Gray County Arrest Records

Arrest records generated in Gray County, Texas, are documents detailing the arrests that have occurred within the county. As the primary law enforcement and arresting agency in Gray County, the Gray County Sheriff's Office detains offenders and generates arrest records. Offenders arrested by the county sheriff's office are primarily housed in the Pampa Correctional Facility, run by the sheriff's office.

Although requests for arrest records are typically answered by the county sheriff's office, arrest records may also be found as part of Gray County Court Records and Criminal Histories maintained by the county clerk and the Texas Department of Public Safety, respectively.

Are Arrest Records Public in Gray County?

Under the Texas Public Information Act, Gray County arrest records are considered public records that may be accessed by the general public unless specifically restricted by the act. The Act also instructs the custodians to permit the public access to records and allow them to copy the records for a reasonable fee.
Records restricted from public access by the Freedom of Information Act include the following:

• Records under attorney-client privilege
• Information that would interfere with the detection, investigation, and prosecution of a crime
• Personal information, the release of which would be an invasion of privacy
• Records that would identify undercover law enforcement or victims of a crime
• Arrest records of juveniles and minors
• Records classified as confidential under state and federal laws

Gray County Arrest Statistics

Gray County Sheriff's Office submits crime statistics for the county to the FBI database, including yearly arrest figures. According to the data found on the FBI Crime Data Explorer, the sheriff's office reported 70 arrests in 2023. This total includes a variety of figures, including 31 arrests for drug possession, eight arrests for drug sales/manufacturing, three arrests for motor vehicle theft, three arrests for simple assaults, two arrests for disorderly conduct, and one arrest each for weapons violations, liquor law violations, and DUI.

Find Gray County Arrest Records

Record seekers have several options when searching for arrest and inmate information. These include the Gray County Sheriff's Office. Information is also available from state sources such as the corrections department of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

To obtain Inmate information from the county sheriff, record seekers may visit the office at:

Gray County Sheriff's Office
218 N. Russell
Pampa, TX 79065

For more information on record availability, request procedures, and copy fees, requesters may call the sheriff's office at (806) 669-8022 before they request.

Inmate information on the state level is available from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)website. Interested parties may use the online Inmate Information Search tool. Inmate information may be looked up using criteria like names, surnames, Inmate number, gender, and race.

Interested parties may find inmate information for individuals housed in federal facilities using the Inmate Locator maintained on the Federal Bureau of Prisons(BOP) website.

Gray County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Although Gray County arrest and criminal records are legal documents detailing a person's interaction with the system, they differ in what they contain and how extensive they are. Arrest records deal primarily with arrests. The record will contain details about the arrest, including the charges filed, the statutes broken, personal information of the suspect, and the arresting agency. It should be noted that arrest records do not indicate guilt or a conviction, merely that the individual was detained on suspicion of a crime.

Inversely, criminal records show guilt as they are generated after a person is convicted and passes through the legal system. Criminal records are a more comprehensive record containing an individual's full criminal history. These records contain arrest records as well as court records, sentencing information, and details of prison time or supervision, such as community service or probation.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Arrests in Gray County and the rest of Texas will remain on an individual's record permanently. Even if the case was dismissed or the suspect was acquitted, the record may only be removed if the defendant petitions for the record to be sealed or expunged. Sealing and expungement are legal procedures provided by Texas to its citizens for removing records. Expungement or expunction is a process that destroys a record, while sealing restricts the record from public view, even though certain law enforcement and government agencies may still have access to it.

Below are some of the records that qualify for expungement in Texas.

• Juvenile misdemeanors
• Alcohol related offenses committed by a minor
• Charges that were dismissed or the defendant was found not guilty at trial
• Arrests that led to no charges
• Convictions for carrying a weapon illegally
• Completing a pretrial diversion or intervention program may make the defendant eligible for expungement.

Gray County Arrest Warrants

According to Chapter 15 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, an arrest warrant is a written order from a magistrate directed to peace officers or other persons commanding them to arrest a person accused of a crime so they may be dealt with according to the law.

To issue a warrant, the magistrate must receive a complaint in the form of an affidavit. The affidavit must be made before the magistrate or the local district or county attorney and must name the accused and show probable cause that the accused committed a crime. If the magistrate is satisfied with the complaint, they will issue the arrest warrant.

Arrest warrants issued in Gray County and the rest of Texas are valid if they have the following:

• It must name the accused whose arrest is ordered or provide a reasonably definite description.
• It must state that the accused is suspected of an offense, name the offense, and the law violated.
• It must command peace officers to arrest the accused and bring them before the court that issued the warrant.
• It must be issued under the name "The State of Texas".
• It must contain the name, office, and signature of the issuing magistrate.

Do Gray County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No, arrest records issued in Gray County do not expire. These documents remain active till the subject of the warrant is arrested, surrenders, or dies. In some cases, the issuing judge may recall or cancel an arrest warrant. This typically requires a petition to the judge, demonstrating that the arrest warrant is unlawful or unwarranted.

Expunge Gray County Arrest Records

To remove a criminal record in Texas, the applicant must file an Expungement/Expunction Petition in the court in the county where they were charged. Cases that do not qualify for expunction may qualify for sealing via a nondisclosure order. Qualifying for this process is based on the particular details of the case. In general, there are waiting periods that must be met before a petition, even if there was no conviction.

An applicant may file for expunction if they were acquitted or their charges dismissed after the statute of limitations has passed, or earlier if the prosecutor agrees. If no charges were filed, petitions may be filed for eligible felonies after 3 years, Class A or B misdemeanors after 1 year, and Class C misdemeanors after 180 days. If there were mistakes, false records, or a lack of probable cause, the waiting time may be reduced.

Records that do not qualify for expunction in Texas include the following:

• Most convictions, except certain Class C misdemeanors
• Offenses involving violence against minors and family
• Violent crimes such as murder or aggravated assault
• Sexual offenses
• If the applicant has any pending charges or previous convictions for a similar offense
• DWI offenses

In Gray County, Expunction petitions may be filed at the Gray County District Court Clerk's Office located at:

Gray County Courthouse
205 N Russell St,
Pampa, TX 79065