Moore County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate, meaning a judge or judicial officer with power to set bail. Within 48 hours of any arrest, the jail must put the person in front of one, live or on a video screen (art. 15.17). At that short hearing the magistrate states the accusation, explains the right to say nothing and the right to counsel, and offers help asking for a lawyer at county cost.

Justices of the peace count as magistrates under Texas law (art. 2A.151), and this county has two:

• Precinct 1 justice court, 119 W. 5th Street, Dumas, TX 79029, 806-935-3920
• Precinct 2 justice court, 116 E 5th Street, Sunray, TX 79086, 806-948-5362

District and county judges hold the same power. Whoever handles it must rule on bail inside that 48-hour window, one person at a time, picking the mildest terms that will still do the job (art. 17.028). For the hearing time, ask the jail at 806-935-4145.

Under art. 17.01, bail comes in two families, bail bonds and personal bonds. In practice, families meet four choices:

• Cash. You hand the court the whole amount in money. The court keeps it for the life of the case and pays it back, less any fee, when the case closes (art. 17.02).
• Bondsman. A surety promises the court the full sum. In exchange you pay that company a premium that never comes back.
• Personal bond. The accused signs, pays no money that day, and is trusted to appear (art. 17.03).
• Written promise on a fine-only charge. On a Class C case the magistrate can release the person with a court date and skip bond entirely (art. 15.17(b)).

Personal bonds are banned in many cases. Think violent crimes, felons with guns, Class A or higher threats of terror, and some broken protective orders (art. 17.03). Being on bond, parole or probation for violence and then picking up a felony or assault charge rules it out too. Where the charge is burglary, a listed drug felony or organized criminal activity, a magistrate's yes isn't enough. The trial court decides.

Bonds often carry conditions, such as staying away from a named person. Repeat drunk driving, or drunk driving with a child aboard, brings a required ignition interlock on the vehicle (art. 17.441).

No statewide chart fixes the dollar figure. The magistrate weighs the case and the person and lands on a number. The jail at 806-935-4145 can read you the amount on each charge.

Seven things guide that choice under art. 17.15:

• high enough that the person comes back for court dates
• never a tool of oppression
• the offense itself and its circumstances
• what the accused can truly pay
• safety for the alleged victim, officers and neighbors
• any criminal history
• citizenship status

Before bail on Class B or worse, the magistrate studies a public safety report. That report lists record facts only. Neither a risk rating nor a suggested dollar figure appears on it (arts. 17.021, 17.022).

One state cap exists. Picture a warrantless arrest where no magistrate reviews probable cause on time. Release is then required: within 24 hours for a misdemeanor, on bond no higher than $5,000, and within 48 hours for a felony, on bond no higher than $10,000 (art. 17.033).

Jail and Sheriff's Office share an address: 700 S. Bliss Ave., Dumas, TX 79029. Phone ahead before driving over:

1. Dial 806-935-4145 and ask for the jail.
2. Read off their legal name and birth date.
3. Note each charge's bond, and ask whether a hold from anywhere else would block release.
4. Ask what hours bond is taken today, at which window or office, and in what form.
5. Ask if magistration is finished, since bond may wait on it.
6. Carry ID and the exact amount. Hold on to the receipt, because cash comes back only to the name printed there (art. 17.02).

The Sheriff's dispatch line, 806-935-2151, is a second number to try.

Let the jail tell you where a given bond belongs. Texas law keeps cash bail with the court's custodian of funds (art. 17.02), and both clerks work at 715 S. Dumas Ave., Dumas, TX 79029:

• District Clerk, for felonies: Room 109, 806-935-4218. Hours run Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon.
• County Clerk, for misdemeanors: Room 107, 806-935-2009, with an alternative number of 806-935-6164. Open regular business hours.

Phone the matching clerk before you head over. Ask if that window takes bond on this case, which payment it wants, and how the jail hears that the bond went through.

Fine-only cases are a different story. Those belong to the justice courts in Dumas and Sunray. Call the court printed on the ticket about any bond there.

Texas law describes a cash bond as "current money of the United States" (art. 17.02). Each office decides whether it also takes checks, money orders or cards. Learn the answer from the jail at 806-935-4145 before you go.

Precinct 2's justice court has a card payment link on its county web page. That link pays fines and costs in that one court. It does not post bail for a person in custody.

Anything you give a bondsman, money or property, earns you a receipt by law (Occ. Code 1704.305). Cash should never travel by mail.

