Search Houston County 72 Hour Booking Records

Houston County 72 hour booking records are managed by the Houston County Sheriff's Office, based at 202 Carl Vinson Pkwy in Warner Robins. This is one of the more populated counties in middle Georgia, and the sheriff's office handles a steady volume of arrests from both Perry and Warner Robins.

Houston County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Matt Moulton leads the Houston County Sheriff's Office. The main office sits at 202 Carl Vinson Pkwy, Warner Robins, GA 31088. The phone number is 478-542-2125. Call this line for booking questions, bond info, or to find out if someone is in the Houston County jail. Staff answer calls during business hours and dispatch can help after hours with basic custody questions.

Houston County covers a wide area in central Georgia. Warner Robins is the largest city, and it sits right in the middle of the county. Perry is the county seat, but the sheriff's office is based in Warner Robins because that is where most of the population lives. The county jail processes all arrests, including those made by Warner Robins Police, Perry Police, Centerville Police, and the sheriff's deputies. No matter which agency made the arrest, the booking goes through the same system.

There is no public online inmate search for Houston County at this time. To check on a booking, you need to call the office or visit in person. The staff can tell you the person's name, charges, bond amount, and booking date. If you are looking for someone who was just arrested, give the jail a few hours to finish the intake process before calling. Busy nights take longer.

Robins Air Force Base is in Houston County. That matters because some incidents on base are handled by federal law enforcement, not the county sheriff. If someone was arrested on the base, the Houston County jail would not have them. Check with the base security forces office instead.

72 Hour Booking Rules in Houston County

Georgia law sets clear deadlines for what happens after arrest. O.C.G.A. § 17-4-26 says a person arrested with a warrant must go before a judge within 72 hours. That is where the term "72 hour booking" comes from. The time starts at the moment of arrest.

Warrantless arrests have a shorter deadline. O.C.G.A. § 17-4-62 says those people need a probable cause hearing within 48 hours. In Houston County, warrantless arrests are common. They happen during traffic stops, domestic calls, and other situations where deputies act on what they see. The 48 hour rule keeps the process moving fast.

The Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) page provides more details on how criminal records work in the state:

GCIC background checks pull data from every county in Georgia, including Houston County.

First appearance hearings take place at the Houston County courthouse in Perry. A judge reads the charges and sets bond at this point. Bond schedules exist for many common charges, which speeds things up. For more serious charges, the judge decides on a case by case basis. The 72 hour window applies even on weekends. If someone is arrested on a Saturday night, the court will hold a hearing by Tuesday at the latest. Houston County handles a good number of arrests each week, so the court stays on top of this schedule.

Houston County 72 Hour Booking Records and Open Records

Booking records in Houston County are public under Georgia law. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 is the Open Records Act. It gives any person the right to request government records, and booking data falls under that category. You do not need to say why you want the records. The sheriff's office has three business days to respond once you make a written request.

To get a copy of a Houston County booking record, call 478-542-2125 or visit the office in Warner Robins. You can ask for arrest reports, charge sheets, and booking details. The office may charge for copies. Quick questions about who is in jail right now can usually be answered over the phone.

O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19 covers booking photos. Georgia law says law enforcement agencies cannot release booking photos to anyone who plans to put them on a website or in a publication that charges to take them down. This rule was aimed at so-called mugshot sites. The photo is still part of the arrest file. If you file an open records request and your purpose does not violate the law, the sheriff's office can release it.

State Resources for Houston County Bookings

The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search covers anyone who has been convicted and sent to state prison. If a Houston County arrest led to a state sentence, use this tool to find the person's current facility, sentence length, and release date. The search is free.

The VINE notification system is another helpful tool. VINE lets you register for updates about a specific inmate. You will get a call, text, or email when the person is released, moved, or has a court date. The number for VINE is 833-216-6670. It covers Houston County and most other Georgia counties. This is the best way to track a case without calling the jail over and over.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association directory shows contact info for every sheriff in the state:

Use this directory to confirm the phone number and address for the Houston County Sheriff's Office or to look up any neighboring county.

The GCIC through the GBI handles statewide criminal history checks. You can call 404-244-2639. A GCIC background check pulls arrest and conviction records from all Georgia counties, giving a broader view of someone's record beyond just Houston County.

72 Hour Booking Record Restriction in Houston County

Georgia law allows some arrest records to be restricted after a case is resolved. O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 is the statute that governs this. If charges are dismissed, dropped, or the person is acquitted, they can ask to have the booking record restricted. Once restricted, it will not appear on most standard background checks. The record does not go away entirely, but public access gets cut off.

O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60 is the First Offender Act. A judge can use it to sentence a person with no prior felony convictions as a first offender. If they complete the sentence without problems, the conviction is sealed. That means a Houston County booking that ended with a first offender sentence may not show up in a later records search. This is worth knowing if you search for someone and find nothing. It might mean their record was restricted, not that they were never arrested.

To start the restriction process in Houston County, contact the Clerk of Superior Court in Perry. You will need to fill out the right forms and pay a filing fee. It takes time for the restriction to work its way through all state databases.

Cities in Houston County

Houston County includes Warner Robins, the second largest city in the area. All arrests in these cities go through the Houston County jail for booking and processing.

Other cities in Houston County include Perry, Centerville, and Bonaire. Arrests in those areas also go through the Houston County booking system.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Houston County. If the person you are looking for was not booked here, try the neighboring county sheriff's offices. Arrests near county lines can sometimes end up in the wrong search.