Slight powerlevel; I used to work at a prison.
I only know the processes for sure in my own state, but if US-wide practices are the same universally, county prisons don't generally act as classification institutions.
Usually, if someone has a moderate-severe crime, they'll be arrested and initially held at a county prison, and have a court date set (details depend on the individual and their case). After that, they're usually moved to a higher-security state prison while they classify him and decide which prison he'll be sent to permanently once the process is complete. People can be bounced all around the state during this process, and even a prisoner's loved ones usually have trouble keeping up with where they are at any given time.
If they've got someone like this on such serious charges, and his family is who turned him in, I personally don't think there's any chance of him being let go right now.