Bondsmen get licensed by a county bail bond board, but state law demands such a board only where population reaches 110,000 (Occ. Code 1704.002). This county counts roughly 21,891 residents (Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025), which leaves a board up to local officials. Lacking one, Texas lets the sheriff display a list of bondsmen whose security has been reviewed (art. 17.141). The jail at 806-935-4145 can say whether such a list is up.

• No state limit caps the premium, and none of it is refunded.
• Bondsmen may not drum up business inside jails (Occ. Code 1704.304).
• Ask in writing for collateral, such as a pickup title, once all related cases end. It is due back inside 30 days (Occ. Code 1704.301).
• The defense lawyer of record may sign as surety (Occ. Code 1704.163).
• Before handing a client back to jail, the bondsman must notify the defense lawyer ahead of time and swear to the reason in a court filing (art. 17.19).

Bond on one charge leaves other papers untouched. Watch for these:

• Another county's warrant. A Dumas or Sunray magistrate can fix bail on that out-of-county paper and mail the bond off to the issuing county (art. 15.18), but that county may still send for them.
• A parole violation warrant. A parolee held on one sits until the parole violation hearing is done (Gov't Code 508.254(c)).
• Probation trouble. Adult probation here is Community Supervision and Corrections, 804 NE 4th, Dumas, TX 79029, 806-935-6945. It opens Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to noon and 12:45 to 5:00 p.m., and Friday mornings until noon.
• Family violence. A magistrate who expects more violence can delay release. That hold lasts four hours, counted from posting of the bond. A written order may stretch it by up to 48 hours (art. 17.291(b)).
• An ICE detainer. Immigration holds stand apart from state bond.
• Extra cases. Every open case, city or county, carries its own bail.

Before paying, ask the jail at 806-935-4145 to name each hold on file.

A few are. Under the Texas Constitution, nearly every defendant may be bailed. Capital charges backed by evident proof are the main carve-out (Tex. Const. art. I, sec. 11). Three smaller exceptions follow in sections 11a, 11b and 11c. They cover some repeat felonies, a felony committed during release on bond, a revoked bond tied to safety, and violating a protective order.

Proposition 3, adopted by voters on November 4, 2025, went further. It applies to the most serious violent and sex crimes. Capital murder and plain murder head the list, followed by trafficking of persons, child indecency, sexual assault in its aggravated form, and the aggravated forms of kidnapping, robbery and assault, with assault counted only when it causes grave injury or involves a weapon. Bail "shall be denied" when, at a hearing, the State satisfies the judge that release means likely flight or real danger. Judges may not start this on their own. Granting bail anyway requires the judge to put findings in writing (Tex. Const. art. I, sec. 11d).

On a listed violent charge, the State now has a right of appeal from a bail it views as too small (art. 44.01). The courthouse holds two prosecutors' offices:

• 69th Judicial District Attorney, 715 S. Dumas Avenue, Room 304, Dumas, TX 79029, 806-935-5654
• County Attorney, 715 S. Dumas Avenue, Room 208, Dumas, TX 79029, 806-935-2407

Your lawyer can file a request to cut the amount or soften the rules. It goes to the judge over the case. Judges must think about what the person can actually afford (art. 17.15). Help the lawyer by gathering:

1. recent pay stubs or an employer's note
2. a lease, mortgage or utility bill showing a local address
3. names of relatives nearby who will help the person get to court
4. an honest figure the family could raise

Delay can also force a change. A felony defendant gets a personal bond or reduced bail if prosecutors are still unready after 90 days. The misdemeanor windows are 30, 15 or 5 days depending on the possible punishment (art. 17.151). Some cases are excepted.

Felony motions run through the District Clerk at 806-935-4218. Misdemeanor motions go through the County Clerk at 806-935-2009.

The request starts at magistration. The magistrate passes it along within 24 hours. With its small population, the county must appoint someone by the end of working day three after the forms arrive (arts. 15.17, 1.051(c)). Once named, the lawyer must attempt contact before the next working day ends, then interview the client soon after (art. 26.04(j)).

Public defense here comes from the Panhandle Area Public Defender. Its main office is at 900 S. Polk, Suite 206, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-242-3415. Families can begin online through the office's counsel application.

Need is judged on income, property, bills and who depends on the person. Making bail doesn't, alone, disqualify anyone (art. 26.04). Moore's written plan for appointing lawyers is filed with the Texas Indigent Defense Commission.

