Lea County Arrest Records

An arrest record means notations of the arrest, detention, filing of information, or other formal criminal charge against an individual made by a law enforcement agency (N.M. Stat. § 29-10-3). These are records of identification of a person under arrest or investigation for a crime taken or gathered by an official. However, note that an arrest only happens when the officer has enough reasonable suspicion that a person did commit a crime.

After an arrest, the defendant is taken to the Lea County Detention Center, which houses both adult and juvenile accused offenders in the county. The officer starts the booking process by searching all personal belongings for drugs and weapons while taking a record of each item. The defendant is required to provide fingerprints during the process while law enforcement does a background check for outstanding warrants in other jurisdictions. Depending on the information on the offense, the judge may decide whether the defendant is set free with no conditions, released on bail, or held in jail until the next preliminary hearing.

The Lea County Sheriff's Office gathers information on law enforcement activities within the county, including details of all arrests they control within its jurisdiction. Individuals may access county-wide records such as Lea County Court Records, which include Lea County arrest records, police reports, and traffic incidents.

Are Arrest Records Public in Lea County?

Yes. The Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) is a New Mexico state law that provides the public access to most public records, including arrest records. According to the New Mexico Arrest Record Information Act (§29-10-6 NMSA 1978), an individual may inspect, in person, through counsel or an authorized agent, arrest record information maintained by a law enforcement agency. However, note that not all records are open to the public for use.

For example, access to arrest records of individuals accused but not charged with a crime and arrest record information that reveals private sources or methods are typically restricted (NM Stat § 29-10-4). Confidential arrest records may include documents that contain personal details of parties involved, juvenile records (N.M. Stat. § 32A-2-32), information from ongoing investigations, or documents showing a person's social security number or employer identification number.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

A public arrest record in New Mexico contains the following information:

• Personal information (subject's full name, date of birth, address, sex)
• Biometric information (subject's photograph, fingerprint impressions, and palm print impressions)
• Arrestee’s physical description (subject’s size, height, skin and eye color)
• Arrest details (arresting date, time, location, officer in charge, bail bond amount)
• Type of offense, code, and description.

Lea County Arrest Statistics

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through Uniform Crime Reporting, provides a 2019 report on arrests that take place in New Mexico at nonmetropolitan county levels, which include Lea County. From the report, the state recorded a total of 475,041 arrests from all ages, 18,986 from under 18 years of age, and 456,055 from 18 years of age and above. The most prevalent arrests for all ages were for offenses like driving under the influence (77,972), drug abuse violations (74,004), and all other offenses except traffic (188,274).

Find Lea County Arrest Records

Individuals can access Lea County Arrest records by visiting the Lea County Sheriff's office in person to make a request.

Lea County Sheriff Office
1417 S Commercial Street
Lovington, NM 88260
Phone: (575) 396-3611
Working Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
(Monday to Friday - No weekends)

The New Mexico State Central Repository for Criminal History through the New Mexico Department of Public Safety makes arrest record information on persons arrested for felony, misdemeanor, and DWI offenses accessible to the public in New Mexico. This information is based on fingerprint cards taken at the time of arrest, which serve as the source document for criminal history and are submitted to this State Repository by the arresting agency. The completeness and accuracy of this information are dependent on the contributing agencies.

To obtain arrest record information, the requester may submit a legible, complete, and notarized Department of Public Safety (DPS) Authorization for Release of Information form to the agency for processing. The processing fee is $15.00 per record check in the form of a money order or cashier’s check made payable to: “New Mexico Department of Public Safety”. NMDPS should receive the authorization form with the original signature and proper payment before all adult arrest records are released.

All requests can be sent by mail to:

Department of Public Safety
P.O. Box 1628
Santa Fe, NM 87504-1628
ATTN: Records.

Free Arrest Record Search in Lea County

Individuals can search for Lea County arrest records for free through the Lea County Sheriff's Department and third-party service providers. The Sheriff's/ Police Department keeps charge of a Lea County Detainee Roster from the Detention Center, which provides information on persons arrested in the county. To inspect arrest information from Lea County Detention Center, the individual may send a written request to:

Monica Russell, Public Information Officer
100 N. Main Avenue
Suite 4 Lovington, NM 88260
E-mail: mrussell@leacounty.net
Phone: (575) 396-9110
Fax: (575) 396-2093

Individuals can also access third-party websites to search Lea County arrest records for free. These websites work on their own and usually gather information from the official websites of law enforcement agencies in the county that distribute arrest information online. The requester may need to provide basic information such as a subject's full name, state/county, and date of birth to use these online sites. However, note that search results from these third-party websites are usually not accurate and complete for official use within the state.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

The length of the waiting period depends on the nature of the record. According to Section 4 of the New Mexico Legislature, an arrest without conviction will stay on a record one year from the date of the final disposition in the case. Generally, if a person is convicted of a crime in New Mexico, the details of this criminal conviction will remain on the record for life.

Expunge Lea County Arrest Records

In Lea County, expungement means the removal from access to the general public of a notation of an arrest, complaint, indictment, information, plea of guilty, conviction, acquittal, dismissal or discharge records, including a record posted on a publicly accessible court, corrections or law enforcement website. According to a new Criminal Records Expungement Act (Sections 29-3A-1 through 29-3A-7 NMSA 1978), a qualifying individual can petition a court for the expungement of several criminal and related public records. Following this law, Expungement of Arrest Records and Related Public Records (Rule 10.2.2 NMAC) also took effect.

To request expungement of records related to a criminal conviction of a violation of a municipal ordinance, misdemeanor or felony, the petitioner should meet the following requirements:

• Completed the sentence and paid any fines or fees owed to the state for the conviction
• Proven that no other charges or proceedings are pending and that justice will be served by an order to expunge
• Proven that victim restitution from the court in connection with the conviction is fulfilled.

The New Mexico Courts website has forms and instructions that a petitioner may download depending on the type of case to be expunged. To prepare a petition for expungement and proof of eligibility, provide the following information alongside the petition form:

• Records related to the charge that are to be expunged. These records should provide information such as the date of your arrest, arrest number, case number, type of charge, name of the offense, and the date of final disposition, verdict, or sentence.
• Records related to any sentence received for the charge to be expunged including the length of sentence, terms of probation and parole, any fees or fines ordered, documents detailing the date the sentence was completed, including completion of any term of probation or parole.
• The petitioner may need to provide records of any other convictions, sentences, or pending charges from other counties in New Mexico or other states including any pending charges (municipal ordinance violations, misdemeanors, or felonies).

Complete and sign the appropriate forms for expungement associated with a criminal conviction, including the Petition to Expunge Arrest Records and Public Records upon conviction or release without conviction. Submit the petition, the associated records, and the Order on the Petition to Expunge along with the self-addressed, stamped envelope to the district court where the arrest took place. Note that a fee of $132.00 should be paid in cash, cashier's check, or money order to the County Court Clerk. Also, provide copies of the petition and attachments to interested agencies

Once the petition has been filed make copies of the file-stamped petition and send them to the parties entitled to notice via certified mail. The court will review the petition and supporting documents and set a hearing. Notice of the hearing will be sent to the petitioner using the envelope earlier sent to the court.

Lea County Arrest Warrants

Lea County Arrest warrants in New Mexico authorize the arrest of a person alleged to have violated the law. According to Rule 5-208 NMRA, the court may issue a warrant for arrest upon a sworn written statement of the facts showing probable cause for issuance of the warrant. The showing of probable cause should be based on evidence, which may be hearsay in whole or in part, provided there is a reason for believing the source of the hearsay is credible and for believing that there is a solid basis for the information provided.

Before making a request for a warrant, the court may require the testifier to appear in person and may examine under oath the testifier and any witnesses the testifier may produce, provided that additional evidence is supported by an oath. A typical arrest warrant contains the defendant's name or a physical description of the subject if the name is unknown, the charged offense, and a command to arrest and bring the subject before the court.

Do Lea County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. Lea County arrest warrants in New Mexico do not have an exact expiration date. Once an arrest warrant is issued and executed, the officer may arrest the person on the warrant. Therefore, if an arrest is not made, the warrant remains outstanding and the defendant will remain subject to the consequences of having a warrant until they turn themselves in.