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.
- Rated capacity and average daily population
- Annual detention budget and cost per inmate per day
- Deaths in custody, by year
- Federal per-diem contracts (US Marshals / ICE) and what they pay
- Whether an inmate can post a cash bond by card
- A published, official name for the facility
Source: Lincoln County detention · checked August 21, 2026
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: Wyoming Judicial Branch, wyocourts.gov · checked August 21, 2026
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- The circuit judge was appointed in January 2026 — any older listing of this bench is out of date.
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?
Names verified August 21, 2026 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered