Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Fayette County, West Virginia, has about 39,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, six city agencies and four campus, state or other agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the regional jail, and, if the Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Fayette County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Fayette County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Fayette County
The Fayette County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Fayette County. It reported 190 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside six of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Oak Hill, 7,732 residents: 234 arrests reported for 2025.
- Fayetteville, 2,753 residents: 47 arrests reported for 2025.
- Ansted, 1,288 residents.
- Mount Hope, 1,252 residents.
- Montgomery, 1,198 residents: 7 arrests reported for 2025.
- Gauley Bridge, 521 residents.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Fayette County: the Gauley Bridge State Police and the Oak Hill State Police (state police); the Department of Natural Resources in Fayette County and the State Fire Marshal in Fayette County (state agency).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Fayette County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Oak Hill: 234 for 2025, 241 for 2024, 238 for 2023, 253 for 2022, 224 for 2021 and 118 for 2020.
- Fayette County Sheriff's Office: 190 for 2025, 258 for 2024, 158 for 2023, 180 for 2022, 190 for 2021 and 388 for 2020.
- Fayetteville: 47 for 2025, 98 for 2024, 45 for 2023, 130 for 2022, 137 for 2021 and 195 for 2020.
- Montgomery: 7 for 2025, 8 for 2024 and 4 for 2023.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 478 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 478 in 2025 against 605 in 2024, down 21 percent.
Through June 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 170 arrests, against 124 in the same months of 2025.
Mount Hope and Gauley Bridge reported only part of 2025 (8 months and 2 months) and are left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Fayette County Are Held
West Virginia closed its county jails in favor of regional jails run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, so a person held after an arrest in Fayette County goes to the regional jail that serves Fayette County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 86 people, down from about 100 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 77 beds, and it ran at 102 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation lists its inmates at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Fayette County
For Fayette County the place to look is the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at fayettecounty.wv.gov/prosecutor/Pages/Office%20of%20the%20Prosecuti...).
West Virginia does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the West Virginia State Police goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Fayette County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 5 business days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Fayette County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Oak Hill, Fayetteville, Ansted, Mount Hope, Montgomery or Gauley Bridge: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Gauley Bridge State Police, the Department of Natural Resources in Fayette County or the Oak Hill State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at erls.wvsos.gov (page title: West Virginia Secretary of State | Enterprise Registration & Licensing System).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Fayette County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for six of the ten cities in Fayette County: Oak Hill, Fayetteville, Ansted, Mount Hope, Montgomery and Gauley Bridge. Smithers, Meadow Bridge, Pax and Thurmond have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the regional jail and the case goes to the Fayette County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Fayette County each year?
Oak Hill reported 234 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 478 between them.
Where are people arrested in Fayette County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Fayette County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Fayette County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Fayette County Circuit Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the West Virginia State Police is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Fayette County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Fayette County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at erls.wvsos.gov.
Is this the official Fayette 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.