Wilbarger County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

Here, the county's two JPs fill that role for people held at the jail. Their county web page lists the work: bail amounts and bond terms, naming lawyers, mental health checks, bond revocation hearings and emergency protective orders.

• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1: 1700 Wilbarger Street, Suite 25, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-553-2306
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2: 1700 Wilbarger Street, Suite 22, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-553-2307

Two days is the outer limit. Each arrested person must stand before a magistrate inside 48 hours, either across a desk or over a video link (CCP art. 15.17). They hear the charge and their rights. If they want a county-paid lawyer, the magistrate walks them through the request form. Bail must be settled inside those same two days, tailored to that one person. Article 17.028 also asks for the lightest terms that keep people safe.

Class B and bigger charges also bring a public safety report, which pulls together criminal history for the magistrate. CCP arts. 17.021 and 17.022 say the report may not rate the person's risk or propose a bail figure.

In Texas you'll hear three bond words, all set out in chapter 17 of the criminal procedure code:

• Cash. Family hands over the full amount, which the court keeps until the final ruling.
• Surety. For a fee, a state-licensed bondsman backs the entire bond. That fee is yours to pay and never comes back.
• Personal bond. Just a signature and a vow to return. No money down, no bondsman.

The Legislature keeps the personal bond away from many people. Those charged with a long list of violent crimes, some protective order violations, or gun possession by a felon are shut out. So is a person under supervision for violence who gets arrested again. Some drug felonies, plus burglary and engaging in organized criminal activity, follow a separate track. For those, the JP at the jail cannot give a personal bond, and the trial court decides. Fine-only Class C tickets usually end with a signed promise and a court date.

Conditions can ride along with any bond. Think of a stay-away order covering the alleged victim, or a breath-test device that must clear before the car starts, required after some repeat DWI arrests (CCP art. 17.441). Want the full statewide rulebook? See our Texas bail laws page.

Texas never adopted one bail chart for every county. Here, the quickest way to see a real figure is the Sheriff's PDF roster. Each charge line carries its bond and the statute it falls under.

When a magistrate picks the number, Article 17.15 tells them to look at:

• whether the sum will bring the person back, while never turning into a tool of oppression
• the offense and the facts around it
• the person's real means
• whether victims, officers and the public stay safe
• old convictions, and citizenship

One hard ceiling exists. Suppose officers make an arrest with no warrant, and the magistrate is late ruling on probable cause. A misdemeanor suspect then walks by hour 24 on a bond of $5,000 or less. A felony suspect walks by hour 48 on $10,000 or less. Prosecutors are allowed to request a delay of as much as 72 hours (CCP art. 17.033). Jail staff at 940-553-1351 can read you the current figure.

The Sheriff's own web page names taking bail for prisoners as part of its job. The jail sits at 5215 College Drive, Vernon, TX 76384, and the office keeps weekday hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

1. Phone 940-553-1351. Write down the bond for each count and confirm the magistrate already set it.
2. Ask which payments they take. Write down the payee name for any money order.
3. Check for anything else in the way, like another county's paper or a probation violation.
4. Carry a photo ID plus the full sum. Get a receipt in writing.
5. Family violence arrests come with a wait. Where there is probable cause that more violence is likely, release waits four hours after posting (CCP art. 17.291).

Nights and weekends, check by phone before you drive to College Drive. The Sheriff's Office line is 940-552-6205.

Phone ahead. Every office below can tell you if it accepts bond on its own cases.

• District Clerk (felony files): 1700 Wilbarger Street, Room 33, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-553-3411. Weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This office takes in fines and court costs on felony cases.
• County Clerk (Class A and B files): 1700 Wilbarger Street, Room 15, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-552-5486. Weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Vernon Municipal Court (city tickets): 1306 Main Street, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-552-2058. Its payment window runs weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• City police station: 1306 Main Street, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-553-3311. Officers staff it day and night. Find out if the person is being held at the station or was taken on to College Drive.

On every call, pin down the amount, the accepted payments and how long release takes after you pay.

Check with the jail before heading out, since payment rules change. Cash and money orders are the usual safe picks, but confirm with jail staff. Don't ever mail cash.

Two official pay-from-home options exist, though neither one posts bail:

• The JP courts' county page links a Pay Ticket Online site for traffic tickets and JP fines.
• Vernon Municipal Court accepts a credit card over the phone at 940-552-2058 for city fines.

