Mitchell County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate. Texas gives the arresting officer 48 hours at most, and says to go "without unnecessary delay" (CCP art. 15.17(a)). Video counts, so the hearing often never leaves the jail. The Fisher, Mitchell and Nolan lawyer plan uses that same clock. Its magistrate checks for probable cause, gives the warnings and signs a Magistrate's Certification.

Justices of the peace hold magistrate power under state law (CCP art. 2A.151). Two justice courts work out of the Oak Street courthouse:

• Precincts 1 and 4: 349 Oak Street, Room 100, Colorado City, TX 79512, 325-728-8906
• Precincts 2 and 3: 349 Oak Street, Room 101, Colorado City, TX 79512, 325-728-5162

The magistrate will state the charge, cover silence and lawyer rights, and help with paperwork for a free attorney. Under CCP art. 17.028, the bail call itself is due inside 48 hours, made for this one person, using the mildest set of terms that still gets them back to court safely. Class B and up? Then a public safety report, a printout of past arrests and cases, gets read before any number is picked. By design, Texas left any risk score and any suggested price out of it (CCP arts. 17.021-17.022). To ask when the magistrate will see your person, call 325-728-5261.

Texas lumps all of these under "bail" (CCP arts. 17.01-17.03). How each one works for a family:

• Cash. You hand over every dollar. The county holds it until the case wraps up.
• Surety. A bondsman, or another surety the jail accepts, backs the full sum. What you pay that surety stays with them.
• Personal. Just a signature and a promise. The fee is $20 or 3% of the bail, the larger of those, and a judge may drop it (CCP art. 17.42).
• Add-on rules. Stay-away orders, curfews and drug tests can ride along with any type. Under CCP art. 17.441, a car breath-test lock is a must in four drunk driving situations, including a second DWI and one with a child riding along.

Personal bonds are off the table in a long list of cases. Examples: many violent charges, certain protective order cases, an ex-felon caught armed, and a new arrest of anyone already supervised for a violent crime. A burglary or organized crime case, or one of certain drug felonies, needs a yes from the trial judge personally (CCP art. 17.03). A fine-only charge is the opposite. The person may simply sign for a future court date and leave, with no bond at all, per CCP art. 15.17(b).

Nobody in Austin sets bail prices for the state. A county schedule, if one exists, can't stop the magistrate from judging the person in front of them (CCP art. 17.028). Under CCP art. 17.15(a), these points drive the number:

• It has to make a return to court likely, and it may not be used to oppress.
• The offense, and how it allegedly happened.
• How much the person could actually raise.
• Danger to the person who reported it, to police and to the town.
• Earlier arrests, plus the safety report.
• Citizenship status.

Two dollar limits exist in the statute, both tied to a late probable cause ruling after an arrest with no warrant. Misdemeanor: release is due at the 24-hour mark, on a bond no larger than $5,000. Felony: due at hour 48, bond no larger than $10,000. When the family can't cover it, the law swaps in a personal bond, per CCP art. 17.033, which also lets the state ask for up to 72 hours. For the bond on your person's charges, phone 325-728-5261.

The jail and the Sheriff's Office use one address, 333 Pine Street, Colorado City, TX 79512. Office staff work weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and 911 is only for emergencies.

1. Dial 325-728-5261. Give the full name as it would appear on a license, plus the birth date.
2. Get the bond for each count, and whether it is set as cash, surety or personal.
3. Find out which forms of payment staff will take today, and who should be named as payee.
4. Ask about waits. After a family violence bond, a four-hour hold is the rule when more violence looks likely (CCP art. 17.291).
5. Bring ID with your picture on it and the amount to the penny. The receipt decides who can claim cash bail later, so don't lose it.

Jailers can accept bail, but they check records first. Violent charges are different: the dollar amount there is a magistrate's job. CCP arts. 17.20 and 17.22 set out both limits for the jail staff.

Bond papers end up in the clerk's office tied to the court with the case. Both clerks are in the courthouse:

• District Clerk, felony files: 349 Oak Street, Room 302, Colorado City, TX 79512, 325-728-5918.
• County Clerk, Class A and B files: 349 Oak Street, Room 103, Colorado City, TX 79512, 325-728-3481. Its hours shift, and the office asks visitors to phone ahead.

Fine-only tickets usually go out on personal bond in justice court (CCP art. 45A.107). Reach Precincts 1 and 4 at 325-728-8906, or Precincts 2 and 3 at 325-728-5162. Before making the drive, check three things: can that office take bail on this case, which payment works, and will the jail still need to clear the release?

Court pages for this county point to an online portal, mitchellcotx.govtportal.com, built for court payments like fines and fees. Justice court citations also have govrec.com/home/mitchellcotx. Neither one is labeled for posting bail, so get a clerk's okay before trying a bond there.

