Find Sullivan County Released Inmates

Sullivan County Release Meanings

A release from Sullivan County custody is a recorded event, but it does not always mean freedom in the community. Bond can permit a defendant to leave while the case continues. Time served or sentence completion follows the governing judgment and custody calculation. A dismissal or acquittal may support release, yet another charge, warrant, or hold can keep the person confined. Parole is conditional release from prison under supervision. Probation is generally a court-ordered community sentence. A transfer ends custody at one facility and starts it at another.

The agency path matters. The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, or SCSO, keeps the county inmate file. The court clerk keeps the order that authorized or shaped the change. The Tennessee Department of Correction, or TDOC, records state custody and supervision through Felony Offender Information Lookup, known as FOIL. Federal prison, immigration, and pretrial custody use separate systems. A current roster answers who is reported in the jail now. It is not a history of Sullivan County released inmates.

Sullivan County Release Record Fields

Sullivan County's local release policy gives unusually clear request targets. The inmate file must retain the date and time of release plus a copy of the document authorizing it. Related records may identify the booking, the court or bond action, any existing release or disposition code, the employee approval, and the computer entry. They may also include checks for warrants, other charges, sentences, wants, or holds. Not every event uses the same label, so a request should seek existing fields and documents rather than demand a new explanation.

Request Sullivan County Release Records

The Sullivan County public-records policy names the Sheriff's public-records request coordinator as Lt. Chris Farmer. Inspection-only requests may be oral or written. A request for copies, or inspection plus copies, generally uses the county form unless the coordinator waives that step. Tennessee citizenship or identification may be required. The office provides existing public records subject to exemptions, but it does not have to build a new report or custom release list.

1. Identify the person, date range, booking number, and case number when known.
2. Ask for the existing booking sheet and inmate-file release record, including date, time, authorizing document, disposition or transfer code, and any detainer or handoff record.
3. Choose inspection or copies. Inspection is by appointment from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays except holidays and has no inspection charge.
4. Request native electronic files when available, or seek only the release page and order if those records meet the need.
5. Compare the response with the court record and any receiving-agency result before describing the outcome.

Black-and-white copies cost $0.15 per page and color copies cost $0.50 per page. Labor may be charged after the first hour. Vendor service, storage media, and postage may be billed at actual cost. Charges of $5 or less may be waived, while five or fewer pages costing under $1 are free under the policy. The county may provide an estimate and require prepayment; advance payment is required above $25.

The SCSO records page does not supply a public release archive. The image below shows why the county policy and a focused request are the practical local fallback.

Sullivan Release Law and Retention

The Tennessee Public Records Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 10-7-501 and following, supplies the broad access framework. Section 10-7-503 includes an inspection right for Tennessee citizens, subject to statutory exceptions. Juvenile records, sealed material, active investigative records, protected personal information, and expunged matters can require withholding or redaction. A requester may ask for the segregable public part and for the legal basis of a denial.

SCSO publishes no period for keeping an old release on the live roster because the roster is a current-custody display, not an `OUT` archive. Internal jail files, court records, FOIL, and VINE follow different retention and display rules. Expungement under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-32-101 begins in the court where the case arose. When an order is entered, state guidance describes transmission to agencies such as the arresting office, county jail, TDOC, and TBI. An absent record after expungement cannot establish the past release date.

For a correction, contact the office that controls the disputed field. SCSO controls county booking and release data, the clerk controls the docket and order, TDOC controls FOIL and TOMIS information, and TBI handles its state record processes. The Tennessee Office of Open Records Counsel offers public-records guidance.

Sullivan Bond and Release Timing

Sullivan's bond procedure explains why a posted amount and physical release are different facts. Cash or certified-check bond creates receipts and signed appearance-bond papers. Weekend cash deposits occur on Monday. Property bonds are handled during normal weekday business hours, excluding holidays. The property must be in Tennessee, taxes must be current, and its free-and-clear value must be at least one and one-half times the bond. A deed of trust must also be filed.

