Find Chesterfield County Jail Mugshots

Chesterfield County jail mugshots and booking photos come from the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office and the Riverside Regional Jail that holds local inmates. You can search for a name, look up a booking date, or ask for a copy of a mugshot by mail. The sheriff keeps arrest records for each person booked in the county. State inmates show up in the VADOC inmate locator. This page shows how to find jail records, what to ask for, and where to file a FOIA request in Chesterfield County.

Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office

The Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office is the main source for local jail mugshots and booking records. Sheriff Karl S. Leonard leads the office. You can call the sheriff at 804-748-1260 to ask about an inmate or to check on a booking. The office is listed in the Virginia Sheriffs' Association directory, which is the main statewide index for finding the custodian of arrest records in each county.

The sheriff's office books people into custody, takes booking photos, and keeps a current jail roster. Arrest records and mugshots held by the sheriff are public under state law. To get a booking photo or an arrest record, file a written FOIA request with the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office. Name the person, give the arrest date if you know it, and ask for the mugshot and the booking sheet.

The sheriff also helps with civil process, court security, and inmate transport. Staff can tell you if a person is still in local custody or was moved to the regional jail. Ask for the case number to look up court status later.

Riverside Regional Jail Inmate Records

The Riverside Regional Jail holds most Chesterfield County inmates after booking. The jail is at 500 Folar Trail, North Prince George, VA 23860. It serves Chesterfield County, Charles City County, Prince George County, Surry County, and the cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell, and Petersburg. Call 804-524-6600 for inmate information.

The facility houses pretrial, sentenced, and special management inmates from all seven member jurisdictions. You can check if someone is held at Riverside, ask for their booking date, and find out when they are due in court. The jail keeps booking photos on file and can release them under a valid FOIA request. The image below is from the Riverside Regional Jail website.

The lead-in below links to the source for the Riverside Regional Jail booking photo used on this page.

See the Riverside Regional Jail site for visiting rules and inmate lookup at riversideregionaljail.com.

The Riverside Regional Jail page shows the member jurisdictions and the inmate intake path for Chesterfield County bookings.

Search Chesterfield County Court Records

Court records back up the booking records at the jail. You can search by name or case number in the Virginia Judicial System Case Information portal. General district court cases and circuit court cases are both online. The search shows charges, hearing dates, and case status for Chesterfield County.

The lead-in here points to the Virginia Judicial System case search used for Chesterfield County court records.

Use the portal to match a jail mugshot to the court case and the charge it ties to.

Virginia Code § 19.2-82 sets the rules for how a person must be brought before a magistrate after arrest. The magistrate then rules on a warrant or a summons. A record of that first hearing is kept in the court file. You can use the court case number to pull more details on the booking.

State Inmate Lookup

If a person was moved from Chesterfield County to state prison, use the VADOC Inmate Locator. The Virginia Department of Corrections tool shows current facility, projected release date, and active sentence info. You need the full last name and the first letter of the first name, or a seven-digit inmate ID.

People in local or regional jails will not show up in VADOC. Check with the Chesterfield County Sheriff or the Riverside Regional Jail for those cases. The VADOC site is best for sentenced state inmates. Below is the VADOC inmate locator page.

This link goes to the VADOC inmate locator used for state-level searches.

VADOC search helps you find out if a Chesterfield County inmate is now in state custody.

FOIA Requests for Booking Photos

Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, the sheriff must reply to a records request within five working days. File your FOIA request in writing. Name the person, give the arrest date, and ask for the mugshot, the booking sheet, and the arrest report. The sheriff may charge a small fee for copies.

Some files can be held back. Virginia Code § 2.2-3706.1 covers criminal incident information and gives more rules on what must be shared. Records about an ongoing investigation may be kept private. Records of people in prison under § 53.1-116 may also be held back in part.

Keep your request short and clear. Ask for the exact records you need. The sheriff can point you to other offices if the file is not held by them.

Chesterfield County Arrest Process

Most arrests in Chesterfield County start with a warrant or an on-view arrest. Under § 19.2-74, an officer may issue a summons for a minor charge in place of taking the person to jail. For more serious charges, the person is booked at the sheriff's office and then moved to Riverside Regional Jail. A booking photo is taken at intake.

Each booking creates a record of the charge, the booking date, the booking photo, and the personal details of the person arrested. The jail roster is updated each day. If the charge is a sex offense, the person may also be listed under § 9.1-913 in the state sex offender registry.

The Virginia State Police also keep a central criminal history file. That file is not open to the public in the same way the jail mugshots are. You can ask for your own record but not for someone else's. For Chesterfield County arrest records, the sheriff remains the main source.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Chesterfield County. Jail mugshots and arrest records for each are held by that county's sheriff.