Nearly everything happens at the courthouse, 715 S. Dumas Ave., Dumas, TX 79029:

• 69th District Court, felony trials, Room 302, 806-935-2700. The same court also covers Dallam, Hartley and Sherman counties.
• District Clerk, felony records, Room 109, 806-935-4218
• County Court at Law, Room 206, 806-935-2440
• County Clerk, misdemeanor records, Room 107, 806-935-2009

Class C tickets, which carry fines but no jail, land in a justice court:

• Precinct 1, 119 W. 5th Street, Dumas, TX 79029, 806-935-3920
• Precinct 2, 116 E 5th Street, Sunray, TX 79086, 806-948-5362

When a city officer writes the ticket, that town's municipal court may hear it, and the citation names which court. Federal charges go to Amarillo, 205 SE 5th Avenue, Room 133, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-468-3800.

Once the case ends and every condition was met, the deposit is repaid to the receipt holder (art. 17.02). A 5% clerk's cut is allowed (no more than $50), but only after a conviction, or after a plea leading to deferred adjudication. A deposit can also be used to settle the defendant's own court debts (art. 17.53). Clerks hand out the cash bail release motion free once the case is final.

Missing court changes everything. The court issues what Texas calls a judgment nisi: a conditional forfeiture that turns final unless good cause is shown (arts. 22.01, 22.02). Sureties escape the debt when the defendant is rearrested and jailed within 270 days on a felony or 180 on a misdemeanor (art. 22.13). Separately, bail jumping is a crime, rated Class C, Class A or third-degree felony to match the first case (Penal Code 38.10).

Ask the clerk who holds the deposit. Felony money sits with the District Clerk at 806-935-4218, and misdemeanor money with the County Clerk at 806-935-2009.

Sort this out at release, while staff are still processing the person. The jail is at 700 S. Bliss Ave., Dumas, TX 79029, and the number is 806-935-4145. Ask two things: how leftover commissary funds are returned, and when the clothes, phone and wallet taken at booking can be collected.

Whoever comes for the items should carry ID. A person collecting on someone else's behalf may need written permission from them, so ask about that too. For how jail deposits usually work, see our inmate account money page.

Federal arrests from Dumas, Cactus or Sunray are heard in Amarillo, a division of the Northern District of Texas. That Panhandle courthouse stands at 205 SE 5th Avenue, Room 133, Amarillo, TX 79101, and its clerk answers at 806-468-3800.

• A U.S. magistrate judge decides release or detention at a hearing under 18 U.S.C. 3142, normally at the first appearance.
• During the pretrial stretch, the Marshals Service has custody. Its Amarillo office sits at 205 SE 5th Street, Unit 214, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-324-2350. That office knows which jail is holding them.
• Can't afford a federal lawyer? Amarillo has a Federal Public Defender office at 600 S. Tyler Street, Suite 2300, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-324-2370.
• When the federal sentence starts, check where they are housed with the BOP inmate locator.

Yes. An immigration detainer ignores state bail completely. Here is the typical path:

1. The detainer arrives as Form I-247A, sent by federal immigration officers.
2. Under that form, the jail can keep someone up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails must comply with detainers (art. 2A.060). A person who proves lawful status is released from it; a Texas driver's license is one accepted proof. In 2017, Gov't Code 752.053 made it illegal for local policies to weaken immigration enforcement.
4. S.B. 8, a 2025 law, puts a December 1, 2026 deadline on each Texas county that keeps a jail: by that day, its sheriff should have asked ICE to sign a 287(g) agreement. Phone the Sheriff's Office for this county's progress at 806-935-4145.
5. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) then collects the person. Its North Texas field office is in Dallas: 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.
6. Track the person on the ICE Online Detainee Locator. You'll need a name or A-number plus country of birth.

Texas state jails hold people serving state jail felonies (Penal Code 12.35). For third-degree through capital felonies, the sentence leads to a TDCJ prison. TDCJ is short for Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Transfers from the Dumas jail can take a while after sentencing. Intake comes first, then a unit assignment.

• Searching the TDCJ database works with an inmate's surname plus first initial, or with an SID or TDCJ number. Expect data at least 24 hours old, refreshed Monday through Friday only.
• Our Texas state prisons page walks through TDCJ custody in general.

Texas treats 17-year-olds as adults. Juvenile court is for ages 10 to 16 (Fam. Code 51.02). Children go to juvenile intake, not the adult bond process. Officers must notify a parent promptly (Fam. Code 52.02). When a youth stays locked up, a judge must review it quickly: by the second business day (or the first, if the child was taken in on a Friday or Saturday). Texas requires that the child already have appointed counsel at that hearing (Fam. Code 54.01).

Amarillo's The Youth Center of the High Plains, 9300 S. Georgia Street, Amarillo, TX 79118, 806-468-5708, is the nearest registered detention center. It holds youth from other Panhandle departments under contract. The Sheriff's Office at 806-935-4145 can say where a child was taken and when the hearing is.