Those steps do not promise a gate time. Staff still review other charges, sentences, warrants, wants, and holds before a person leaves. A displayed bond amount only shows the amount set. It does not prove payment, completed paperwork, approval, or departure. The SCSO release policy is the source for these local mechanics.

Sullivan Release Property Receipts

The local release transaction includes the return of inventoried property and money. The released person signs and dates a receipt. If property is missing or disputed, the policy directs prompt review by the shift supervisor. Missing items are listed and signed, and a complaint may proceed to the Administration Lieutenant. The booking number and release date help staff identify the right property record.

A property receipt is useful supporting evidence because it belongs to the release workflow. It does not replace the main release entry and authorizing document. Keep a copy and note any discrepancy at the time it is found. A later records request can name the receipt and complaint record rather than seek a broad explanation that may not exist.

Find Sullivan County Released Inmates

Begin with jurisdiction, not a single broad name search. A person may leave the Sullivan County roster for the community, another county, TDOC, ICE, USMS, or an out-of-jurisdiction court trip. The same name may also belong to more than one person. Match a date of birth, middle name, booking number, case number, TDOC or SID number, or federal register number whenever the official system provides it.

1. Check the SCSO current roster only to learn whether it presently reports the person `IN`.
2. Search the Sullivan court portal for a bond, order, dismissal, judgment, or transfer clue.
3. Use VINELink for a person-specific status or notification event.
4. Use FOIL if TDOC custody, parole, probation, or former state custody may apply.
5. Use the BOP or ICE locator when the record points to federal or immigration custody.
6. Request the SCSO release file when an online result does not prove the physical outcome.

The screenshot from the official Sullivan County roster shows a current-custody interface. It should never be read as a list of people released today.

Sullivan Released Offender FOIL Search

TDOC's Felony Offender Information Lookup covers felony offenders currently or formerly in TDOC custody or supervision. It may display a photo, status, location, offense, sentence information, parole-hearing status, and release information. It is not a Sullivan County booking archive. A local case that never entered TDOC jurisdiction may not appear.

Read the displayed label as written. `Incarcerated` means the person has not been released from TDOC. `Parole` means physical prison release with supervision still active. `Probation` is community supervision and does not establish a prison release on that date. `Inactive` marks a former TDOC record but does not explain how the sentence or custody ended. Sentence and release fields plus the court judgment supply that context.

The direct FOIL search offers name, TDOC ID, and SID tabs, as shown below. CAPTCHA is part of the public search.

Sullivan Roster Absence Is Ambiguous

Sullivan County has no verified official 24-hour release feed, 72-hour release feed, or historical release archive. The website and official apps expose current inmate data. They do not show a public release reason, an `OUT` archive, or a published retention period. A name that vanishes could reflect bond, time served, dismissal, a transfer, a warrant or hold, or a data change.

The local policy adds a rare warning. A person expected to return after appearing in another jurisdiction's court may be released out of the jail computer when gone longer than 24 hours. That administrative step can remove the person from the roster without a community release. Ask for the detainer, receiving agency or court, transfer record, and return information. A comparison of two roster snapshots cannot safely become a recent-release list.

Sullivan Release Orders Across Courts

Release authority can arise in Blountville, Bristol, or Kingsport. The county-linked case portal can help identify the case and latest docket activity, but the correct clerk supplies a complete or certified order. A docket may show bond, dismissal, judgment, sentencing, or revocation. A schedule is not a disposition, and even a favorable order does not state the jail's physical departure time.

Blountville is the main Justice Center. County materials also list separate Bristol and Kingsport divisions. Official sources conflict on the Bristol Justice Center street number, so callers should confirm the location with the relevant division before travel. Once obtained, compare the court order with SCSO's recorded date, time, and authorizing copy. Each answers a different part of the release question.

