Access Lee County 72 Hour Booking Records

Lee County 72 hour booking records are maintained by the Lee County Sheriff's Office in Leesburg. There is no online inmate lookup, so contacting the office directly is the way to check on recent arrests and bookings.

Lee County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Reggie Rachals heads the Lee County Sheriff's Office. The office is at 119 Pinewood Rd, Leesburg, GA 31763. Call them at 229-759-6052. This is the number to use for booking info, arrest questions, and checking on someone who might be in custody. The staff can tell you a person's charges, bond amount, and when they were booked.

Lee County does not offer an online inmate search. You have to call or go in person. That is the standard for many southwest Georgia counties. The front desk can pull up current inmates and answer questions during business hours. After hours, dispatch handles the line and can help with basic custody checks.

Lee County sits just south of Albany in the Dougherty County area. A lot of people in Leesburg commute to Albany for work, and the two counties share a border. Arrests in Lee County go through the sheriff's office regardless of which agency made the stop. Deputies, Leesburg police, and state troopers all book arrestees at the same Lee County jail.

The county has grown over the past couple of decades as people have moved south from Albany. That means the jail sees a moderate volume of bookings. It is not as busy as Dougherty County next door, but it is not quiet either. Drug arrests, warrant service, and traffic-related cases make up a good chunk of the bookings in Lee County.

How the 72 Hour Booking Rule Applies in Lee County

Under O.C.G.A. § 17-4-26, anyone arrested on a warrant must appear before a judge within 72 hours. That is where the "72 hour booking" idea comes from. The timer starts at the time of arrest. It does not pause on weekends or holidays.

Warrantless arrests have an even tighter limit. O.C.G.A. § 17-4-62 says the hearing must happen within 48 hours when there is no warrant. This applies to on-the-spot arrests during traffic stops, fights, or other situations where a deputy acts without a warrant in hand. Lee County deputies handle these types of arrests regularly.

First appearance hearings in Lee County happen at the courthouse in Leesburg. The judge explains the charges, sets bail, and gives the person information about their case. If an arrest falls on a Friday evening, the hearing might get pushed to Monday. The 72 hour window does not stop for weekends, though. Lee County judges schedule hearings as needed to stay within the law.

Missing the deadline can result in the person asking for release. This does not happen often in Lee County. The jail and courthouse are both in Leesburg, which keeps the process moving without a lot of delays. But it is a right that exists under Georgia law, and the courts here are aware of it.

Lee County 72 Hour Booking Records and Public Access

Booking records in Lee County are public. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 is the Georgia Open Records Act. It gives everyone the right to ask for government records, and booking data is included. No reason is needed to make the request. The sheriff's office must respond within three business days.

You can call 229-759-6052 or stop by the office in Leesburg. Ask for copies of arrest reports, booking sheets, or charge details. There may be a small copy fee. For simple questions about who is in custody right now, a phone call is usually enough.

Booking photos have special rules. O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19 prevents law enforcement from releasing booking photos to anyone who would post them on a website that charges fees for removal. The law was aimed at mugshot extortion sites. The photo remains part of the public record, though. If you file an open records request and your purpose does not trigger that restriction, the sheriff's office can release it to you.

For cases that moved past the local level, the Georgia Department of Corrections offender search covers people who were convicted and sent to state prison from Lee County.

The GDC search is free and shows current facility, sentence length, and release dates. It will not cover someone still at the Lee County jail awaiting trial.

State Resources for Lee County Bookings

The Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) handles statewide criminal history checks. It is run by the GBI, and you can call 404-244-2639 to learn about ordering a background check. GCIC records include all arrests and convictions across Georgia, so you get more than just Lee County activity.

The VINE notification system works for Lee County. Sign up and you will get alerts when an inmate is released, moved, or has a court date. It is free. You can choose phone, text, or email alerts. The VINE phone line is 833-216-6670. This is a solid option if you want to track a case without calling the jail every day.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association has a directory of every sheriff in the state. Use it to find contact details for Sheriff Rachals' office or to check a neighboring county if you are not sure where an arrest was booked.

With VINE, the GDC search, and GCIC, you can follow a Lee County arrest from the first 72 hours through the courts and sentencing.

72 Hour Booking Record Restriction in Lee County

Georgia lets people restrict their arrest records when a case ends favorably. O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 governs this process. If charges were dropped, dismissed, or ended in acquittal, the person can petition to restrict the record. Once restricted, the booking record will not appear on most background checks. It still exists in the system but is only visible to law enforcement and a few other authorized parties.

The First Offender Act under O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60 is another option. A judge can sentence someone as a first offender if they have no prior felony convictions. If the person finishes the sentence without any violations, the conviction is sealed. A Lee County booking that ended with a first offender sentence may not show up on a standard records search after that.

To get records restricted in Lee County, start with the court that handled the case. The clerk's office at the Lee County courthouse in Leesburg can help with the right forms and tell you the filing fees. It takes a few weeks for the restriction to process through all state databases. Keep in mind that certain employers and licensing boards can still access restricted records, but the general public will not see them.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Lee County in southwest Georgia. If you are not sure where an arrest was processed, check the neighboring county sheriff's offices. The Albany metro area spans parts of Lee and Dougherty counties, so arrests near the line can end up in either one.