Costilla County Busted Mugshots

Costilla County busted mugshots and arrest records are managed by the Costilla County Sheriff's Office, based in San Luis, Colorado. San Luis is the oldest town in Colorado, and Costilla County sits along the state's southern border with New Mexico. The sheriff is the sole law enforcement agency handling bookings in the county. Arrest records here are public under Colorado law, and this page covers how to find Costilla County mugshots, where to look for booking data, and what statewide resources work when local online tools are not available.

Costilla County Sheriff Booking Records

The Costilla County Sheriff's Office handles all arrests and bookings in the county. It is a small department serving one of the least populated counties in Colorado. When someone is arrested in Costilla County, the sheriff records their name, charges, and personal information. A booking photo is taken during intake. That mugshot goes into the arrest file and becomes a public record under state law.

Costilla County is extremely rural. The population is under 4,000 people spread across more than 1,200 square miles. Because the county is so small, the jail has very limited capacity. Inmates who need longer-term housing are often transferred to nearby Alamosa County or other San Luis Valley facilities with more space. If you search for someone arrested in Costilla County and they are not in the local system, check with Alamosa County's jail next. The arrest record stays with Costilla County even when the person is held somewhere else. The transfer only affects where the inmate is physically located, not who owns the booking record.

Note: Costilla County frequently transfers inmates to larger nearby facilities due to limited jail space.

Costilla County Mugshot Lookup

Costilla County does not maintain a public online inmate roster or booking search tool. This is common for very small counties in Colorado. The resources to build and run those systems are not always there. That said, the records themselves still exist and are accessible. You just have to use a different approach than you would with a bigger county that has an online jail roster.

For a direct search, call the Costilla County Sheriff's Office in San Luis. Ask about current inmates or recent bookings. They can tell you if someone is in custody and provide basic booking information. For a more thorough search, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation runs a statewide background check system. You can use the CBI records check for $6.85 to pull criminal history from all Colorado counties, including Costilla County. The results include arrest details and case outcomes but not booking photos. If you need the actual mugshot, request it separately from the Costilla County Sheriff after you confirm the arrest exists in the CBI system.

The CBI records check portal at cbirecordscheck.com lets you search for Costilla County arrest records through the state database.

Use this tool to find Costilla County arrest history and criminal records statewide.

Accessing Costilla County Arrest Records

The Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act governs access to arrest records in Costilla County and across the state. Under the CCJRA, records of official action are public. Arrests, charges, indictments, and case outcomes all qualify. You do not need a reason to ask for them. The Costilla County Sheriff must respond to your request within three business days. The first hour of research time is free. After that, the agency may charge up to $41.37 per hour, plus $0.25 per page for copies.

Put your request in writing for the best results. Include the person's full name and date of arrest if you have it. Mail it or deliver it in person to the Costilla County Sheriff's Office in San Luis. You can also try by phone, though written requests create a paper trail that helps if there is a dispute about whether the agency responded on time. For court records related to a Costilla County arrest, contact the 12th Judicial District Court. The 12th District covers Costilla County along with Alamosa, Conejos, Mineral, Rio Grande, and Saguache counties. Court files are separate from the sheriff's booking records but may have more detail about charges, pleas, and sentencing.

Colorado's Open Records Act, called CORA, gives you rights beyond the CCJRA. The Attorney General's CORA page lays out the full process for requesting public documents from Costilla County or any other agency in Colorado.

Review your rights under CORA if a Costilla County agency delays or denies your records request.

State Tools for Costilla County Searches

Several Colorado state databases help fill the gap when small counties like Costilla do not have their own online search tools. The Department of Corrections offender search at doc.state.co.us shows anyone serving time in the state prison system. If someone was arrested in Costilla County and got a prison sentence, they will show up in that search. It is free and works by name or DOC number.

VINE is another free option. This victim notification system tracks inmates across all Colorado counties. You can register at vinelink.com to receive alerts when someone's custody status changes in Costilla County. VINE sends notifications by phone, email, or text. It covers releases, transfers, and escapes. The service is available 24 hours a day. Anyone can sign up, not just crime victims. If you need to know the moment someone leaves Costilla County custody, VINE is the tool for that.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is the central hub for criminal records at the state level.

Start at CBI for statewide background checks that include Costilla County arrest data.

Sealing Costilla County Records

People with arrest records in Costilla County can petition to have them sealed under Colorado law. The statute is C.R.S. 24-72-703. Sealed records do not appear in public searches. The filing fee is $224, and courts can waive it for people who cannot afford it. You file the petition with the court that handled the case, which for Costilla County is the 12th Judicial District Court. If the petition is granted, the Costilla County mugshot and arrest record get removed from public view.

Automatic sealing applies in some cases. When charges are never filed after a Costilla County arrest, CBI may seal those records on its own after one year. This rule covers arrests from January 1, 2022 forward. Certain drug convictions also qualify for automatic sealing under C.R.S. 24-72-710 once enough time passes. The sealing does not erase anything. Law enforcement keeps full access to the sealed files. Only the public side gets blocked. If you think your Costilla County arrest record qualifies, reach out to a lawyer or the district court for guidance on the next steps.

Booking Process in Costilla County

The booking process in Costilla County follows the same basic steps as any Colorado county. After an arrest, the person is brought to the sheriff's facility in San Luis. Staff take their personal information, photograph them, and record the charges. Fingerprints are collected and sent to CBI's statewide database. The whole thing usually takes a couple of hours depending on how busy the facility is. In a county this small, waits are typically short.

Once booked, the person either posts bond or stays in custody until their court date. Bond amounts depend on the charges. A judge sets bond at the first hearing. For minor offenses, people sometimes bond out the same day. For more serious charges, it can take longer. The Costilla County Sheriff holds the booking record from that point forward. If you want a copy of the mugshot or the arrest details, that is who you contact. Court documents go through the 12th Judicial District, but the booking record itself stays with the sheriff's office in San Luis.

Note: Fingerprint data from Costilla County bookings is submitted to CBI and becomes part of the state criminal database.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Costilla County in southern Colorado. If you are not sure which county handled an arrest, check the booking location on the record.