Medical Issues at Pomona Jail: The Operational Reality
Pomona City Jail is a booking and holding facility — it has no on-site medical unit. What that means for your loved one's release is something most families find out the hard way.
Nothing on this page is medical advice. If someone in custody is experiencing a genuine medical emergency, they should always speak up and get help. What this page explains is the operational reality of how Pomona City Jail handles medical situations — so families understand what may happen and why.
Pomona City Jail Has No Medical Facility
This is the single most important thing to understand about Pomona. Unlike LA County's Twin Towers or the Lynwood Women's Jail, Pomona City Jail is a booking and short-term holding facility only. There is no on-site medical unit, no nursing staff on permanent assignment, and no capacity to manage ongoing medical care. When a medical need arises — or is perceived to arise — the facility has one option: transfer.
How a Single Sentence Can Delay Release by 12 Hours
During the booking process at Pomona, certain words or requests automatically flag a person for medical evaluation. This is not a judgment call — it is a procedural response. Once flagged, the transfer process begins regardless of how minor the actual need may be.
Examples of booking statements that can trigger a transfer:
- Mentioning any prescription medication — anxiety, blood pressure, diabetes, psychiatric
- Requesting a feminine hygiene product
- Casual comments about stress affecting a health condition — even offhand remarks
- Disclosing a chronic condition during the intake interview
Real Case — Pomona City Jail
A woman arrested on a simple domestic violence charge mentioned needing a tampon during booking. That single request triggered a mandatory transfer to Lynwood Women's Jail — a drive across LA County. Lynwood was short-staffed and on lockdown. The Pomona officer, already past the end of their shift, drove her back to Pomona. Nobody mentioned the tampon again. She was bonded out 20 minutes after returning — four hours later than she would have been without the detour.
Where Pomona Transfers People
When a medical flag is triggered at Pomona, the destination depends on the person's gender:
Twin Towers Correctional Facility
LA County's main medical jail facility. Once transferred, the person must be re-booked, evaluated by a doctor, and receive a signed medical clearance before any bail bond can be accepted. Depending on shift changes and staffing, this process can take anywhere from several hours to a full day.
Lynwood Women's Jail
The standard transfer destination for women from Pomona and surrounding smaller departments. Lynwood is a large, busy facility. Capacity issues, lockdowns, and staffing shortages can delay intake — and if the receiving facility cannot accept the transfer, the person may be driven back to Pomona with no resolution.
What a Transfer Does to Your Bail Bond
This is where families get blindsided. Once a person is transferred out of Pomona, any bail bond posted at Pomona — or at the arresting agency — becomes void at the new facility. You start over.
Re-booking takes time
The person must go through the full booking process again at the new facility. Until they appear in the system, no bond can be posted.
Medical clearance is required first
At Twin Towers and Lynwood, no bond is accepted until a doctor has evaluated the person and signed a medical clearance. If the doctor is mid-shift-change or the unit is busy, that clearance can take hours.
Release times reset
Twin Towers averages 6–12 hours for release after a bond is posted. A person who could have been out of Pomona in 2 hours may now be looking at the following morning.
You may not know where they are
Transfers are not always communicated to families. Chad has had cases where the family was waiting for a Pomona release and found out the person was at Twin Towers only because the defendant called their cosigner directly from inside.
A Note on Contract Cities: The Laverne Example
Most small police departments in Southern California — Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach — have at least two or three short-term holding cells. They don't house inmates long-term, and they will eventually transfer, but they have somewhere to put someone while the paperwork gets sorted. Laverne is different. Laverne Police Department has no holding cells at all. Not a few — none. That is genuinely unusual, even among small departments. Because of it, Laverne operates under a direct city-to-city contract with Pomona City Jail: anyone arrested in Laverne goes to Pomona for booking.
The contract has an unusual wrinkle: Laverne retains the right to accept bail bonds directly, even though the body is physically at Pomona. That means you may post a bond at Laverne PD, Laverne inputs it, confirms it — and the person is still sitting in Pomona. If Pomona then transfers that person to Twin Towers for any reason, the bond posted at Laverne is void at Twin Towers. The two facilities' systems do not talk to each other in real time.
