The roster belongs to the regional jail system and covers the Madison Heights site. Follow this order:

1. Pull up the jail roster on whatever device you have.
2. Put in the surname first. Leave the first name blank at the start, since spelling mistakes are easy.
3. Still nothing? Next, swap in a nickname, middle name or former surname.
4. Click the person's entry to see booking data, charges and bond.
5. Jot down the inmate number. It speeds up every call you make afterward.

When the site is down or confusing, call 434-528-3160 and ask for booking.

Early on, a blank result is normal. Think through these possibilities:

• Paperwork is still moving. The roster may lag behind the booking desk.
• A police lockup. An agency can keep someone briefly before the jail takes over.
• A citation. Some people receive a paper with a hearing date and then go home.
• Bond or a promise. The magistrate may already have freed them.
• A different building. They may sit at another regional site, in a neighboring locality's jail, or in state or federal custody.

Jail staff can search their own files. Dial 434-528-3160. If they find nothing, try the Sheriff's Office at 434-946-9381 and ask which agency made the arrest.

Six places share one jail system, the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority: Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Campbell and Halifax counties plus Lynchburg. It runs five adult buildings, and an inmate can be sent from one to another. Check all five if the roster is silent:

• Amherst County Adult Detention Center, 219 S. Riverview Road, Madison Heights, VA 24572, 434-528-3160. People arrested in this county are booked here. A work-release program with its own visit hours also operates here.
• Bedford Adult Detention Center, 1000 Broad Street, Bedford, VA 24523, 540-587-9282
• Campbell County Adult Detention Center, 90 Courthouse Lane, Rustburg, VA 24588, 434-332-9583
• Halifax Adult Detention Center, 1010 Blue Ridge Lane, Halifax, VA 24558, 434-476-5500
• Lynchburg Adult Detention Center, 510 9th Street, Lynchburg, VA 24504, 434-847-1300

The authority's public pages do not sort the buildings by men, women, intake or long stays, so ask staff what each one is used for. Its office is at 510 Ninth Street, Lynchburg, VA 24504, 434-847-3100.

Open the roster and click an entry to see whether it has a photo. The authority's pages do not promise mugshots, so look for yourself.

Virginia's Freedom of Information Act says law enforcement has to hand over adult booking photos snapped at intake. The only carve-out covers a photo that would damage a live felony probe (Va. Code § 2.2-3706). Pictures of children are always kept private. Ask for a mugshot by phoning the Sheriff's Office, 434-946-9381, or the department that made the arrest.

• For pictures in ICE's files, fill out the ICE records request.
• Federal arrest photos are kept from the public. The U.S. Marshals Service is the exception, and it can release a picture, for example for a fugitive.

VINE shows custody status and location, and a message reaches your phone or inbox the moment the person walks out or changes locations. It watches local jails, regional jails and state prisons.

• Register on VINELink, or phone 800-467-4943, which is open day and night.
• For release plans, ask the jail itself at 434-528-3160.

Treat alerts as one tool among several. Look at the roster too, because inmates can be shifted between buildings quickly.

A magistrate sets release terms after booking, and that officer works around the clock. The magistrate's office is inside the Madison Heights jail at 219 S. Riverview Road, Madison Heights, VA 24572. Phone 434-528-3160 and ask for the magistrate.

• The magistrate may accept a signed promise to appear. Or the magistrate may set an unsecured bond, where nothing is due today. A secured bond is backed by money, land value or a licensed bondsman.
• The default is release. Only probable cause that the person will miss court or pose a serious threat changes that (Va. Code § 19.2-120).
• Terms may include a curfew, GPS, drug tests or staying away from a victim.
• Bondsmen are licensed by the state and charge a fee set by law somewhere from 10 up to 15 percent of the amount, and it is not returned.
• Anyone who remains in custody sees a judge on the court's first open day. Asking for lower bail leads to a hearing inside three working days.

More help is in our bail guide, and Virginia's bail rules have their own page.

The roster may list the charges. Court files show the full details once a case exists.

• Search Virginia's Online Case Information System. Results cover traffic and criminal matters in General District Court, adult criminal matters in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations court, and Circuit Court files, but no children's cases.
• General District Court clerk: 113 Taylor Street, Amherst, VA 24521, 434-946-9351.
• Circuit Court clerk: the same street address, 434-946-9321. Before dialing, get the person's complete name and their birthday.

The Commonwealth's Attorney brings the case and picks the final charges. Find that office at 113 Taylor Street, Amherst, VA 24521, 434-946-9316.

The judge brings up legal counsel the first time the person stands in court. When paying for a lawyer is not possible, the accused can request one from the magistrate or judge, and must sign a sworn list of income and bills. The judge decides if they qualify (Va. Code § 19.2-159).

This area has no public defender of its own. The closest office, 828 Main Street, Suite 1002, Lynchburg, VA 24504, 434-947-2244, handles only city cases. Local judges appoint a private attorney instead, and the court clerk, 434-946-9351, can send you the form. Hiring your own attorney is always allowed.

Only in-person visits are offered. The regional authority writes these rules and may change them, so phone 434-528-3160 before you leave home.