To learn what the jail takes for bail, call 940-553-1351.

Here the Sheriff's Office screens bondsmen. A surety files an application with a financial statement under Chapter 17 of the state's criminal procedure code. Approved sureties go on the Sheriff's list under CCP art. 17.141. Being listed doesn't promise that every bond gets accepted. Each listed surety reports its open bonds by the 7th of every month. To see who is approved, call the Sheriff's Office at 940-552-6205.

Statewide, the bondsman rules sit in Occupations Code ch. 1704:

• The state sets no maximum bondsman fee. Compare a few and ask for a written quote.
• Ask for a receipt for every payment, though only board counties require one. Those counties also ban soliciting customers inside a jail.
• Pledged property, say a pickup title, comes back to you after the case ends. Send the request on paper; where a bond board exists, the bondsman then has 30 days.
• An attorney already on the case can act as the surety.
• A bondsman giving up on a client must first alert the defense lawyer and then swear out an affidavit (CCP art. 17.19).

Paying one bond does nothing for a second case or a hold. Common ones here:

• Out-of-county warrants. The roster often lists people held for other counties, such as Wichita or Foard. Article 15.18 allows a magistrate here to accept bail on that outside warrant, then ship the bond to the issuing court.
• Parole warrant. The parole board's warrant can keep a parolee here until the violation hearing.
• Probation. Prosecutors may file to revoke probation over the new arrest. The local probation office is at 1700 Wilbarger Street, Room 21, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-552-2702.
• Family violence. The four-hour wait, which a magistrate can stretch by as much as 48 hours in a written order.
• Immigration. An ICE detainer, explained further down.

Have jail staff at 940-553-1351 read every hold to you before any money changes hands.

Most Texans accused of a crime have a right to bail. The source is Article I, §11 of the state's constitution. Capital cases with evident proof are the old exception. Three later sections, 11a through 11c, let a district judge deny bail after a hearing in narrow cases: two prior felonies, a new felony while on felony bond, or a broken bond condition meant to protect people.

Texans approved Proposition 3 in November 2025, creating §11d. Its list runs from murder and capital murder to aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, child indecency and human trafficking. In those cases, bail is refused if the prosecution shows at a hearing a real risk of flight or of danger. Prosecutors alone can start that fight. Should the judge still allow bail, written findings must back it up.

A 2025 law adds one more tool. In listed violent cases, prosecutors may now ask an appeals court to raise a bail. Meanwhile the defendant remains locked up, per CCP art. 44.01. Local prosecutors:

• District Attorney, 46th Judicial District (felonies): 1700 Wilbarger Street, Room 32, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-553-3346
• County Attorney (misdemeanors): 1700 Wilbarger Street, Room 28, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-553-3521

A defense attorney files a motion in the court with the case. Collect pay stubs, rent receipts, a list of nearby relatives and a realistic number you could raise. Texas forbids bail set as a weapon to keep someone poor in jail, and that point can be argued.

Delay helps too. If the state can't get ready for trial in time, Article 17.151 kicks in, and a personal bond or a lighter bail must follow. The clocks:

• Ninety days for any felony.
• Thirty days for a Class A misdemeanor.
• Fifteen days for a Class B misdemeanor.
• Five days on a fine-only case.

Certain violent cases are excluded. Felony hearings run through the District Clerk at 940-553-3411. Misdemeanor hearings go through the County Clerk at 940-552-5486.

Tell the magistrate. This county, Foard and Hardeman follow a joint written plan for court-paid defense. The jail magistrate collects each request. For felonies, the 46th District judge chooses the lawyer. For misdemeanors, the County Judge does. Possible death penalty cases are handed to the state's regional capital defender office.

Within a day, the magistrate forwards the request. Smaller counties such as this one have three working days to appoint counsel. The appointed lawyer should try to contact the client no later than the following workday (CCP arts. 1.051, 26.04).

• 46th District Court office: 1700 Wilbarger Street, Room 34A, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-552-7051
• Texas Indigent Defense Commission: 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994. Read the shared local plan through the TIDC plan search.