Real Case — Last Night
A man was arrested in Laverne on a PC 243(e)(1) — a simple misdemeanor domestic violence charge. As simple as it gets. Because Laverne has no holding cells, he was booked at Pomona. Chad posted the bond at Laverne PD. Laverne accepted it, inputted it, confirmed it. Chad left. Then Pomona transferred the defendant to Twin Towers — without notifying Laverne, without notifying the family, and without any apparent medical emergency. The bond posted at Laverne was void at Twin Towers. The family had to start over. The defendant updated in the Twin Towers system around 6 AM. Chad posted a new bond. Release is expected to take 8–12 hours from that point.
The human cost
His wife mentioned one detail in passing that captures what this system does to real people: his cell phone is dead. When he walks out of Twin Towers in downtown Los Angeles — after a night in custody for a misdemeanor — he will have no way to call anyone. He will have to find a stranger willing to lend him their phone.
The only consistency in government is their inconsistency. Chad has worked this industry long enough to know that the answer you get depends on who picks up the phone — and that shift change can change everything. The only way to stay ahead of it is to have someone tracking the case in real time.
The Other Reason Pomona Transfers People: Weekends
Medical flags are not the only transfer trigger. Because Pomona does not house inmates, the facility has limited capacity to hold people over multi-day periods. If someone is arrested on a Wednesday night and their arraignment is not until Monday, Pomona may transfer them to Twin Towers simply to clear the bed — not because of any medical issue. This is more likely when the facility is busy and the weekend is long. If the same person had been arrested on a Tuesday with a Friday court date, the transfer likely would not have happened.
What Families Should Do the Moment Someone Is Arrested in Pomona
Call Chad immediately
The earlier Chad is involved, the faster he can track where the person actually is in the system. Transfers happen without family notification. Chad knows how to find out where someone is and what facility is holding them.
Do not assume they are still at Pomona
Even if the arrest was at Pomona or a Pomona-contract city like Laverne, the person may have been transferred. Do not drive to Pomona to post bond without confirming the body is still there.
If there is a genuine medical need, speak up
This page is not telling anyone to hide a real medical emergency. If someone in custody needs urgent care, they should say so. What this page explains is the operational consequence — so families are not blindsided when a transfer happens and bail is delayed.
Know that Chad can post at Twin Towers or Lynwood too
If a transfer has already happened, Chad can post bail at the receiving facility. The process is longer and the release times are extended, but it is not the end of the road. Call Chad regardless of where they end up.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Twin Towers release take after bail is posted?
Twin Towers is one of the largest jail facilities in the world. After a bond is posted and accepted, release typically takes a minimum of 6 hours and commonly runs 8–12 hours. Overnight processing is not unusual. This is significantly longer than a standard Pomona release, which averages 1–3 hours.
Can a bond be posted before the medical clearance is signed?
No. At Twin Towers and Lynwood, the facility will not accept a bail bond until a doctor has evaluated the person and signed a medical clearance. There is no way to accelerate this process from the outside. The only thing families can do is have the bond ready to post the moment clearance is given.
What if they are transferred back to Pomona like in your example?
If the person is returned to Pomona — as happened in the tampon case — the bond must be posted at Pomona. The prior transfer is treated as if it never happened from a bail standpoint. Chad monitors these situations and can move quickly once the person is back in the Pomona system.
Does this apply to all arrests in Pomona, or just certain charges?
The medical transfer trigger applies regardless of the charge. A simple misdemeanor PC 243(e)(1) carries the same risk as a felony if a medical flag comes up during booking. The charge level does not protect someone from a transfer.
How do I find out if my loved one has been transferred?
The fastest way is to call Chad. He has direct lines into the booking systems at Pomona, Twin Towers, and Lynwood and can locate someone in the system faster than most families can navigate the public inmate search tools. Call 855-BAD-CHAD the moment you know someone has been arrested.
Call Chad Before You Drive to the Jail
Transfers happen without notice. Chad can tell you exactly where your person is, what facility is holding them, and what it takes to get them out — 24 hours a day.
Call 855-BAD-CHAD NowHablamos Español — (909) 657-6030