Jail payment rules shift from time to time. A quick call to 325-728-5261 settles it. Questions worth asking:

• Are bills okay, and will anyone make change?
• Do money orders or cashier's checks work, and whose name goes on them?
• Can a card be used, and what extra charge comes with it?

Cash never goes in the mail. Save every receipt.

Texas requires a licensing board for bondsmen once a county tops 110,000 people (Occupations Code 1704.002). The Census Bureau counted roughly 8,947 people here as of July 2025. A county this size can form a board if it wants to. Lacking one, Texas lets the Sheriff post which sureties qualify (CCP art. 17.141). For today's names, call 325-728-5261.

• Bondsman fees have no state ceiling, so get the quote on paper.
• For any cash or property you give a surety, the law requires a receipt (Occupations Code 1704.305).
• Pledged a pickup's title or a deed? Once all the cases close, write the surety a letter asking for it. A 30-day clock to return it then starts (Occupations Code 1704.301).
• Sales pitches from bondsmen to people locked inside are against the law (Occupations Code 1704.304).
• The lawyer of record on the case can also post bond (Occupations Code 1704.163).
• Under CCP art. 17.19, a surety leaving a bond must first warn the defense lawyer, and in felonies the prosecutor, then file a sworn statement.

One bond settles one charge. Other papers can still hold the person:

• Another Texas county's warrant. Say a county two hours away wants the person. Bail on that outside warrant can be posted here, with the bond sent on to them, under CCP art. 15.18. Some counties still choose to come get them.
• Parole. State parole sends a "blue warrant." With one, the person stays put until a parole hearing (Gov't Code 508.254).
• Probation. A request to revoke can carry its own warrant. Adult probation for this area is handled by the probation department for the 32nd district, 100 East 3rd Street, Suite 304, Sweetwater, TX 79556, 325-235-2608.
• Immigration. An ICE detainer sits apart from the bond and is explained in the ICE answer.
• Family violence. Four hours of waiting after bond when violence seems likely to continue, and up to 48 more by a magistrate's written order, per CCP art. 17.291.

Before you hand over any money, ask staff at 325-728-5261 to list each hold.

Texas promises bail to nearly everyone. The oldest carve-out, from Tex. Const. art. I, §11, covers capital cases where the evidence is plain. Three more sections allow a no-bail order after a hearing. They reach some people with felony records or a felony arrest while on felony bond (§11a), people who break safety conditions (§11b), and people who violate a family violence order (§11c).

In 2025, voters approved Proposition 3, which added §11d to article I. It reaches the worst violent and sex charges, from murder and trafficking to the aggravated kinds of robbery, kidnapping, assault and sexual assault. On those charges, bail is off once a prosecutor shows the judge, in a hearing, that the person would skip town or hurt someone. Only prosecutors can request that hearing. A judge who still sets bail must put the reasons in writing.

Also new in 2025: prosecutors can have a felony bail checked by a district judge, and on certain violent charges they can take a low bail to an appeals court (CCP arts. 17.029, 44.01). Felonies are handled by the District Attorney's office, 349 Oak Street, Room 208, Colorado City, TX 79512, 325-728-3306.

Lowering bail starts when the defense attorney files a written motion. Families can make that motion stronger by bringing:

1. Pay stubs, a school schedule or a lease that shows ties to the area.
2. An honest number the family can raise. State law counts ability to pay and bars oppressive bail (CCP art. 17.15).
3. Offers that answer the judge's fears, such as reporting in, a curfew or staying away from someone.

A slow prosecution can help too. Texas also counts days. On a felony, 90 days behind bars without the state announcing ready means the judge must trim the bail or switch it to a personal bond. Misdemeanors use 30 days, or 15 when the worst sentence is six months or less, per CCP art. 17.151. Exceptions exist. Felony questions go to the District Clerk, 325-728-5918. Misdemeanor questions go to the County Clerk, 325-728-3481.

One appointment plan covers Fisher, Mitchell and Nolan. In plain steps:

1. Fill out the "Request for Counsel" application. Jail staff, the magistrate or either clerk's office can hand you one.
2. Within 24 hours, it moves to the court.
3. Three days later at the latest, a ruling comes. The 32nd District Court names felony lawyers. The county courts name misdemeanor lawyers. Both pick in turn from a list.
4. Mixed felony and misdemeanor requests go to the 32nd District Court, 100 E. 3rd Street, Suite 204A, Sweetwater, TX 79556, 325-235-3133.

If death is a possible sentence, the plan turns the defense over to a regional office that does only those trials. Its name: Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases. Having made bail does not, alone, disqualify someone (CCP art. 26.04). The full three-county plan is online. State oversight: Texas Indigent Defense Commission, 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Nearly everything happens at 349 Oak Street, Colorado City, TX 79512, the county courthouse. Its general number is 325-728-8439.