Almost all of them share the courthouse at 1700 Wilbarger Street, Vernon, TX 76384. Clerks work weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• 46th District Court (felonies; it also covers Foard and Hardeman): judge's office, Room 34A, 940-552-7051. The District Clerk in Room 33 keeps the files, 940-553-3411.
• County Court (Class A and B): misdemeanor records stay in Room 15 with the County Clerk, 940-552-5486.
• Justice Court, Precinct 1 (Class C): Suite 25, 940-553-2306.
• Justice Court, Precinct 2 (Class C): Suite 22, 940-553-2307.
• Vernon Municipal Court (Class C inside city limits): 1306 Main Street, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-552-2058.
• Federal: the Wichita Falls courthouse at 1000 Lamar Street, 2nd Floor, Wichita Falls, TX 76301. Its clerk answers from Fort Worth at 817-850-6600.

Whoever's name is printed on the bond receipt gets the cash back when the case is done and every condition was met (CCP art. 17.02). Cases closing in a conviction or deferred adjudication let the clerk subtract 5%, capped at $50. The rest can be applied to fines and costs the defendant owes. Hang on to that receipt.

After a missed hearing, the judge may begin taking the bond with a judgment nisi (Article 22.02). The bondsman is excused if the defendant is arrested or surrenders in time, meaning 180 days for misdemeanors or 270 for felonies. Missing court may also bring a fresh charge of bail jumping.

Questions on a felony deposit go to the District Clerk at 940-553-3411. Misdemeanor deposits are handled by the County Clerk at 940-552-5486.

Settle the person's cash and personal things before they leave. Jail staff at 940-553-1351 know how leftover commissary money is returned and when you can come for the property bag. You'll need a photo ID. A relative picking up another person's things may also need written permission from that person.

The Sheriff's page points to City Tele Coin as its inmate phone and commissary service. For how jail deposits work in general, read our inmate account page.

Federal prosecutions from Wilbarger land before the Northern District's judges in Wichita Falls. The courtroom at 1000 Lamar Street, 2nd Floor, Wichita Falls, TX 76301 has staff only on court days. Filings and calls go to Fort Worth: 501 West 10th Street, Room 310, Fort Worth, TX 76102, 817-850-6600.

• A magistrate judge rules on release or pretrial detention at the opening hearing. Lawyers can push it back by a few days at most (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Marshals hold federal defendants before trial, usually in a county jail they contract with. Reach the Wichita Falls Marshals at 1000 Lamar Street, Room 218, Wichita Falls, TX 76307, 940-723-8662, to ask which jail.
• For a free federal lawyer, the nearest Federal Public Defender office is 819 Taylor Street, Room 9A10, Fort Worth, TX 76102, 817-978-2753.
• When federal prison time starts, the BOP inmate locator shows the facility.

The detainer stays put even after bail is paid. Here is how it unfolds:

1. The jail on College Drive gets Form I-247A, a federal immigration detainer, from ICE.
2. Jailers may then keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails have to comply with those requests unless the person shows they are lawfully present (CCP art. 2A.060). A 2017 law, S.B. 4, also stops cities and counties from limiting enforcement of immigration law.
4. S.B. 8 (2025) puts every Texas sheriff running a jail on a clock. By December 1, 2026, each must apply for a 287(g) partnership. The Sheriff's Office at 940-552-6205 can say where this county stands.
5. ICE officers collect the person. This part of Texas reports to ICE's Dallas office, 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.
6. Look them up in the ICE Online Detainee Locator using the A-number. Without it, try the full name plus birth country.

Prison terms for most felonies run through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Someone given a state jail felony term goes to a state jail, not a prison unit. After the sentence, the person usually sits in the Vernon jail until TDCJ picks them up for intake. At intake they are checked and sorted, then sent on to a unit.

• Search by last name or TDCJ number on the state's prison lookup. Results update only on workdays, so the data can trail by a day or two.
• JE's Texas state prisons listing profiles every unit.

Juvenile cases in Texas cover ages 10 to 16. Seventeen-year-olds land in adult court. The officer has to reach a parent quickly with the news and the reason (Family Code 52.02).

• The juvenile board plan for this county limits a stay in the juvenile processing office to six hours.
• Detention can't last past the second working day without a hearing, and a court-picked attorney represents the child at it.
• On serious felonies, a 14- or 15-year-old can be certified as an adult, but only once a judge holds a full hearing.

The Juvenile Probation Office is at 1700 Wilbarger Street, Room 30, Vernon, TX 76384, 940-553-4232. Call them to learn the child's location and the hearing date.