South Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

The South Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility, at 1001 Centre Way in Charleston. It is run by the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, not by the county, and it serves Kanawha and Jackson counties.

The county pays the state for its pretrial inmates' housing. The family owes the jail no housing fee.

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No. The Charleston Correctional Center and Jail is a minimum-security work-release center. It does not hold people who were just arrested and are waiting for a bond hearing. The pretrial jail is South Central.

Do not send mail, money orders or visitors to the wrong building. Confirm the location through Kanawha County Inmate Search or by calling 304-558-1336.

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Enter her name on Kanawha County Inmate Search. If the booking is only a few hours old, search again later.

If the record still does not appear, call the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, 301 Virginia Street East, 304-357-0200, and ask which agency arrested her. The regional jail is at 304-558-1336.

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At the Kanawha County Magistrate Court in the Judicial Building, 111 Court Street, where Court and Virginia Streets meet. Kanawha has thirteen magistrates, and the presiding magistrate sets the bond at arraignment. For a person who surrenders on a warrant, the amount is not decided before then.

The law requires the arrested person to be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay. A person already in the regional jail appears by video. The clerk is at 304-357-0422.

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Magistrate court runs every judicial day except Saturday. After hours, one Kanawha magistrate is on call. That magistrate checks the jail and juvenile facility at set times: 10 to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 to 11 a.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and holidays; noon to 1 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on Sundays.

The magistrate goes to the court offices when there is a person to see or a bond to take. Do not count on a window being open late.

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Bail is received by the clerk of court or the magistrate. Many families bring a friend or relative to the Magistrate Court in the Judicial Building with the money. Accepted: U.S. currency, cashier's checks, certified checks, money orders and traveler's checks. Personal checks can be refused, and no credit or debit card can be used for a bond.

The circuit clerk, for cases beyond magistrate court, is in the same building at P.O. Box 2351 and answers at 304-357-0440.

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A person who surrenders on a warrant goes to the Magistrate Court first. If he is released on bond, he is normally fingerprinted and photographed at the Sheriff's Office, which is across Virginia Street from the Magistrate Court.

The Sheriff's Office main line is 304-357-0200. Ask the clerk, 304-357-0422, how to reach the right magistrate.

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Usually. The law presumes release on a written promise to appear unless the magistrate finds good cause. The magistrate looks at residence, community ties and flight risk.

Violence, a minor victim, a deadly weapon, controlled substances, sexual abuse, the serious drunk-driving statutes, and theft or tampering above $250 are outside the presumption. If cash is demanded for a misdemeanor, it cannot go above three times the maximum fine.

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A person arrested for an offense not punishable by life has a right to bail. The magistrate balances the seriousness of the crime, prior convictions, ability to pay, residence, health, the evidence and current probation or parole.

Promise-only release is barred for a violent felony against a person, a felony with a minor victim, felony arson or burglary, and a felony drug offense. Those defendants need money or a bond.

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The serious traffic statutes, including the drunk-driving law, are carved out of the misdemeanor promise-only rule. The magistrate sets conditions or money. A guaranteed arrest bond certificate cannot be used for reckless or drunk driving.

Ask the clerk at 304-357-0422 about the amount in a specific case.

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Every bondsman must hold a license from the Insurance Commissioner. The fee is at least 10 percent of the bond, and three percent may be paid at signing with up to twelve months for the rest. Total fees can never exceed the bond.

Insist on a written agreement and a numbered receipt for collateral. Verify a license at 304-558-0610 or on the bondsman license page. A bondsman may enter a jail only if someone called, and may not pay officials for business.

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Adults who own West Virginia real estate may sign a recognizance if the property's assessed value on the county land books, less liens and loans, is at least half the bail. The court can require proof of ownership.

The clerk at 304-357-0422 explains the papers. A surety company authorized in West Virginia is the other route, and that is what most bondsman releases use.

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The defendant or his lawyer, by filing a motion with notice to both sides. A hearing must follow within five days of filing. A person kept on a misdemeanor only because a secured bond cannot be met must get a hearing within five days of the bail order.

Courts can replace money with a custodian, a job, an alcohol ban, home incarceration or electronic monitoring where a program exists.

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An officer may arrest without a warrant on credible corroborating evidence plus a statement from the victim or a witness, and the person must see a magistrate in the county where it happened.

When a threat is found, bail must keep the defendant away from the victim's home, school and workplace and from contact with the victim or a child in the household. The clerk gives the victim certified copies free. Breaking the terms means immediate arrest and a hearing on revoking bail.

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The public defender corporation is at 816 Quarrier Street, Suite 300, Charleston, WV 25301, phone 304-348-2323. At the first appearance the magistrate explains the right to counsel, and a person who qualifies can ask for an appointed lawyer.

A lawyer can seek a lower bail, a bail hearing, or a preliminary examination on a felony.

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The James H. "Tiger" Morton Juvenile Center, 60 Manfred Holland Way, Dunbar, WV 25064, is a state detention center in the county, and the Division of Juvenile Services places youth from all counties in its centers. The phone is 304-766-2616.

Kanawha County Juvenile Probation is at 111 Court Street, third floor, 304-357-0520. A child's case is confidential and will not show on the adult search.

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Federal charges go to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. The Charleston courthouse is the Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse, 300 Virginia Street East, Charleston, WV 25301, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The clerk is at 304-347-3000.

The Kanawha magistrate does not set bail on a federal charge.

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The bail can be forfeited. A person who put up money, or signed a recognizance, receives ten days' notice by certified mail before judgment. A bondsman who surrenders the defendant inside two years of the forfeiture recovers the forfeited amount.

Failure to appear is also a crime. After a felony arrest it is a felony, one to five years and up to $5,000. After a misdemeanor arrest it is a misdemeanor, up to a year and $1,000.

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