Houston County Arrest Records

Houston County arrest records are created when a person is lawfully taken into custody (arrested) by law enforcement officers for committing an offense. Arrests are conducted within the limits of the law, so an arrest only becomes necessary when there is probable cause to believe that an offense indeed occurred. Probable cause may be established as part of an ongoing investigation leading to the issuance of a warrant, or the arrest can be made without a warrant if the officer witnessed the crime or offense being committed.

When a person is arrested in Houston County, they are transported to the jail, which is managed by the Houston County Sheriff's Office, the county's principal law enforcement agency. At the jail, the arrestee's information is booked, which forms their arrest record.

Houston County Jail
462 Long Branch Road
Marshall, NC 28753.
Phone: (828) 649-2721

Arrest records become part of Houston County court records when the charge escalates to trial. Like other public records, arrest records can be obtained from their respective custodians. The custodian of county arrest records is the LOCAL Sheriff's Office, while state arrest records can be obtained from the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections (DAC).

Are Arrest Records Public in Houston County?

Yes. Under the North Carolina Public Records Law (Chapter 132, North Carolina General Statutes), arrest records are public in Houston County and are available to the public upon request. Requesters can contact the record custodian in charge of the record and access the records as long as they are public. Not all records are public. Some of the records that are exempt from unauthorized public access are protected to maintain public privacy and follow legal exemptions. Examples of these records include the following:

• Information related to ongoing investigations.
• Confidential communications (As defined in G.S. 132-1.7.)
• Attorney-client communications
• Security information
• Proprietary information or code
• Arrest records of minors
• Information on employee matters
• Expunged or sealed records

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Information typically found in a publicly available arrest record includes:

• The signature of the judge
• Name of the issuing court
• Name of the arresting officer
• full name of the arrestee and personal identifying information (date of birth, gender, race)
• arrestee fingerprints
• Arrestee mugshot
• Arrestee's previous arrest history of criminal offenses and indictments

Houston County Arrest Statistics

According to the FBI's Crime Data Explorer 2023 arrest report, the Houston County Sheriff's Office reported 413 arrests. The most popular offense categories include:

1. All Other Offenses - 222 arrests
2. Drug/Narcotic Offenses - 114 arrests
3. Offenses Against the Family and Children - 14 arrests
4. Aggravated Assault - 11 arrests
5. Weapon Law Violations - 11 arrests

Find Houston County Arrest Records

As Houston County arrest records are public records, there are several state and federal resources to find inmate information in Houston County. Interested individuals can utilize the following resources:

• Houston County Sheriff's Office: The Sheriff's Office is the main law enforcement and peacekeeping agency in the county. Interested persons can contact them or visit their office in person to obtain information on inmates. The Sheriff's office also provides an interactive mobile application through which individuals can look up inmate information.
• The North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections operates several Criminal Offender search tools, allowing individuals to find inmate information for people incarcerated in North Carolina. Searches can be completed using the offender's name or ID on these platforms.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP): The FBI's Find an inmate tool allows individuals to find information on federal inmates either by number or by name. The number search can be conducted using the BOP Register, DCDC, FBI, or INS number.

Free Arrest Record Search in Houston County

The Houston County Sheriff's Office provides a free interactive mobile application for conducting a free arrest record search in Houston County. State inmate information is also available for free through the Criminal Offender Search tool run by the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections. For a more user-friendly and faster search experience and to supplement these state-owned resources, an individual can also obtain arrest records for free using a third-party resource.

These third-party websites are non-government affiliated websites that aggregate different public records from different counties and states into a single resource. Using keywords like the offender's name, they allow a basic search of their website, usually for free. Although they can speed up search time, records from third-party resources may not be as accurate as records from official government record custodians. Some third-party websites may also require a subscription or payment of a flat fee for more detailed access to the arrest record.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Forever. Arrest records are typically permanent in North Carolina and will remain public unless they are expunged. The G.S. 15A-145.5 governs the expunction process and allows the removal of an arrest from a person's criminal history as long as the charge is eligible for expunction. As arrest records have no fixed period of validity, they can be accessed at any time through a background search, thereby impacting employment, housing, and licensing chances for the arrestee.

Expunge Houston County Arrest Records

Expunction is a legal process of sealing or destroying public and state access to a person's arrest record. The G.S. 15A-150 mandates that all government agencies that receive an expunction order remove it from their records unless otherwise exempted by law. After a person's arrest record is expunged, they can legally deny the existence of the charge and will not be found guilty of perjury. Not all records can be expunged. Per Chapter 15A - Article 5, the conditions for expunction listed in the expunction laws include the following:

• Charges were dismissed or ended in a "not guilty" verdict
• The arrestee was not previously convicted of any felony
• The offense was committed before the arrestee turned 18 years old
• The offense was committed before the person attained the age of 21 years (for misdemeanor alcohol possession)
• The petition is filed two years after the date of the conviction
• The period of probation has been completed
• Arrestee receives a Pardon of Innocence from the Governor

The process of expunging a record differs per charge. The general steps for expunction are listed as follows:

• Obtain a complete copy of the arrest record from the record custodian
• Determine the eligibility of the offense for expunction
• Collect the appropriate expunction form and file a petition for expunction at the court with jurisdiction over the arrest.
• Attend a hearing if necessary to further plead for the expunction
• Payment of a $175 filing fee may be required, depending on the grounds for expunction that the charge satisfies.

If the expunction is granted, the record will be removed from public access, but according to G.S. 15A-151, the Administrative Office of the Courts maintains an arrest file and makes it available to agencies exempted from the expunction limitation.

Houston County Arrest Warrants

Houston arrest warrants are documents that give law enforcement officers the legal right to take a person into custody. Warrants have judicial oversight, so they are issued by a judge when a law enforcement officer presents a sworn statement (affidavit) establishing probable cause that an individual committed a crime. Arrest warrants can also be issued when a person fails to honor a court summons or when they break parole or probation.

According to G.S. 15A-304, an arrest warrant typically contains the following information:

• Statement of the crime
• The issuing judicial authority
• Order of arrest
• Issue date of the warrant
• Signature of the issuing judge
• Name of the individual to be arrested

Do Houston County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Arrest records in Houston County and all over North Carolina generally do not expire. Arrest warrants have indefinite validity, which means that they will remain active until they are executed or quashed by the issuing authority. No matter how much time has passed, a person with an outstanding warrant can be arrested at any time. The execution of an arrest warrant may be affected if the executing law enforcement agency has limited resources or if new developments in the case cause the judge to suspend, invalidate, or recall the warrant.