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

The Detention Center

Burleson County Jail

Operated byBurleson County Sheriff's Office
County publishes a jail nameYes - 'Burleson County Jail' has its own page
Jail address1334 St. Hwy 21 E., Caldwell, TX 77836
Jail phone979-567-4343
Vendors namedHomeWAV for inmate phone and video visits; Tiger Commissary for commissary
Beds and population, 2026-0853 people held in 96 rated beds

Source: Burleson County - Burleson County Jail · checked 2026-08-22

Transparency rating

4/10Partial

✓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
✓Phone, video and commissary rates

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Burleson 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
Beds96 rated capacity (TCJS Inmate Population Report, 1 Aug 2026; 53 in custody)

Since then

Not found

The Sheriff

Sheriff Bill Rios

TitleBurleson County Sheriff
Office1334 Highway 21 E, Caldwell, TX 77836
Phone979-567-4343
Fee scheduleSheriffs' and Constables' Fees posted as a PDF

Still needed

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

Source: Burleson County - Sheriff's Office · checked 2026-08-22

The Judges

Burleson County has no county court at law; the constitutional County Court is presided over by County Judge Keith Schroeder.

County Judge

Keith Schroeder

District Courts

Carson Campbell (21st)
John D. Winkelmann (335th)

Justices of the Peace

Cullen "Dusty" Tittle (Pct. 1)
Bill Orsak (Pct. 2)
Johnny Towslee (Pct. 3)
Jason Urbanosky (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

Fees check: the county posts a full commissary price list ('Burleson County Jail' commissary order menu, itemised to the cent). Phone and video-visit rates are NOT published - only the HomeWAV and Tiger Commissary vendor links.
Bond check: the sheriff's page sets out how to pay a cash bail bond by credit card through Certified Payments, including what information is needed. There is no separate bond page.
No county-run inmate roster - the jail page points to VINELink, a statewide victim-notification service.
The jail page publishes detailed visitation rules but no capacity, deaths, PREA or inspection information.
Four commissioners plus the County Judge, who presides.
County seat: Texas State Library and Archives Commission — Counties and County Seats

The record

1 people have died in the Burleson County jail since 2024.

0 by suicide

0 illness or medical

1 deaths in all, 2016 onward

Deaths where the person had not been convicted of the charge holding them0 of 1

Deaths within the first week of arriving1

Most recent death on the state's record2024-07-07

People held, 2026-0853 in 96 beds

Share not convicted of the charge holding them79.2%

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 Burleson 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