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 4, 2026.
Lewis County, West Virginia, has about 16,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Lewis County Sheriff's Office, one city agency 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 Lewis 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: Lewis County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Lewis County
The Lewis County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Lewis County. It reported 76 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year.
One city in Lewis County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Weston, 3,758 residents: 14 arrests reported for 2025.
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 Lewis County: Mountain Lakes Drug and Violent Crime Unit (other); the State Fire Marshal in Lewis County and the Department of Natural Resources in Lewis County (state agency); the Weston State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Lewis County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- Lewis County Sheriff's Office: 76 for 2024, 54 for 2023, 87 for 2022, 77 for 2021, 118 for 2020 and 135 for 2019.
- Weston: 14 for 2025, 26 for 2024, 27 for 2023, 38 for 2021, 34 for 2020 and 42 for 2019; 2022 is missing months.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 102 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 102 in 2024 against 81 in 2023, up 26 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Lewis 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 Lewis County goes to the regional jail that serves Lewis County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 58 people, down from about 61 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 55 beds, and it ran at 110 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lewis County Sheriff's Office at lewiscountywv.org/shindex.html (page title: Lewis County Sheriff's Office), phone 304-269-8251, 117 Court Avenue Weston, WV 26452, a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
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 Lewis County
For Lewis County the place to look is the case index of the Lewis County Circuit Court, kept by the Circuit Clerk, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at mcrsearch.courtswv.gov/Inquiry/CaseDetail (page title: Magistrate Case Record Search), belongs to a lower court, not to the Lewis County Circuit Court.
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 Lewis 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 Lewis County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 304-269-8251.
- An arrest in Weston: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Mountain Lakes Drug and Violent Crime Unit, the State Fire Marshal in Lewis County or the Department of Natural Resources in Lewis County: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: in the Lewis County Circuit Court it is kept by the Circuit Clerk. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county, at mcrsearch.courtswv.gov/Inquiry/CaseDetail, is a lower court's.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Lewis County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the two cities in Lewis County: Weston. Jane Lew has 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 Lewis County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Lewis County each year?
The Lewis County Sheriff's Office reported 76 arrests to the FBI for 2024, and the two agencies with every month of 2024 on file reported 102 between them.
Where are people arrested in Lewis County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Lewis County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Lewis County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Lewis 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 Lewis County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Lewis 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.
Is this the official Lewis 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.