Lexington Virginia Busted Mugshots

Lexington busted mugshots and arrest records are kept by the Lexington Police Department and the Rockbridge County Sheriff's Office, which provides jail services for the city. Lexington is a small independent city in the Shenandoah Valley, home to Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute. Despite its small size, it operates its own law enforcement and court system. Arrests made in Lexington are processed by the police department, and detainees are held through Rockbridge County facilities. This page explains how to access arrest records, booking photos, and court records from Lexington.

Lexington Police Department Mugshots

The Lexington Police Department handles law enforcement inside city limits. Officers make arrests, create booking records, and document charges. Each arrest record includes the name, date of arrest, charges, and a booking photograph. These records are public under Virginia law.

Under Virginia Code §2.2-3706, adult arrestee photographs taken during initial intake are mandatory release records. The Lexington Police Department must release booking photos on request unless doing so would harm an active felony investigation. Once that concern no longer applies, the record must be turned over. Submitting a written FOIA request to the department starts the process. The agency has five business days to respond.

Contact the Lexington Police Department at lexingtonva.gov/police to get the current mailing address and submission instructions for FOIA requests. Include the full name of the person arrested and the date of arrest in your request. If you have a case number, include that as well. For older records, it helps to provide as much identifying information as possible to speed up the search.

All Lexington arrests are reported to the Virginia State Police Central Criminal Records Exchange. The CCRE holds fingerprints, photographs, and criminal history from every jurisdiction in Virginia. A name-based criminal history check through the Virginia State Police Criminal Background division will include Lexington arrest and conviction data as part of the statewide search.

Rockbridge County Jail Services for Lexington

Lexington does not operate its own jail. The Rockbridge County Sheriff's Office provides jail services for the city. After a Lexington arrest, the person is held at the Rockbridge County detention facility. To find out if someone is currently in custody after being arrested in Lexington, contact the Rockbridge County Sheriff's Office or the detention facility it operates.

This arrangement is standard for small independent cities in Virginia. Lexington handles its own law enforcement but relies on the adjacent county for detention. The Rockbridge County facility maintains booking records for all detainees, including those arrested by Lexington Police. Records include charges, booking date, and custody status.

For a quick custody status check without calling the jail, use the VINE system at vinelink.com. VINE is Virginia's free statewide inmate notification service. You search by name or inmate ID, and you can sign up for automated alerts when a custody status changes. The service covers most Virginia jails, including facilities serving Lexington, and updates regularly.

Lexington Court Records

Lexington has its own Circuit Court and General District Court. Felony cases go to the Circuit Court at lexingtonva.gov/circuit-court. Misdemeanor cases and preliminary hearings go to the General District Court at vacourts.gov. Both courts generate case records linked to Lexington arrests, and those records are public.

The Virginia Online Case Information System (OCIS) provides online access to circuit court records statewide. Lexington circuit court cases are in the system. You can search by name or case number to view charges, case status, hearing dates, and outcomes. For General District Court records, you may need to contact the clerk directly. Many misdemeanor records are not in the online system and require an in-person or written request.

The court clerk's office can pull case histories by name and produce plain or certified copies. Certified copies are needed for legal purposes and cost more than plain ones. Lexington is part of the 25th Judicial Circuit. The court clerk can confirm filing fees and copy costs when you contact the office.

Criminal conviction data from Lexington court proceedings flows into the CCRE at the Virginia State Police. This makes Lexington convictions visible in any statewide background check. The CCRE is the comprehensive, authoritative source for criminal history across Virginia and picks up both arrest data and conviction dispositions from Lexington courts.

Virginia Statewide Arrest Resources

Several Virginia statewide tools extend a Lexington-specific search. The Virginia State Police Criminal Background division runs name-based criminal history checks. The SP-167 form costs $15 and covers the full statewide criminal history, including Lexington. The SP-266 form runs a sex offender registry name search for $15, or a combined check costs $20.

The Virginia Department of Corrections Offender Locator searches for anyone serving a state prison sentence. It shows the current facility, release date, and a photo. This is separate from jail-level searches at the Rockbridge County facility. If someone was convicted in Lexington and sent to state prison, use the VADOC locator rather than the local jail roster.

The Virginia.arrests.org database aggregates recent arrest data from local agencies around the state. It is a third-party site, not a government source, but it can surface recent Lexington-area bookings with charge details. For sex offenders in the Lexington area, the official source is the Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry, maintained by the Virginia State Police and free to search by name, county, or zip code.

FOIA and Expungement in Lexington

Virginia's Freedom of Information Act gives the public the right to access arrest records from Lexington law enforcement. The governing statute is Virginia Code §2.2-3706. The law requires release of mugshots, felony incident information, and basic arrestee identity data. It also requires a response within five business days. The Lexington Police Department handles FOIA requests for records it created. The Rockbridge County Sheriff's Office handles requests for jail-level records.

If a Lexington arrest ended in an acquittal or dismissal, the person arrested can petition to have the record expunged. The process is outlined in Virginia Code §19.2-392.2. The petition goes to the Lexington Circuit Court. The person must serve the prosecutor and submit fingerprints to a law enforcement agency. The CCRE sends the criminal history to the court under seal. After a hearing, the court decides whether to grant the expungement. If granted, the record is removed from public access.

Virginia's new record sealing law, under Title 19.2, Chapter 23, takes effect July 1, 2026. It creates a path for certain convictions to be sealed from public view, which is different from expungement. People with Lexington convictions who might qualify should review the statute or speak with a Virginia attorney before 2026 to understand their options. The Library of Virginia also sets retention schedules for arrest records, governing how long Lexington agencies must keep records before they can be purged.

Virginia Record Resources for Lexington

The Library of Virginia sets the rules for how long Lexington law enforcement must retain arrest records, including the booking photos and incident reports created during local arrests.

Under retention schedule GS-108, adult arrest records in Lexington are typically held for 100 years from the date of birth, meaning Lexington booking records and mugshots remain on file for decades and can be requested through FOIA long after an arrest occurred.

The Virginia State Police Criminal Background division provides the official statewide criminal history service, aggregating Lexington arrests and convictions alongside records from every other Virginia jurisdiction.

A name-based search through the Virginia State Police CCRE is the most comprehensive official way to pull Lexington criminal history and see it alongside any other arrests or convictions the person has across Virginia.

Nearby Cities

These Virginia independent cities are in the same region as Lexington and each maintains its own arrest and mugshot records.