Long County Bench Warrants

Bench warrants in Long County are handled by the sheriff's office warrants division in Ludowici. Long County is a small, rural county in southeast Georgia with about 16,000 residents. Sheriff Craig Nobles leads the office. The warrants division receives over 500 criminal warrants in an average year, and each one gets processed and tracked from the moment it arrives. If you need to search for bench warrant records or check your warrant status in Long County, the sheriff's office is the place to contact.

Long County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Craig Nobles runs the Long County Sheriff's Office from its location in Ludowici. The office covers all law enforcement and court services for the county. The warrants division is the primary unit that deals with bench warrant records. Their job is to process and execute criminal arrest warrants and assist other law enforcement agencies in and around Long County. Warrant Clerk Mary Cooper handles the administrative side of warrant processing, while Sergeant Mark I. Hall serves as the head T.A.C. officer.

You can reach the Long County Sheriff's Office by phone, fax, or email. For a small county, the office stays busy. Those 500-plus warrants a year keep the division working through cases steadily. Each bench warrant that comes in goes through a set process that starts right away.

Note: The Long County Sheriff's Office warrants division handles over 500 criminal warrants per year despite the county's small population.

How Long County Processes Bench Warrants

The Long County warrants division follows a detailed process every time a new bench warrant comes in. When a criminal warrant is received, an immediate process begins toward its execution. The Long County warrants division page spells out exactly what happens next. Staff record the warrant in the sheriff's office computer database. They identify the suspect. They check the criminal history of the suspect. Then they place the wanted person on the Georgia Crime Information Center and National Crime Information Center databases.

That page describes the step-by-step process from the moment a bench warrant arrives at the Long County Sheriff's Office.

Once the bench warrant data is in GCIC and NCIC, any law enforcement officer in the state or country can see it. A traffic stop in Savannah or a police check in Texas will show the Long County bench warrant. The warrant stays active until the person is arrested or the court recalls it. Under O.C.G.A. § 17-7-90, Georgia judges have the power to issue bench warrants for failure to appear, and there is no time limit on how long one stays in effect.

The primary responsibility of the warrants division is the processing and execution of criminal arrest warrants and assisting other law enforcement agencies in and around Long County. That means deputies also help serve warrants from other counties when the person is found in the Long County area. The cooperation goes both ways.

Search Long County Bench Warrants

Call 912-545-2118 to reach the Long County Sheriff's Office. Ask to speak with the warrants division. Give them the full name and date of birth of the person you want to check. They can look up active bench warrants in the Long County system. No cost for a phone check. You can also email info@longcountyso.org, though a phone call will get you faster results.

Going in person is another option. The office is in Ludowici. Bring a photo ID. The same warning applies here as everywhere in Georgia: if you show up and have an active bench warrant, you could be arrested on the spot. In a small county like Long County, hiring a lawyer to check on your behalf may be worth it if you think there might be a bench warrant out for you.

The Long County Sheriff's Office website has general information about the office and its divisions.

The site gives you contact details and basic info about how the office is set up to handle warrants and other law enforcement duties in Long County.

Long County Warrant Application Process

Long County has a clear process for how criminal warrants get started in the first place. If you are a victim and want to pursue charges, here is how it works. First, you file an incident report with the Long County Sheriff's Office. Then you get a copy of that report. Next, you go to the Long County Magistrate Court and talk to the Magistrate about your case. The Magistrate schedules a warrant application hearing.

At that hearing, the Magistrate decides if there is enough cause to issue a criminal warrant. If the Magistrate issues one, the Long County Sheriff's Office gets contacted and the defendant is arrested. Bench warrants work differently since they come from a judge who already has the case. But the application process shows how the Long County court system and sheriff's office work together on all warrant types. The Magistrate Court in Ludowici handles the initial steps, and the sheriff's warrants division handles the execution.

Note: Bench warrants skip the application hearing since they come directly from a judge who has power over an existing court case in Long County.

Long County Bench Warrant Penalties

Missing court in Long County brings the same penalties as anywhere in Georgia. O.C.G.A. § 16-10-51 treats failure to appear as bail jumping. For misdemeanor cases, that adds up to 12 months in jail and fines up to $1,000. Felony bail jumping carries one to five years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines. These penalties stack on top of the original charge that the person skipped court for in Long County.

Traffic bench warrants trigger license suspensions under O.C.G.A. § 40-5-56. The Georgia Department of Driver Services suspends the license after getting notice from the court. Under O.C.G.A. § 40-13-63, willful failure to appear on a traffic citation is a separate offense with fines up to $200 or three days in jail. Under O.C.G.A. § 17-6-11, the court sends a 30-day notice letter first for traffic matters. That gives you a window to deal with the case before the bench warrant goes into full effect. After 30 days with no response, the license suspension kicks in and the warrant stays active in Long County.

Long County Warrant Records Access

Bench warrants are public records under the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70. Once a bench warrant has been issued and served in Long County, the record is available to the public. You can request copies from the sheriff's office. Before a warrant is served, some information may not be released to keep from tipping off the person being sought.

The Long County Sheriff's Office connects to the Georgia Crime Information Center through its GCIC unit. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation runs that system and links it to the national NCIC database. Only law enforcement can search these systems directly. For the public, the local sheriff's office is the access point for bench warrant records in Long County. The Georgia Sheriffs' Association directory can help you find the right office if you need to check warrants in other counties near Long County too.

Clearing a Long County Bench Warrant

An active bench warrant in Long County needs to be resolved. It will not go away on its own. Your first option is to hire a lawyer. An attorney can contact the Long County court, file a motion to recall the bench warrant, and try to get a new court date. This way you avoid getting arrested at a traffic stop or during some other police encounter. Lawyers in the Ludowici area and surrounding counties handle bench warrant cases.

Your second option is to turn yourself in. Go to the Long County Sheriff's Office in Ludowici. Bring your ID. You will be processed on the bench warrant. Depending on the charge, you may post bond and go home that day. For more serious cases, you may need to see a judge first. Turning yourself in is better than waiting to get picked up. Judges in Long County see it as a sign that you want to address the matter. That can work in your favor when the case moves forward.

The Georgia.gov warrant search guide has general steps for dealing with warrants. It also warns that going to the sheriff's office in person carries the risk of immediate arrest if you have an active bench warrant. In Long County, that risk is real. Plan ahead.

Cities in Long County

Long County is a rural area with a small population. Ludowici is the county seat and the main town. All bench warrants for Long County residents go through the county sheriff's office. There are no major cities in Long County that have separate pages on this site. All warrant inquiries should be directed to the Long County Sheriff's Office at 912-545-2118.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Long County in southeast Georgia. If you are not sure where a bench warrant was issued, reach out to the sheriff's office in each county. The warrant is tied to where the court case was opened.