Upton County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate, inside two days. Texas gives officers 48 hours, tops, to put each arrested adult in front of one, and they should move faster when they can (CCP arts. 14.06, 15.17). A video link from the jail counts. In Upton, any of the four JPs, the County Judge or the 112th's judge may fill that seat, since CCP art. 2A.151 names each of them a magistrate.

That short session covers four jobs:

• the accused hears what they are charged with, that their words can be used against them, and that they may keep quiet or get counsel;
• the magistrate helps with the paperwork to ask for appointed counsel;
• for Class B and above, a statewide public safety report on past cases gets read before any number is set (arts. 17.021, 17.022);
• bail and its terms are fitted to this person, as light as safety allows (art. 17.028).

Booking staff at 432-693-2422 can say when that visit should happen.

CCP art. 17.01 recognizes two branches of Texas bail: bonds with sureties or cash, and personal bonds. Families mostly run into four versions:

• Cash deposit. Every dollar goes to the court. Show up every time and it is handed back when the case closes, less small charges (CCP art. 17.02).
• Surety. A bonding company, or a person with property worth enough, vouches for the full sum. Whatever the company charges is gone for good.
• Personal bond. A signature replaces money, backed only by a promise to appear (CCP art. 17.03).
• Add-on rules. Any of the three can carry terms like a curfew, drug screens, an ankle monitor or keeping clear of the alleged victim.

State law takes personal bonds away in several groups of cases. Among them are the listed violent charges and a convicted felon holding a gun. Some protective order cases are included too. People on supervision for a violent case who get arrested again are also shut out (CCP art. 17.03). For repeat DWI drivers, or a DWI with a child passenger, art. 17.441 makes an ignition interlock part of every bond.

Texas never adopted one price chart for the whole state. Upton magistrates instead work through the factors in CCP art. 17.15:

• The figure must be high enough that the person comes back, but it can't be used as punishment.
• The type of offense matters, along with the facts of how it happened.
• The person's real ability to pay is part of it.
• So is the safety of the alleged victim, of police and of the community.
• Record, the safety report and citizenship round out the list.

Only one set of numbers is written into state law. They apply when police jail someone without a warrant and probable cause isn't decided in time. Misdemeanor suspects walk out within 24 hours of arrest, on bail of $5,000 or under. Felony suspects walk out within 48 hours, on bail of $10,000 or under (art. 17.033). The jail, at 432-693-2422, can quote the actual amount set.

The Sheriff's deputies and the jail staff share one building: 1106 North Grand Street, Rankin, TX 79778. A smooth visit goes like this:

1. Dial 432-693-2422 before leaving home.
2. Read off the legal name and birthday. List every count, its own bond and the booking number.
3. Ask which bond type was set, and whether some other agency also wants the person.
4. Ask which payment kinds the jail takes this week, plus the payee wording jail staff want on it.
5. Have a driver's license or other photo ID ready. Tuck the receipt away; you may need it for a refund months from now.

By law, a jailer taking bail looks up criminal history first. A jailer also has no power to choose the figure in a violent case (CCP arts. 17.20, 17.22). After a family violence bond is posted, a four-hour wait is required whenever repeat abuse seems probable (art. 17.291).

One office serves as both District Clerk and County Clerk, so felony files and Class A or B files land in the same place: 205 East 10th Street, Rankin, TX 79778, 432-693-2861 (mail goes to P.O. Box 465). Ring during business hours to ask if cash bonds are accepted at that counter.

Class C tickets carry only a fine and are heard by four justice of the peace courts. In these fine-only cases, a personal bond is the rule rather than the exception (art. 45A.107):

• Precinct 1: P.O. Box 232, Rankin, TX 79778, 432-693-2473. Mornings, 8 to 12, Monday to Friday.
• Precinct 2: P.O. Box 255, Rankin, TX 79778, 432-693-2919.
• Precinct 3: 108 West 5th Street, McCamey, TX 79752, 432-652-4230. Open 1 to 5 p.m.
• Precinct 4: 108 West 5th Street, McCamey, TX 79752, 432-652-3536. Open 1 to 5 p.m.

A quick call first saves grief. Check that the person hasn't already been let go, and that money paid at that court actually opens the jail door.

Accepted payment types are set by the jail and can shift. Call 432-693-2422 for the current yes-and-no list. Mailing paper money to Rankin invites trouble.