The Circuit Court Clerk page shows the local court structure and contacts captured below.

Sullivan Post-Release Supervision Check

The Tennessee Board of Parole makes parole decisions, while TDOC operates community supervision. FOIL is the public starting point. Copy the exact status, location, and as-of date. Then use the TDOC Sullivan District 10 office at 143 Blountville By-Pass, Blountville, or call 423-279-3200 for procedure. Privacy limits may restrict person-specific details.

Parole

Conditional release from incarceration while the sentence remains under supervision.

Probation

A community sentence ordered by a court, not necessarily a prison release.

Discharge

The responsible agency's recorded end of sentence or supervision.

Absconder

A supervision classification that should not be inferred from a missed public entry or county warrant.

SCSO has a public warrants page, but an empty online list does not prove there is no warrant. A county warrant also is not the same as a TDOC absconder finding. The full distinction and verification path appear on the Sullivan County parole and probation page.

Sullivan Release Alerts and Federal Checks

Tennessee VINELink can report agency-supplied custody events and accept notifications. Select Tennessee, search by name or TDOC number, compare the identifiers, open `RECORD DETAILS`, and read the source agency. `GET NOTIFIED` offers contact options such as phone, text, email, or TTY. A release event is strong evidence of what the agency sent, but it may not distinguish a transfer from release to the community. County events should be paired with the SCSO file; state events should be paired with FOIL or TDOC records.

Federal paths are separate. The BOP Inmate Locator covers federal records from 1982 forward and shows a release date and location. A past date with `RELEASED`, or without a current facility, supports exit from BOP only. ICE's Online Detainee Locator includes current detainees and people released from ICE during the preceding 60 days. A USMS pretrial release is best confirmed through the federal docket because USMS has no public historical released-person locator.

Sullivan Release Treatment Referral

SCSO links Tennessee REDLINE as a local post-release navigation resource. The confidential service accepts calls or texts at 800-889-9789 at all hours and connects people with treatment referrals. The Sheriff's substance-abuse page also points to the Sullivan County Anti-Drug Coalition. These are referral channels, not custody-status or release-record offices.

The distinction prevents a dated proposal from becoming a false service promise. County work-session materials discussed other programming, but research did not establish all proposals as operating programs. Use the current SCSO substance-abuse resource page and Tennessee REDLINE for verified navigation.

Sullivan Jail Expansion and Releases

February 2025 county planning materials described a proposed 784-bed jail addition and then projected a full opening in December 2025. Those are dated planning statements, not proof of current completion or present release operations. A large expansion can change intake paths, release circulation, and where families are told to wait.

No official source reviewed publishes a regular release time, public exit door, waiting area, weekend or holiday release schedule, or transport arrangement for Sullivan County Jail. General office hours are not gate-release hours. The county work-session packet supplies the historical planning detail, but current logistics should be confirmed with SCSO before travel.

Sullivan County Release Systems

Six facilities or custody systems can govern a Sullivan County release question. The county jail is the main local facility. Kingsport City Jail handles municipal short-term custody with a documented SCSO bond-paperwork link. TDOC has no prison located in Sullivan County, but it holds and supervises people from Sullivan cases elsewhere. BOP, ICE, and USMS are federal alternatives rather than proven local detention sites.

• Sullivan County Jail / Correctional Facility: confirm local departure in the SCSO inmate file.
• Kingsport City Jail: identify whether Kingsport or SCSO holds each part of the bond and release file.
• Tennessee Department of Correction custody and community supervision: use FOIL for state custody and former offenders.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons system: use the BOP locator for sentenced federal custody.
• ICE custody system: use ODLS for current detention and recent ICE releases.
• United States Marshals Service custody: use the federal docket for pretrial release.

Each result proves only the custody system it covers. A transfer from Sullivan County Jail to TDOC ends county custody but is not community release. Likewise, release from BOP can be followed by supervised release or another legal restraint.