Tygart Valley Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

Search the name on Barbour County Inmate Search. People brought in by Philippi police, the Sheriff's Office or the State Police show up once the jail finishes the booking. A fresh arrest can take a few hours to appear, so check again before you panic.

For anything the search does not answer, call the jail at 304-637-0382. Have the full legal name and date of birth ready.

West Virginia counties do not run their own pretrial jails the way many states do. Barbour County sends its people to the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, 400 Abbey Road, Belington, WV 26250. That jail is in Randolph County and also takes Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker and Upshur.

State law does let a court keep a person in an approved county or city jail for up to 96 hours first. After that, the regional jail is where a pretrial inmate waits.

The officer must take the person to a magistrate in the county of arrest without unnecessary delay. State law sets no number of hours. A magistrate reads the charge, explains the right to a lawyer, and sets the conditions for release.

If the person is already sitting in the regional jail, the first appearance happens by video with a Barbour County magistrate. You do not need to be in the room.

Barbour County magistrates set bail at the first appearance. The Magistrate Court is at Church and Main Streets in Philippi; the mailing address is P.O. Box 541, Philippi, WV 26416. The clerk's office answers at 304-457-3676, and the two magistrates have their own lines at 304-457-4153 and 304-457-4234.

A circuit judge can set or change bail too, once a felony case reaches the circuit court.

Almost always. A person arrested for an offense that is not punishable by life in prison must be admitted to bail. For a life-sentence charge, the judge who would try the case decides whether to allow bail at all.

The West Virginia Constitution adds one more rule: bail may not be excessive.

Often, yes. For a misdemeanor, the magistrate must release the person on a written promise to appear, with no money, unless good cause is shown. The judge looks at residency, ties to the community and risk of running.

That presumption does not cover charges involving violence, a child victim, a deadly weapon, drugs under the controlled substances act, sexual abuse, DUI-type traffic offenses, or theft and tampering over $250.

A magistrate cannot release on a bare promise anyone charged with a violent felony against a person, a felony with a minor victim, felony arson or burglary, or a felony drug offense. Money, a bondsman, property or strict conditions come into play there.

Judges also weigh the person's ability to pay, past convictions, probation or parole status, the strength of the evidence, and missed court dates in the past.

Bail goes to the magistrate clerk or the magistrate on duty. Walk into the Magistrate Court during office hours and ask the clerk, or call 304-457-3676 first. Bring the person's full name and the case details if you have them.

The court accepts cash, cashier's checks, certified checks, money orders and traveler's checks. A personal check may be refused. Credit and debit cards cannot be used to post a bond.

One Barbour County magistrate is on call whenever the court is closed. That magistrate checks with the jail at set hours, on weeknights from 10 to 11 p.m., on Saturday and holiday mornings and evenings, and on Sunday at noon and again at night. If someone is in jail and can post bond, the magistrate goes to the court office to take it.

Do not expect a magistrate at the courthouse around the clock. The jail at 304-637-0382 can tell you where a release stands.

A licensed bondsman charges at least ten percent of the bond. That ten percent is a minimum, not a ceiling. The fee can be paid all at once, or as little as 3 percent down with the rest spread over no more than twelve months. Total fees may not exceed the bond itself.

The Insurance Commissioner licenses bondsmen. Ask for a receipt for any collateral, because the law requires one with the bondsman's name, the amount and the date. A bondsman may not promise to fix your charge.

Yes, in one of two ways. Adults who own real property in West Virginia can sign a recognizance if the property, after liens, carries an assessed value on the county land books of at least half the bail. A judge can also accept a written promise to forfeit unencumbered property, with proof of ownership.

Take the deed and tax information to the Magistrate Court clerk at 304-457-3676 before you commit the property. A judge may not recommend a relative as the surety.

Ask a lawyer or the magistrate to review it. A motion to change bail requires notice to both sides and a hearing within five days of filing. For a misdemeanor, a person still jailed because of a money bond must get a hearing within five days of the bail being set.

Conditions can replace cash: staying with a responsible adult, a job or job search, no contact with a victim, no alcohol or drugs, or monitoring where a program exists.

A bond in a family or household case can bar all contact with the victim. If the judge finds a threat, the bail must keep the person away from the victim's home, school and job. An officer who sees a violation must arrest on the spot, and bail can be revoked.

The magistrate must also bring the person back to court with a lawyer at least every sixty days. The circuit clerk at 304-457-3454 gives victims certified copies of the conditions free.

Barbour County has no public defender office of its own on the state's office map. The magistrate tells the person about the right to a lawyer at the first appearance, and a judge can appoint counsel for someone who qualifies. Say you cannot afford one when you are asked.

The state's Public Defender Services office in Charleston answers at 304-558-3905.

The Division of Juvenile Services runs the state's detention centers for young people. The Donald R. Kuhn Juvenile Center, One Lory Place, Julian, WV 25529, takes youth from all 55 counties and answers at 304-369-2976.

The on-call magistrate checks the juvenile facility during the same nightly windows used for adults. Ask the Magistrate Court clerk where a Barbour County youth was placed.

Federal charges are heard in the federal court for the northern half of the state. Barbour County falls in its Elkins division, P.O. Box 1518, Elkins, WV 26241, phone 304-636-1445. Federal release is decided by a federal judge, not a state magistrate.

Do not pay a state magistrate for a federal hold. Call the Elkins clerk first.

A missed court date is a separate crime. When the original charge was a felony, the penalty is a fine up to $5,000, one to five years in prison, or both. For a misdemeanor, it is a fine up to $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both.

The court may declare the bail forfeited. A surety or an outside depositor gets ten days' notice by certified mail to show cause. A bondsman who delivers the person back within two years of forfeiture recovers the forfeited sum.

No. Money placed on an inmate's account does not release anyone. Bail is paid only to the court clerk or magistrate, or through a licensed bondsman.

The housing cost of a pretrial inmate is billed to the county, not to your family.