• Hours are 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., Monday to Friday.
• Your name must be on the inmate's approved list.
• Carry a valid state photo ID.
• Each party can bring three adults at most, along with any kids.
• Each inmate gets one visit per week.
• Arrive 30 minutes early. The jail's notice says to be there by 10:30 a.m.

Work-release inmates have Saturday visit times. See our visitation guide for extra advice.

The jail's pages point families to JailATM for deposits and JailCanteen for commissary. Phone 434-528-3160 for current fees and limits. Keep the inmate's name and number in front of you.

A money order must name BRRJA as payee. Mail it by itself, with no note, to the jail's box in Madison Heights, VA 24572 (P.O. Box 1150). Do not send cash. Details are in our deposit guide and commissary guide.

The jail uses ViaPath for inmate calls. Reach ViaPath at 800-483-8314 to open an account. A single call can last 15 minutes. Jail officers do not pass notes between callers and inmates.

Ask the jail, 434-528-3160, about tablets, messages and video. Assume phone lines are recorded, and keep case details for a conversation with the lawyer. On our site you can also read about calls from jails and about email and text services for inmates.

Skip paper letters. The jail has personal mail scanned at an outside center, and the inmate reads it on a tablet. Phone 434-528-3160 for the current scanning address and rules before you write.

Only legal mail and money orders go directly to the jail. Address them like this:

Inmate's full name, then inmate number
Madison Heights, VA 24572
Post Office Box 1150

Our mailing guide lists general rules. Keep cash out of every envelope.

The jail keeps an inmate's belongings from intake in storage. To learn how it is returned, and which ID you need, call 434-528-3160.

On weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the jail accepts a few items from family: prescription glasses, hearing aids, dentures, and approved medicine or religious articles. Take them to 219 S. Riverview Road, Madison Heights, VA 24572, after checking first that each item is allowed.

Phone 434-528-3160 and ask the jail to connect you with medical staff. Pass along each drug, its strength and the prescriber's phone number. Flag allergies, seizures, diabetes and mental health needs as well.

The inmate can also hand a medical request form to the officer on their housing unit. Dial 911 for any life-threatening emergency.

Deputies serve county warrants, and town officers serve those in the town. Ring the Sheriff's Office, 434-946-9381, or the Town of Amherst police, 434-946-7874, and ask. To look up a case, use the state's case search, or ring the clerk of General District Court at 434-946-9351. If a warrant exists, consult a defense attorney, and next write or call the court named on the warrant. The clerk's address is 113 Taylor Street, Amherst, VA 24521.

Ask the clerk where the case sits. All three courthouses share one address, 113 Taylor Street, Amherst, VA 24521:

• General District Court, 434-946-9351: traffic, misdemeanors and early felony hearings.
• Circuit Court, 434-946-9321: felony trials after an indictment, plus appeals.
• Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, 434-946-9355: young people under 18, and cases between relatives.

Inmates may join hearings by video from the jail. Read our court guide for how a case moves along.

This county sits in the Lynchburg Division of the federal court for western Virginia. Its clerk is at 1101 Court Street, Suite A66, Lynchburg, VA 24504, 434-847-5722.

1. The first stop is a federal magistrate judge. A detention hearing follows, over jail or release while charges are pending (18 U.S.C. § 3142).
2. A person awaiting a federal trial is under U.S. Marshals control, and the Marshals often rent bed space in a contract jail. Their Lynchburg office is at 1101 Court Street, Room B66, Lynchburg, VA 24504, 434-847-4859.
3. After sentencing, search the BOP inmate locator by name or register number.

These are the usual steps:

1. First, ICE delivers a hold request called Form I-247A (a detainer).
2. The paper asks for a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE takes the person from there. Virginia falls under the ICE Washington Field Office, 14797 Murdock Street, Chantilly, VA 20151, 703-633-2100.
4. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Enter an A-number, or enter the whole name and the home country.

Virginia's detainer law is changing in 2026, and we could not confirm the new rules, so call the jail to learn its practice. Also, a February 2026 executive directive ended the state agencies' 287(g) agreements.

A person given state time first goes to an intake center to be classified. After that, a prison is chosen for them. Some remain in the regional jail until the state has a bed free.

• The state corrections inmate locator works with a name or DOC number and is updated each day.
• For general questions, the main DOC line is 804-674-3000.
• Visits and mail for each facility are explained on our Virginia prisons page.

Adult cells are not used for children. A youth can be sent to a juvenile center by a judge, by an intake worker at the court, or by a magistrate, and the file goes to the county's family court, formally the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, at 113 Taylor Street, Amherst, VA 24521, 434-946-9355.

Young people from here are typically taken to the Lynchburg Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 1400 Florida Avenue, Lynchburg, VA 24501, 434-455-7878. Confirm with the court first. Juvenile files are confidential.

Check the roster or ask the jail to learn who made the arrest. These agencies cover the area:

• Sheriff's Office, 115 Taylor Street, Amherst, VA 24521, 434-946-9381. With no county police force, deputies patrol Madison Heights and every area outside the town.
• Emergency communications center, 119 Taylor Street, Amherst, VA 24521, 434-946-9300, staffed day and night.
• Town of Amherst Police Department, 434-946-7874. Its officers work inside the town limits.
• Virginia State Police, Division Three, 240 Third Division Loop, Appomattox, VA 24522, 434-352-7128. Troopers from this division cover the county.