From its justice court page, the county links two web payment portals. They are built for citations and fines, so a jail bond won't go through them:

• Online pay for Precincts 1 and 2
• Online pay for Precinct 4

The same county page has a plea and payment plan request plus a sworn form for anyone too broke to pay a fine. Texas JPs may then grant time payments, community service hours or a full waiver (arts. 45A.252 to 45A.261).

A bonding company promises the court the whole bail. You pay it a fee, with no state cap, and that fee stays gone even if charges are dropped.

• Under OC 1704.002, Texas makes counties of 110,000-plus run a bail bond board, a population dozens of times Upton's; small counties may opt in.
• Where none exists, art. 17.141 lets the sheriff post the names of sureties found good enough. To hear which ones are welcome, ask the Sheriff's Office, 432-693-2422.
• A licensed bondsman must hand you a receipt and is forbidden to drum up business inside a jail (OC 1704.305, 1704.304).
• Anything you pledged, like a pickup title, must be returned within 30 days of your written demand after the cases close (OC 1704.301).
• The lawyer handling the case can post a bond as well.

Art. 17.19 makes a surety that wants out tell the defense lawyer before surrendering the person, and file a sworn statement.

Each Upton bond unlocks one case, no more. Have the jailer at 432-693-2422 read off every hold first.

• Another county's warrant. CCP art. 15.18 permits an Upton magistrate to take bail on an outside warrant and send that bond on to the issuing county. If no bail is taken, expect a wait for transport.
• Blue warrant. State parolees remain confined pending their violation hearing (GC 508.254).
• Probation. A new arrest can lead the state to ask a judge to revoke. Adult probation for this region works from 111 West Gallagher, Fort Stockton, TX 79735, 432-336-8562.
• Family violence hold. Four hours after the bond when the danger seems ongoing, and up to 48 more hours if an Upton magistrate signs an order (art. 17.291).
• ICE. A federal detainer survives a paid bond. Read our immigration answer near the end.

Seldom. The Texas Constitution makes bail a right (Tex. Const. art. I, §11). Capital charges with evident proof stand apart. A few others need a hearing first. Examples are some new felonies by people with two prior felonies, or by people already out on felony bail. Violating a safety condition or a family violence order can count too (§§11a, 11b, 11c).

Texas voters added §11d in November 2025. It was called Proposition 3. It lists eight kinds of charges. Murder and capital murder lead it. Trafficking is on it, and so is indecency with a child. Aggravated versions of three more crimes follow: kidnapping, robbery, sexual assault. The last is an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or serious harm. On those charges, Upton judges must withhold bail once the prosecutor shows:

• by a preponderance, that the accused would likely run;
• or, under the tougher clear-and-convincing standard, that the accused is dangerous.

Defense lawyers and judges can't start this; prosecutors alone may. Any judge who frees the person anyway owes written findings. For felonies here, that lawyer is the 112th District Attorney, 400 South Nelson, Fort Stockton, TX 79735, 432-336-6294. New 2025 rules also give that office two tools: a district judge's second review of felony bail on request (art. 17.029), and an appeal of a bail it calls too small in listed violent cases (art. 44.01).

Bail can be lowered or raised whenever a judge finds good cause (CCP art. 17.09). In real life, the defense attorney writes it up as a motion.

1. Learn which court holds the file. The District and County Clerk can tell you: 205 East 10th Street, Rankin, TX 79778, 432-693-2861.
2. Gather pay records, a Rankin or McCamey address, people who rely on the accused, and the amount the family can really raise. The law forbids oppressive bail (art. 17.15).
3. Offer terms aimed at what worries the court, maybe a monitor or a no-contact order.

Prosecution delay helps too. Art. 17.151 starts a clock once jail time begins. Felonies get 90 days. Any misdemeanor carrying more than half a year in jail gets 30, smaller ones 15, fine-only counts 5. If the state isn't ready when time runs out, a personal bond or lower bail usually follows.

Upton judges rotate appointments through lists of private attorneys, since there is no public defender here. Expect the magistrate to hand over the request and assist with it. When the magistrate can't appoint, the paperwork must reach the court inside 24 hours. A lawyer should then be named before the third working day ends (CCP arts. 15.17, 1.051).

The county court plan presumes a person can't afford counsel when they get SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid, TANF or SSI, or rent from a public housing authority. Income and savings tests cover everyone else. A family member's money doesn't count against the accused, and neither does making bail.

