The Detention Center
The county publishes no formal name for this facility.
- Operated byLincoln County Sheriff's Office
- What the county saysThe county gives its jail no proper name. Its detention page describes a main detention facility in Kemmerer, adjacent to the courthouse, and an Afton Division holding facility.
- StaffingThe county states 10 detention officers and 3 supervisors at the main detention center.
Source: Lincoln County detention · checked August 21, 2026
Transparency rating
3/10Closed- ✗The jail is named — not published
- ✓Who is in custody
- ✓Beds and daily population
- ✓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
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year builtNot found
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- Beds85 in Kemmerer, plus a 5-person holding facility in Afton
The Sheriff
Sheriff M. Shane Johnson
- How the county writes it“M. Shane Johnson, Lincoln County Sheriff.”
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Lincoln County Sheriff, lincolncountywy.gov · checked August 21, 2026
The Judges
Wyoming splits the bench. Circuit Court handles initial appearances — the first place bond is set. District Court takes felonies after bindover.
Circuit Court, 3rd Judicial District
- Hon. Thomas Deering — appointed January 2026; term expires January 2029 (sits at both county locations)
Kemmerer: 1040 Justice Center Drive · Afton: 421 Jefferson, Suite 101
District Court, 3rd Judicial District
- Hon. Joseph B. Bluemel — appointed January 2015; term expires January 2029
925 Sage Avenue, 2nd Floor, Kemmerer, WY 83101
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked August 21, 2026
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 county operates two detention sites and names neither. No name is invented here.
- The circuit judge was appointed in January 2026 — any older listing of this bench is out of date.
- Lincoln publishes a live inmate roster on its own domain but never gives the facility a name.
- No bond information of any kind — no amounts, hours, or accepted payment methods.
- Minutes are published under the heading “Official Proceedings.”
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Lincoln 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.
- Find your polling place — Wyoming Polling Place Locator →
- Your county clerk — the office that runs the election (PDF) →
- Register to vote in Wyoming →
In Wyoming the county clerk runs the election in Lincoln County and prints the ballot the sheriff’s name is on. Links from the Wyoming Secretary of State and vote.gov.
Names verified August 21, 2026 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered