name. Ask the jail at 806-561-4505 how stored items are handed back, whether another adult may collect them, and what ID to bring. Property held as evidence is a separate matter. A victim whose own belongings were taken as evidence is entitled to have them back promptly (CCP art. 56A.051).

• Call the jail at 806-561-4505 right away. Explain the illness or injury, list each prescription, and name the treating doctor.
• Mental illness or intellectual disability noticed by jailers goes to a magistrate's attention within 12 hours (CCP 16.22).
• Every Texas jail must give inmates a written complaint process (37 TAC 251.6). Families can also complain to the state jail regulator through the TCJS complaint page or at 512-463-5505.

Deputies serve warrants countywide, so phone 806-561-4505 and ask the Sheriff's Office whether one is active. Felony warrants come through the District Clerk at the courthouse, 1501 South 1st Street, Tahoka, TX 79373, 806-561-4274. The County Clerk, 806-561-4750, can check a misdemeanor warrant. For the state's own list, with photos, see the DPS most wanted fugitives page. To clear a warrant, first get advice from a defense lawyer. Next, walk into the Lockwood Street jail, or appear before whichever court signed the warrant. A call to that court can sometimes produce a new date.

Each case's calendar belongs to its court's clerk. Felony dates come from the District Clerk, 806-561-4274. Misdemeanor dates come from the County Clerk, 806-561-4750. Both sit in the courthouse at 1501 South 1st Street, Tahoka, TX 79373, open Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

Ticket dates come from the justice courts: Precinct 1, 905 Lockwood Street, Tahoka, TX 79373, 806-561-4337, and the Precinct 4 justice court (806-428-3711), 1015 South Loop 76, O'Donnell, TX 79351. Our criminal court guide explains each court and its steps.

The federal court for this area is at 1205 Texas Avenue, Lubbock, TX 79401, in Room 209, and the clerk answers at 806-472-1900. That building houses the Northern District of Texas's Lubbock Division.

• A detention hearing early in the case sorts out release pending trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• During the case, U.S. Marshals decide which jail holds the person. Their Lubbock office can tell you: Room C-126, 1205 Texas Avenue, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7655.
• Once a sentence is imposed, look the person up with the BOP federal inmate locator.

1. Step one is a detainer: ICE's Form I-247A, filed with the Lockwood Street jail.
2. Jailers may then keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE officers who arrive in time take the person to an immigration holding center.
4. Look for them on the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Have the country of birth ready, plus the A-number or full name.
5. The Dallas Field Office covers North Texas: 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.

In Texas, CCP art. 2A.060 directs jails to comply with detainers, and Gov't Code 752.053 rules out local curbs on immigration enforcement. Lawmakers added S.B. 8 in 2025: counties with jails must apply for 287(g) agreements, with a December 1, 2026 deadline. For this county's status, ring the Sheriff's Office at 806-561-4505.

Someone given prison time remains in county custody until TDCJ schedules the move. TDCJ intake staff then sort out the right unit for them.

• TDCJ's online inmate records accept a TDCJ number, an SID, or a surname plus first initial. Each listing reflects someone in a TDCJ facility today, with updates only on working days.
• Background on each unit is on our Texas state prisons page.

Texas juvenile court handles kids who were at least 10 but had not turned 17 when the alleged offense took place. From 17, the adult system applies. A detained youth is placed in a juvenile center rather than the Lockwood Street jail.

• Police must promptly tell the parent or guardian that the child was taken and why (FC 52.02).
• Juvenile probation works from the courthouse at 1501 South 1st Street, Tahoka, TX 79373, 806-561-5244. That office knows where a detained youth is kept and the hearing date.
• The Lubbock County Juvenile Justice Center, 2025 N Akron Ave, Lubbock, TX 79415, 806-775-1800, is a juvenile detention center in nearby Lubbock.

The Sheriff's Office patrols the county from 810 Lockwood Street, Tahoka, TX 79373, 806-561-4505. Census Bureau figures put the 2025 population at 6,017 (July 1 estimate). Tahoka, the county seat, and O'Donnell are among its towns.

• For an arrest by a town officer, a call to the Sheriff's Office will tell you which department acted and where the person is.
• On state highways, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers handle traffic patrol. The Sheriff's Office can also say where someone arrested by a trooper was taken.