• Request forms: District and County Clerk, 205 East 10th Street, Rankin, TX 79778, 432-693-2861.
• The county's appointment plans can also be requested from Austin, where the Texas Indigent Defense Commission sits at 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Most hearings happen at the Upton County Courthouse, 205 East 10th Street, Rankin, TX 79778, 432-693-2321.

• 112th District Court handles felonies. Its papers pass through the combined clerk's office in the same building, 432-693-2861.
• County Court, the County Judge's bench, takes Class A and B cases.
• Four justice courts handle Class C. Precinct 1 mail: P.O. Box 232, Rankin, TX 79778, 432-693-2473. Precinct 2 mail: P.O. Box 255, Rankin, TX 79778, 432-693-2919. Precincts 3 and 4 share 108 West 5th Street, McCamey, TX 79752, 432-652-4230 and 432-652-3536.
• Federal court handles federal charges, with its clerk at 200 East Wall, Room 222, Midland, TX 79701, 432-686-4001.

Confirm hours by phone before you drive between Rankin and McCamey.

After the bond is discharged, the refund check is cut to whoever the receipt lists (CCP art. 17.02). A conviction or deferred adjudication lets the clerk keep up to 5 percent with a $50 ceiling, and lets the court spend the deposit on that defendant's fines and costs (art. 17.53). Don't lose that slip of paper.

A no-show starts forfeiture with a judgment nisi (CCP art. 22.02). Sureties get relief if the person is jailed again soon: within 180 days on misdemeanor bonds and 270 on felony bonds (art. 22.13). Bail jumping may also be charged on its own, at a level set by the first case (Penal Code 38.10).

Upton cash bond refunds go through the District and County Clerk, 432-693-2861.

Deal with property on release day if you can. Phone 432-693-2422 and ask how the Grand Street jail pays out money left on a jail account, and what hours bags can be claimed at 1106 North Grand Street, Rankin, TX 79778.

ID is a must. Picking up for a friend or relative? Phone first about whether their signed note is needed. General tips on deposits sit on our jail account money guide for families.

Federal charges from Upton land in Midland, home of the Western District's Midland-Odessa Division. Clerk's office: 200 East Wall, Room 222, Midland, TX 79701, 432-686-4001.

• At the first appearance, a U.S. magistrate judge holds the hearing on whether the person stays in. Short postponements are possible (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal court has no bondsmen. The judge sets release terms or orders detention.
• Marshals keep anyone detained before trial, often in a contract county jail. Its Midland office is at 200 East Wall Street, Suite 213, Midland, TX 79701, 432-686-4100; that office tracks which jail houses each prisoner.
• Post-sentence, check the BOP inmate locator.

No. Bail and an ICE hold run on separate rails:

1. Federal immigration agents file a detainer on Form I-247A with jail staff in Rankin.
2. The jail may hold them up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Under CCP art. 2A.060, the Rankin jail is bound to honor the detainer. Someone who proves U.S. citizenship or a lawful status goes free of it. GC 752.053, from 2017, voids local rules that would restrict immigration enforcement.
4. Lawmakers in 2025 went further: under Senate Bill 8, Upton and every other county keeping a jail must request a 287(g) deal from ICE by December 1, 2026. To learn Upton's status, ask the Sheriff's Office, 432-693-2422.
5. ICE then moves the person to a detention site it picks. Search for them on the ICE Online Detainee Locator using a name plus birth country.

Texas runs two kinds of lockups for sentenced felons. State jail felonies go to state jails. Higher degrees go to TDCJ prisons. Newcomers spend their first weeks at an intake unit for tests and classification, then transfer.

• Try the TDCJ inmate search by surname or TDCJ number. It updates on working days and lags a day or so.
• Our Texas prisons page lists the units.
• Probation, called community supervision, runs from 111 West Gallagher, Fort Stockton, TX 79735, 432-336-8562.

Not in the adult sense. Texas youth court covers offenses by children aged 10 to 16, while 17-year-olds enter the adult system (FC 51.02). Officers notify parents without delay (FC 52.02). No later than two working days in, a juvenile judge rules on detention, with appointed counsel present (FC 54.01).

Upton/Reagan Juvenile Probation, at the courthouse, 205 East 10th Street, Rankin, TX 79778, 432-693-2170, knows where a detained Upton youth is placed and when court is set.