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Washington · County seat: Montesano · Checked 2026-08-23

Grays Harbor County

The jail, the sheriff who runs it, and the judges who decide who sits inside. Every fact below comes from a named public record. Anything not yet sourced is marked still needed rather than guessed.

The Detention Center

Grays Harbor County Jail

Source: Grays Harbor County - Corrections Division · checked 2026-08-23

Transparency rating

5/10Partial

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Grays Harbor County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-08-23. 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.

Since then

  • 1985 - the condemned 1911 building refurbished for temporary housing during the remodel
  • 1987 - current facility remodelled and expanded to 82 beds
  • Later modifications took the facility to 176 beds

The Sheriff

Sheriff Darrin Wallace

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

Source: Grays Harbor County - Sheriff's Office · checked 2026-08-23

The Judges

Washington Superior Court judges are elected in nonpartisan countywide races and District Court judges are elected in nonpartisan district races. Both are state judicial officers, not county officials - the county pays part of the cost but does not choose the judge. A judge, not the sheriff and not the jail, sets bail. Court rosters here come from the Administrative Office of the Courts' county directory.

Grays Harbor County Superior Court - 102 W Broadway Ave, Room 305, Montesano

  • Steven G. Jackson, Judge
  • Vini E. Samuel, Judge
  • Katherine L. Svoboda, Judge
  • Jon Beltran, Commissioner

Municipal courts in the county - Aberdeen, Cosmopolis, Elma, Hoquiam and others

  • Susan Solan, Judge (Aberdeen)
  • Geoff Arnold, Judge (Cosmopolis and Elma)
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 2026-08-23

The County Commissioners

They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.

Notes on the record

These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Grays Harbor 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.

The sheriff is on your ballot

The county auditor runs the election in Grays Harbor County and prints the ballot the sheriff’s name is on. Links from USA.gov and vote.gov.

Names verified 2026-08-23 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered