Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Otero County, Colorado, has about 18,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In Colorado the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the clerk of the combined court; the statewide criminal history kept by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is open to anyone who asks. This guide says where each record of a criminal case from Otero County is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, the crimes behind the records, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: Otero County public records, Otero County arrest records, Otero County warrants, Otero County inmate search, Otero County court records, Colorado arrest records and Colorado inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Otero County District Court
A criminal case from Otero County is filed in the Otero County District Court or the County Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases up to $25,000, and the court file, kept by the clerk of the combined court, is the record of it that the public may see.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at coloradojudicial.gov/courts/trial-courts/otero-county (page title: Otero County | Colorado Judicial Branch), phone (719) 383-7152, 13 West Third St. Room 207 La Junta, CO 81050, Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Colorado has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The Colorado Criminal History and Your Own Copy
Colorado is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the state runs an online name-based criminal history check open to the public, through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The result is the repository record, what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
To see your own record, the route is a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The state page SearchSystems verified for it is at cbi.colorado.gov/records-background-checks/internet-criminal-histor....
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Otero County
The Otero County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for La Junta, Rocky Ford, Fowler and Manzanola keep the arrest records in Otero County: the report and the booking record of each arrest stay with the agency that made it, separate from the court file and from the state repository.
Together, the three agencies in Otero County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,490 arrests to the FBI that year; how each case ended is in the court file, not in the arresting agency's.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Otero County arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Otero County in 2024
The three agencies in Otero County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 50 violent and 625 property crimes to the FBI that year; the same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 675 crimes in 2024 against 572 in 2023. Each reported crime is a report on file with the agency that took it, and each arrest that follows is the start of a criminal record.
The full crime section, agency by agency, is on the Otero County public records guide.
The Sex Offender Registry for Otero County
Registered sex offenders living in Otero County are listed on the Colorado Sex Offender Registry, run by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at apps.colorado.gov/apps/dps/sor. Only sexually violent predators, multiple offenders and adults convicted of felony sex offenses appear on the statewide site; local police and sheriffs hold the full list.
Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department.
Asking an Agency in Otero County for a Record
An arrest report, a booking record or a local criminal history letter comes from the agency that holds it, not from the court.
Under the Colorado Open Records Act a county office must answer a request within 3 working days, extendable to 7 when there are extenuating circumstances, and it may charge research and retrieval time after the first hour, plus copying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Otero County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation: the state runs an online name-based criminal history check open to the public. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Colorado Open Records Act.
Can I search Otero County criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at coloradojudicial.gov (page title: Otero County | Colorado Judicial Branch).
How do I get my own Colorado criminal history?
Through a name-based or fingerprint-based request to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Is this the official Otero County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.