Lake County Booking Report Search

Lake County booking reports are managed by the sheriff's office in Leadville, the highest incorporated city in the United States at over 10,000 feet. Lake County is one of Colorado's smallest counties by land area, covering just 384 square miles in the central mountains. The sheriff's office handles all arrests and bookings for the county and keeps the records on file. There is no online inmate search for Lake County, so getting booking data means a call to the sheriff or a written request. Statewide tools from CBI and VINE offer additional ways to find booking records from this county.

Lake County Sheriff Arrest Records

The Lake County Sheriff's Office is at 505 Harrison Avenue in Leadville. Call 719-486-1249 to reach the department. The sheriff runs the county jail and processes every booking. Leadville is really the only town of any size in the county. The Leadville Police Department handles calls within city limits, but all booking still goes through the county sheriff's facility. If someone is arrested by Leadville police, the booking report is held at the county level.

Lake County sees a mix of local arrests and cases tied to recreation and tourism. Ski Cooper, the Leadville 100 ultramarathon, and summer visitors all add to the population at various times of year. Highway 24 and the approaches to I-70 bring through-traffic as well. The jail is small, as you would expect for a county of this size. Longer-term holds often result in transfers to a larger facility in a neighboring county. But the booking report stays with Lake County.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office website provides contact information and general department details.

How to Request Lake County Records

The quickest way to get booking data from Lake County is to call 719-486-1249. Give the name and a date range. The records staff can check while you wait. You can also walk in to the Harrison Avenue office during business hours. For a formal copy of the booking report, submit a written records request under the CCJRA.

Colorado's Criminal Justice Records Act at C.R.S. § 24-72-301 says booking reports are open to public inspection. Under C.R.S. § 24-72-302, the record must include the name of the person arrested, the charges, the arresting agency, and the date and place of arrest. The Lake County Sheriff has 3 business days to respond. The first hour of research is free. Additional time costs up to $41.37 per hour. Paper copies are $0.25 per page.

You must sign a statement that you will not use the records for direct business solicitation for monetary gain. All CCJRA requests in Colorado require this.

Note: For a single booking report, the entire process should fall within the free first hour of research time.

Colorado Statewide Databases

The CDOC offender search shown below covers people sentenced to Colorado state prisons. If a Lake County arrest led to a prison sentence, you can find the person in this database.

The CDOC offender search does not cover people held in county jails. It only includes state prison inmates.

For a broader criminal history search, the CBI check at $6.85 covers all 64 Colorado counties. Lake County booking records get reported to CBI by the sheriff's office. New bookings may take a few days to show up, but older records should already be in the system. The CBI search shows charges, case dispositions, and which agencies were involved in the arrest. VINE is a free tool that lets you track inmate custody status. Search by name and register for alerts about releases or transfers. The toll-free VINE number is 1-888-263-8463. VINE works for most county jails in Colorado, Lake County included.

Lake County Booking Photos and Sealed Records

Booking photos taken at the Lake County jail are public records. Request them through the sheriff's office like any other part of the booking report. Colorado law under C.R.S. § 24-72-305.5 prohibits publishing booking photos online and charging for removal. That carries misdemeanor penalties and fines up to $1,000.

Sealed records cannot be accessed by the public. Colorado courts can seal arrest records under specific conditions. The CBI also seals records automatically when no charges are filed within a certain period. If a Lake County booking has been sealed, neither the sheriff nor CBI will release it. The seal covers the entire booking record, including the photo. If you believe a record is being wrongly withheld, you can pursue a legal challenge or contact the Colorado Attorney General's office for help understanding the process.

Nearby Counties

Lake County is surrounded by mountain counties in central Colorado. Each one has its own sheriff and booking system. The county where the arrest took place is the one that holds the booking report.