Find Trinity County Busted Mugshots
Trinity County busted mugshots are held by the sheriff's office in Weaverville. This is one of the least populated counties in all of California, with only about 16,000 residents spread across rugged mountain terrain. The Trinity County Sheriff handles all law enforcement in the unincorporated areas and runs the county jail. There are no city police departments in the county since Trinity has no incorporated cities. Finding arrest records here means going through the sheriff or the court system. This page explains how to search for busted mugshots in Trinity County.
Trinity County Quick Facts
Trinity County Sheriff's Office
The Trinity County Sheriff is the only law enforcement agency in the county. There are no incorporated cities in Trinity County, which makes the sheriff responsible for policing the entire area. The county government website has contact information for all departments including the sheriff. The main phone line for the sheriff is (530) 623-2611. The office is located in Weaverville.
The sheriff runs the Trinity County Jail, a small facility that handles all local bookings. When someone is arrested anywhere in Trinity County, they are brought to this jail for processing. The booking creates a mugshot along with a record of charges, bail, and personal details. Given the county's small population, the jail does not hold many inmates at any given time. Booking volumes are much lower here than in larger California counties.
Trinity County does not have an online inmate roster or jail search tool. The county's small size and limited resources mean that most record requests happen by phone or in person. Call the jail at (530) 623-2611 to ask about a current inmate. Staff can tell you if someone is in custody and what charges they are facing. For a copy of the booking photo, submit a written request under the California Public Records Act.
Requesting Booking Records
The California Public Records Act applies to all law enforcement agencies in the state, including small ones like the Trinity County Sheriff. You have the right to request booking records, which include the mugshot. Send your request to the sheriff's records division in Weaverville. Include the person's full name and an approximate date of arrest. The more details you provide, the easier it is for the staff to find the right record.
The sheriff's office must respond within 10 days under state law. For a small county like Trinity, response times can sometimes be faster since the volume of requests is lower. But staffing levels are also limited, so it depends on the workload. There may be a small copying fee for physical records. Digital copies, if available, may cost less or nothing at all.
If you are looking for records from a specific incident, you can also request the arrest report from the same office. The arrest report has more detail about what happened than the booking record alone. It includes the officer's narrative, witness information, and evidence details. Some parts of the arrest report may be redacted to protect ongoing investigations or witness safety, but the booking information itself is almost always public.
Trinity County Court Records
The Trinity County Superior Court is in Weaverville. All criminal cases filed in the county go through this court. Court records are public and contain information that booking records do not. You can find charging documents, plea information, hearing transcripts, and sentencing details in the court file. This gives you the full picture of what happened after an arrest.
A booking record shows the mugshot and the initial charges at the time of arrest. The court record shows whether the district attorney filed charges, what the defendant pleaded, and how the case ended. These are two different pieces of the same puzzle. If you need to know the outcome of a case connected to a busted mugshot in Trinity County, the court record is where you will find it.
Contact the court clerk for help accessing records. You can visit the courthouse in Weaverville or call for instructions. The clerk can provide copies of public case documents for a per-page fee. Bring a case number if you have one. Without a case number, the clerk can search by the defendant's name.
State Resources for Trinity County
The California DOJ keeps criminal history records from every county. File a CPRA request through the DOJ online request form to get state-level records. For your own record, use the Live Scan fingerprint process with form BCIA 8016RR and a $25 fee. The CDCR CIRIS search covers people in state prison. If someone from Trinity County was sentenced to state prison, their information appears in CIRIS.
State law provides protections against mugshot exploitation. SB 1027 prohibits websites from charging people to remove their booking photos. Penal Code section 13665 prevents law enforcement from posting mugshots on social media for most nonviolent offenses. These rules apply to the Trinity County Sheriff just like any other agency in California. The booking photo is still a public record, but these laws stop certain abuses.
The CDCR CIRIS tool lets you search for inmates currently in the California state prison system, including anyone from Trinity County who was transferred after sentencing.
This search covers state prison inmates only and does not include people held in county jail facilities.
Clearing Records in Trinity County
California law gives you paths to seal or clear arrest records. Penal Code section 851.87 lets you petition to seal an arrest if charges were never filed, dismissed, or the case ended in acquittal. Once sealed, the mugshot becomes inaccessible to the public. The Clean Slate Act under SB 731 automates sealing for certain arrests. Misdemeanor arrests without charges seal after one year. Felony arrests without charges seal after three years.
For convictions, expungement under Penal Code section 1203.4 is available. File your petition with Trinity County Superior Court. The court updates the record to show the conviction was dismissed. This helps with job applications and background checks. Legal aid may be available for Trinity County residents through Legal Services of Northern California, which covers rural Northern California counties. Getting help from a legal aid group is especially useful in a remote county where private attorneys may be harder to find.
Trinity County's remoteness can make the process take a bit longer. Court dates in Weaverville may have limited availability. Plan ahead if you intend to file a petition. The clerk's office can give you the current timeline for hearing dates when you file.
Law Enforcement in a Remote County
Trinity County covers over 3,200 square miles of mountainous terrain. The sheriff's department patrols a vast area with a small staff. Response times can be long for calls in the most remote parts of the county. This geographic challenge also affects records. Some arrests happen far from Weaverville, and transport to the jail can take time. Bookings may not happen as quickly as in urban areas.
Federal agencies also operate in Trinity County due to the large amount of national forest land. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have law enforcement officers in the area. Federal arrests go through the federal court system, not the county. If someone was arrested by a federal agent in Trinity County, their records would be in the federal system rather than with the county sheriff. Keep this in mind when searching for records in this part of California.
Communities in Trinity County
Trinity County has no incorporated cities. Weaverville is the largest community and serves as the county seat, but it is an unincorporated town. Other communities include Hayfork, Lewiston, and Douglas City. Since there are no cities, there are no city police departments. The sheriff handles all law enforcement for the entire county. All booking records go through the sheriff's office in Weaverville.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Trinity County. In remote mountain areas, the closest law enforcement may be from a neighboring county.