The Detention Center
Hot Spring County Detention Center
- Operated byHot Spring County Sheriff's Office
- Jail address1 Detention Lane, Malvern, AR 72104
- Jail line501-332-7410 (fax 501-332-3594)
- OpenedMarch 2009, per the sheriff's jail page
- StaffJail page lists CPT. Amanda Defee, SGT. Mitchell Villatoro and SGT. Victoria Noorigian among jail staff
- CommissaryDeposits through citytelecoin.com; no prices published
- Beds published by the countyNot published on the county's own site
- What was triedSheriff home, jail, inmate-roster gateway, FAQ, administration, message-from-the-sheriff (empty) and history pages opened; roster.php returned 404. No county government (county judge / quorum court) domain surfaced in the search
- Arkansas Sheriffs' Association directoryHolds: Males Only; capacity 50; jail phone 501-332-7410; jail administrator Capt. Dustin Burnett. Checked 18 September 2026; an association directory, not a county source - https://arsheriffs.org/sheriffs/hot-spring-county-sheriff/
Source: Hot Spring County Sheriff's Office - Jail · checked 2026-09-18
Transparency rating
2/10Closed- ✓The jail is named
- ✓Who is in custody
- ✗Beds and daily population — not published
- ✗What it costs taxpayers — not published
- ✗Deaths in custody — not published
- ✗PREA audits — not published
- ✗Independent inspection — not published
- ✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
- ✗How to post bond — not published
- ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year built2009 (opened March 2009, per the sheriff's jail page)
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- BedsNot found
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Richard Tolleson
- Runs the jailYes - the sheriff's office operates the Hot Spring County Detention Center
- How the office is filledElected county sheriff, four-year term (Ark. Const. art. 7, § 46; Amendment 95)
- Statutory basisA.C.A. § 12-41-502 gives the county sheriff custody, rule and charge of the jail and all prisoners committed in the county
- Took office11 March 2025, per the sheriff's own history page
- Office address215 East Highland St., Malvern, Arkansas 72104
- Arkansas Sheriffs' Association directoryLists Richard Tolleson; office 215 E. Highland Ave. Ste 119, Malvern, AR 72104, phone (501) 337-7738. Checked 18 September 2026; an association directory, not a county source - https://arsheriffs.org/sheriffs/hot-spring-county-sheriff/
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Hot Spring County Sheriff's Office - History of the Sheriff's Office · checked 2026-09-18
The Judges
Arkansas circuit judges are elected on a nonpartisan ballot to six-year terms; the governor fills a mid-term vacancy by appointment until the next general election. They are state judicial officers, not county officials. Under Ark. R. Crim. P. 8.1 an arrested person goes before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay; depending on the court, that may be a circuit judge or a magistrate. Arkansas's "county judge" is the county's chief executive, not a judicial officer, and does not set bail.
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-18
The County Judge and Quorum Court
They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.
- County judgeDennis Thornton — the county’s chief executive, not a judicial officer; named in the Association of Arkansas Counties directory, checked 2026-09-18
- What they controlThe county judge and quorum court fund and build the jail: the detention budget, the building itself, and any dedicated jail sales tax.
- What they don'tCustody of the jail. Under A.C.A. § 12-41-502 the elected sheriff has “the custody, rule, and charge” of the jail and its prisoners.
- The quorum courtNo quorum court page was found on the county's own site
Notes on the record
- The sheriff runs his own domain, hotspringcountysoar.gov. Its jail page names the Hot Spring County Detention Center and says it opened in March 2009.
- The inmate-roster page opened is a disclaimer gateway offering 'Current Inmates' and '48 Hour Release' lists; the roster check is recorded as met on that published link, though the list itself was not opened.
- The Arkansas Sheriffs' Association lists a 50-inmate, males-only capacity and a different jail administrator (Capt. Dustin Burnett); neither is confirmed on the county's own site, so capacity is not scored and neither is recorded as fact. Where female prisoners are held was not found.
- The FAQ covers FOIA requests, fines and civil process but not bail; no bond guidance, rates, budget, PREA audit, contracts, death in custody or inspection report found.
- The county seat is not stated on any first-party page opened; the sheriff's office and jail are in Malvern.
- Arkansas law requires each county jail to be inspected at least annually by a governor-appointed district criminal detention facility review committee (A.C.A. § 12-26-107), against mandatory state minimum standards. The written report goes to the district's administrative judge and to the county judge; state law does not require it to be published, and no public state repository of the reports was located.
- County seat from CCCarto's Arkansas county-seat list (https://www.cccarto.com/countyseats/arkansas/), checked 18 September 2026; it names ten two-seat counties, including Franklin (Ozark and Charleston).
- Arkansas county government: an elected County Judge (chief executive) and a Quorum Court (legislative body). No county government website for Hot Spring County surfaced in the search, so the county judge and justices of the peace are not named here (Not found).
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Hot Spring County and what it costs the people who live here. Nationally, almost 77% of the people who died in local jails in 2019 had not been convicted of anything, and suicide was the leading single cause of those deaths (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2019).
How much is your sheriff — and your judge — costing you?
Your VOTE is POWERFUL.
The sheriff who runs this jail is elected. So are the justices of the peace on the quorum court who pay for it.
Names verified 2026-09-18 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered