Owe Beaufort County court payments or fees? You might have to pay them in Jasper County

The 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will no longer accept pre-trial payments or fees at its main Beaufort County office after the department moved operations as it plans new services for crime victims.

The Solicitor’s Office moved from its Sheridan Park Circle location in Bluffton to 108 Traders Cross, Suite 103, in Okatie, according to Jeff Kidd, communications director of the Solicitor’s Office.

Rather than paying pre-trial fees at the new office, those who owe them are now required to pay at either the Beaufort County Courthouseat at 102 Ribaut Road or the Solicitor’s Office in Jasper County at 198 Second Avenue in Ridgeland.

The change is part of the office’s effort to modify the way crime victims are treated.

At their new location, Solicitor’s Office employees are working to create a victim’s services center, Kidd said. By having pre-trial payments paid at the courthouse or in Jasper County, victims and defendants are less likely to come into contact.

Kidd said no programs are being conducted in the new building that would require the public or defendants to visit.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Owe Beaufort County court payments or fees? You might have to pay them in Jasper County."