The Men's Central Jail in LA County is operated by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and is a temporary detention facility for people who were arrested for misdemeanor or felony crimes, or who have an outstanding warrant.
Arrestees will remain here until they can post bail, get released on their own recognizance (O.R. release), appear for their court arraignment, or until their trial date. Inmates are normally arraigned without 2 days of their arrest.
If a defendant is convicted, they can serve their county jail time at the Men's Central Jail, which has the capacity to hold over 6.500 inmates. It's located at:
441 Bauchet Street,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 974-4921
This facility only holds male inmates. All females are held at the Century Regional Detention Facility, known as the Lynwood jail.
It's common for the male inmates to be transferred between Twin Towers Facility or the Pitchess Detention Center, known as Wayside jail, depending on a wide range of factors.
You can get information on inmates at the Los Angeles Men's Central Jail by calling the inmate reception center at (213) 473-6100, or use the online inmate search provided by the LA County Sheriff's.
Visitation of inmates is normally Thursday thru Sunday between 10 am and 3 pm and from 5 pm to 7 pm. Inmates are one visit each day with no more than 4 people at one time.
You will need to provide some type of identification before visiting an inmate, such as a California driver's license or an ID card.
If you are seeking to have an inmate's vehicle released from impoundment, then you will have to get approval from the police agency who made the arrest. Our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers will provide a closer review below.
What to Do If Your Loved One Has Been Put in the LA County Men's Central Jail?
Men's Central Jail is the main holding facility in Los Angeles county when somebody is arrested and they're going to be held in custody.
Really, what ends up happening is, somebody gets arrested by a local law enforcement agency, like Wilshire or Van Nuys Divisions, they're going to be held at that location typically, until they appear in court, which is usually within about 72 hours.
Once the person appears in court, then if they remain in custody, they could be housed in Los Angeles Men's County jail.
So, if you have a family member there and are looking to help them, obviously, your first step is to hire an attorney. The attorney has the ability to go see the person easily.
You're able to see the person as well, but it's a little more difficult for family and friends to see people in Men's county jail versus an attorney who has pretty much unlimited access, as long as they have their bar card. I go see people all the time there.
Getting an Inmate Released from Custody
So, step number one, if you have somebody who has been arrested and is in Men's county jail is to hire a lawyer. The lawyer can work on issues regarding bail and try to figure out either how to get the person out on their own recognizance,
This means all they have to do is sign a promise to appear when they're released, or every single crime that somebody is charged with has an assigned bail by the Los Angeles Superior Court judges.
So, bail could be set and you could either post the bail yourself in the entire amount or you can hire a bail bondsman and they'll post the bail.
You'll have to pay that bail bondsman a premium, which is usually anywhere from 6% to 10% depending on the bond company and what you're able to work out with them.
Deciding Whether to Bail Them Out of Jail
So, that is step number one — to get the attorney. Step number to is you can see your loved on in the Men's county jail, and lastly, you can decide whether or not it makes sense for you to bail them out.
Sometimes it doesn't make sense. Sometimes the bail is way too high and it's going to cost too much money and it's very difficult to bail them out. Other times, it doesn't make sense because the:
- person has a prior criminal record,
- has a new case and it looks like they're going to get custody time,
- either local custody time in the county jail or in state prison.
So, why would you bail them out, only to have them have to go back in again. Once again, this is why you hire an attorney.
The attorney can talk to you, your loved one, the prosecutor, the judge, and then you can decide exactly what you want to do. There are bail motions that can be filed.
Inmate Housing at Three Different Locations in Los Angeles
When you're talking about Men's county jail, you're talking about one of the three locations where people can be housed who are in custody in Los Angeles County.
There's Men's county jail, there's Twin Towers which is right across the street. Usually, I see people with medical issues or mental issues housed in the Twin Towers and then there's also Wayside, which is in Valencia.
So, those are the three locations. People ask me all the time:
- how do we know which one they're going to be housed in?
- how is the sheriff deciding where people are housed between locations?
Really, there's no rhyme or reason that I can see in deciding that. They move people around all the time.
I don't know if they make money each time they move somebody, but I don't really see how they break people up. Maybe they have some system based on the type of crime or based on the person's criminal record.
The bottom line is, if you've got a loved one in the Men's county jail in Los Angeles and they've been charged with a crime, you've come to the right place.
Pick up the phone. Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding. I stand at the ready to help you. Hedding Law Firm is located in Los Angeles County and we offer a free case evaluation.