• 32nd District Court, felonies, shared by three counties. Room 302 holds the District Clerk, 325-728-5918. The judge's office: 100 E. 3rd Street, Suite 204A, Sweetwater, TX 79556, 325-235-3133.
• County Court, Class A and B cases. Room 103 holds the County Clerk, 325-728-3481.
• 1st Multicounty Court at Law, which also takes Class A and B cases from the three counties: 100 East Third, Suite 107, Sweetwater, TX 79556, 325-235-2353.
• Justice courts, Class C fine-only cases: Room 100 at 325-728-8906, Room 101 at 325-728-5162.
• Federal: U.S. Courthouse, 341 Pine Street, Room 2008, Abilene, TX 79601, 325-677-6311.

The County Clerk can say which misdemeanor court a case sits in.

Cash bail refunds go to whoever the receipt names, after every court date is kept (CCP art. 17.02). Clerks may skim 5%, capped at $50, but Local Gov't Code 117.055 lets them do that only after a conviction or deferred adjudication. Owed fines and costs can be paid out of the deposit too, which CCP art. 17.53 permits. Ask the clerk for the refund motion when it's over. It costs nothing.

Miss court and the bond is at risk. Someone calls the person's name aloud at the courthouse door, and with no answer the judge declares the bond forfeited (CCP arts. 22.01, 22.02). Even so, bondsmen can escape paying when the person is rearrested soon enough (CCP art. 22.13). Misdemeanor bonds get a 180-day window. For felonies it stretches to 270. Skipping court can also bring a new bail jumping charge, under Penal Code 38.10.

Call the office that took the bond about a refund: District Clerk at 325-728-5918 or County Clerk at 325-728-3481.

Ask while the person is still being released, not days later. The Sheriff's Office, 333 Pine Street, Colorado City, TX 79512, 325-728-5261, can tell you how a leftover commissary balance is refunded, and when clothes and wallets taken at booking can go home.

• Carry a license or state ID card.
• Sent by the person to collect for them? A signed note may be needed.
• Anything held as evidence is released only by the court or the prosecutor.

Read about deposits and payouts on our inmate money page.

An FBI, DEA or Border Patrol arrest sends the case to the Abilene Division courthouse, 341 Pine Street, Room 2008, Abilene, TX 79601, 325-677-6311. Local bondsmen and local magistrates have no say in federal release.

• At the first hearing in Abilene, a U.S. magistrate judge decides between going home on conditions and staying locked up. That hearing can slip a few days on request (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal prisoners awaiting trial are the U.S. Marshals Service's charge. Its Abilene staff work from 341 Pine Street, Room 207, Abilene, TX 79601, 325-672-2147. Ask there which jail has the person.
• Free federal lawyers come from the Federal Public Defender's Dallas office, 525 South Griffin Street, Suite 629, Dallas, TX 75202, 214-767-2746.
• After a prison sentence begins, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Paying a Texas bond won't cancel a federal immigration hold. Expect this:

1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sends Pine Street its Form I-247A detainer.
2. That can mean a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails comply with detainers. Proof of citizenship, or of lawful status in the U.S., ends it (CCP art. 2A.060). Towns and counties are also barred from slowing immigration enforcement under Gov't Code 752.053.
4. Next comes Senate Bill 8 of 2025. Sheriffs who keep a jail must file a 287(g) request with ICE, due by December 1, 2026. To learn if Pine Street has signed one, phone 325-728-5261.
5. ICE collects the person and decides where they go. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator with name and birth country, along with an A-number or birth date. ICE's Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200, is the office ICE names for North Texas.

Sentences for the lowest felony grade, state jail felonies, run in state jail units. Bigger felonies, third degree through first, are prison sentences served with TDCJ (Penal Code 12.32-12.35). They wait at the Pine Street jail until the state has room. Then comes intake, where TDCJ sorts out needs and risk, and a move to the unit that matches.

• Look for the person on the TDCJ inmate search. Type the exact surname with an initial, or a TDCJ or SID number. Expect the data to be at least a day old.
• Visiting rules and unit addresses: see our Texas state prisons page.

For a child aged 10 through 16, the case belongs in juvenile court. Family Code 51.02 puts 17-year-olds in adult court. Children don't post bond like grown-ups do:

• Officers must call a parent right away and bring the child to an office or center the juvenile board picked, under Family Code 52.02.
• Kids held in custody see a judge on the question of detention by the second working day, and sooner after a weekend pickup. Family Code 54.01 gives the child an appointed lawyer before it starts.
• Unless the judge finds a legal reason to hold the child, they go home.

The juvenile board is shared with Fisher and Nolan counties. To find the child and the juvenile probation officer on the case, phone the Sheriff's Office at 325-728-5261.