Anderson County, Texas — The Jail, the Sheriff, the Judges

The Detention Center

Anderson County Jail

Operated byAnderson County Sheriff's Office
County publishes a jail nameYes — but only inside PDFs, not on the Sheriff web page, which says only "Jail". The Jail Visitation Rules PDF reads "The Anderson County Jail is Not Responsible for Unattended Items/Property".
Address1200 E. Lacy St., Palestine, TX 75801 (Sheriff's Office / Jail)
Jail phone(903) 731-8209
VisitationScheduled through https://scheduler.tarmactech.com; tablet in the Jail lobby
Commissary / inmate fundswww.jailatm.com or ATM in the Jail lobby; no prices published
What was triedhttps://www.andersoncountytx.gov/page/Sheriff ; https://www.andersoncountytx.gov/upload/page/0102/Jail Visitation Rules.pdf ; https://www.andersoncountytx.gov/upload/page/0102/Inmate Commissary Info.pdf ; https://www.andersoncountytx.gov/upload/page/0102/Visitor Dress Code.pdf
Beds and population, 2026-08187 people held in 300 rated beds

Source: Anderson County — Jail Visitation Rules (PDF) · checked 2026-08-22

Transparency rating

2/10Closed

✓The jail is named
✗Who is in custody — not published
✗Beds and daily population — not published
✓What it costs taxpayers
✗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

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Anderson County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-08-22. Nothing here says the jail is run well or badly. Every mark moves the moment the county posts the document.

The Building

You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.

Year builtNot found
Original costNot found
Paid for byNot found
BedsNot found

Since then

Not found

The Sheriff

Sheriff W R Flores

Published as"Sheriff W R Flores"; signs county PDFs "W. R. Flores, Sheriff"
Chief DeputyJay Russell
Jail CaptainTodd Choate
Office phone(903) 731-8200
Jail phone(903) 731-8209

Still needed

Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail

Source: Anderson County — Sheriff · checked 2026-08-22

The Judges

Each JP has a separate page: JusticePeace.One / .Two / .Three / .Four under https://www.andersoncountytx.gov/page/. JPs are the magistrates who set bond at first appearance in Texas.

County Judge

Carey G. McKinney

County Court at Law

Jeff Doran

District Courts

Mark Calhoon (3rd Judicial District)
Amy Thomas Ward (87th Judicial District)
Pam Foster Fletcher (349th Judicial District)
Jonathan Richey (369th Judicial District)

Justices of the Peace

Gary Thomas (Pct. 1)
Tammy Lightfoot (Pct. 2)
James Todd (Pct. 3)
James W. Westley (Pct. 4)

Still needed

The county's bond schedule
Share of the jail population held pretrial
Median time from booking to first appearance

Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-08-22

The County Commissioners

They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.

What they controlThe detention budget, the building itself, and the agreements that let other agencies rent its beds.
What they don'tDay-to-day operations. The sheriff is separately elected and answers to voters, not to the board.
The boardBoard of County Commissioners →
Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →

Notes on the record

The Sheriff page never uses the phrase "Anderson County Jail" — the name appears only inside two linked PDFs.
Budget check verified: the FY2026 Adopted Budget PDF contains "COUNTY JAIL" and "TOTAL COUNTY JAIL" department lines (https://www.andersoncountytx.gov/upload/page/0068/FY2026 Adopted Budget.pdf).
The Inmate Commissary Info PDF explains how to deposit money but publishes no prices, so 'fees' is no.
A Bail Bond Board agenda is posted, but the county publishes no instructions on how to post bond.
Four commissioners plus the County Judge, who presides. Precinct 1 Greg Chapin, Precinct 2 Rashad Mims, Precinct 3 John Wilbanks, Precinct 4 Joey Hill; County Judge Carey G. McKinney.
County seat: Texas State Library and Archives Commission — Counties and County Seats

The record

4 people have died in the Anderson County jail since 2017.

0 by suicide

2 illness or medical

4 deaths in all, 2016 onward

Deaths where the person had not been convicted of the charge holding them3 of 4

Deaths within the first week of arriving2

Most recent death on the state's record2026-01-08

People held, 2026-08187 in 300 beds

Share not convicted of the charge holding them83.4%

Deaths: Texas Justice Initiative, the cleaned copy of the Texas Attorney General’s custodial death reports — the state’s own public index carries no cause of death and has not been refreshed since August 2025. Population: Texas Commission on Jail Standards monthly report. Counted, not estimated.

These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Anderson 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 commissioners who pay for it.

Names verified 2026-08-22 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered