Northern Neck Regional Jail - Richmond

At the Northern Neck Regional Jail, 3908 Richmond Road, Warsaw, VA 22572, phone 804-333-6419.

At the regional jail, 3908 Richmond Road, Warsaw, VA 22572, 804-333-6023. In-person hours are limited.

Use the Richmond County inmate search.

Yes, when the magistrate thinks it is enough (Va. Code § 19.2-123).

It is about Richmond County, a rural Northern Neck county whose seat is Warsaw. The City of Richmond is about 75 minutes away and has its own page.

Deputies book the person at the regional jail on Richmond Road, just outside Warsaw. The magistrate works there, though in-person hours are limited and some hearings happen by video. Terms usually come the same day (Va. Code § 19.2-80).

Warsaw families use cash, a deed to Neck farmland or a DCJS bondsman (Va. Code § 9.1-185) whose 10% to 15% is never refunded (Va. Code § 9.1-185.8). The jail takes bonds at night (Va. Code § 19.2-48.1).

The combined district court at 201 Court Circle, a short drive from the jail, on its next court day (Va. Code § 19.2-158). The same hearing covers a lawyer (Va. Code § 19.2-159). Circuit Court at 101 Court Circle hears appeals (Va. Code § 19.2-124).

The Court Circle district court tries misdemeanors (10-day appeal (Va. Code § 16.1-132)), holds felony preliminaries (Va. Code § 19.2-218) and hears juvenile cases (804-333-4616) (Va. Code § 16.1-241).

Yes. Warsaw judges appoint a lawyer for people facing jail who swear they cannot pay (Va. Code § 19.2-159).

Rappahannock River boating stops often bring alcohol limits. Curfews and keep-away orders are also used (Va. Code § 19.2-123). After a family arrest, the Warsaw magistrate issues a short protective order (Va. Code § 16.1-253.4).

Warsaw deputies are handed a capias; the bond goes to the state, and a separate count is possible (Va. Code § 19.2-128).

To the City of Richmond, about 75 minutes west, in the Eastern District of Virginia (18 U.S.C. § 3142). Co-signers owe the bond after a no-show (Va. Code § 19.2-143) unless they surrender the person to the Warsaw jail (Va. Code § 19.2-149).

Jail: 804-333-6419. Magistrate: 804-333-6023. District court: 804-333-4616.

Richmond County is a rural Northern Neck county on the north bank of the Rappahannock River; it is a different place from the City of Richmond, the state capital some 60 miles to the southwest. Its county seat is the Town of Warsaw, where the Richmond County General and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Combined Courts and the Richmond County Circuit Court sit on Court Circle. The Circuit Court is part of Virginia's 15th Judicial Circuit, and the combined district court handles both general district and juvenile and domestic relations cases. The Richmond County Commonwealth's Attorney prosecutes crimes in the county and in Warsaw. Adults held after arrest go to the Northern Neck Regional Jail, a regional jail located in Warsaw itself.

• Richmond County Circuit Court and Circuit Court Clerk, 101 Court Circle (P.O. Box 1000), Warsaw, VA 22572, (804) 333-3781
• Richmond County General and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Combined Courts (criminal, traffic and juvenile cases), 201 Court Circle (P.O. Box 1000), Warsaw, VA 22572, (804) 333-4616
• Richmond County Magistrate's Office (Magisterial District 15), at the Northern Neck Regional Jail, 3908 Richmond Road (P.O. Box 1090), Warsaw, VA 22572, (804) 333-6023
• 15th District Court Service Unit (juvenile intake; Warsaw branch office), main line in Fredericksburg (540) 372-1068
• Richmond County Commonwealth's Attorney, Warsaw
• Court-appointed lawyers: no Virginia Indigent Defense Commission public defender office serves Richmond County (the Richmond public defender covers only the City of Richmond); ask the magistrate or judge, or call the district court clerk at (804) 333-4616
• Richmond County Sheriff's Office, Warsaw, VA 22572, (804) 333-3611
• Warsaw Police Department, Town of Warsaw, (804) 333-3737
• Northern Neck Regional Jail, 3908 Richmond Road, Warsaw, VA 22572, (804) 333-6419

Which court hears your case. In Richmond County, one clerk's office at 201 Court Circle runs two courts. On the general district side, a judge without a jury tries misdemeanors and traffic offenses, such as a DUI on U.S. 360 or a shoplifting charge at a Warsaw business, and anyone convicted can appeal within 10 days for a new trial, with a jury if wanted, in the Richmond County Circuit Court. On the juvenile and domestic relations side, the same combined court hears cases against anyone under 18 and adult charges of assault or other crimes against a family or household member. Felony charges begin with a preliminary hearing in the district court (on the JDR side for a family-member victim) and, once a grand jury indicts, are tried in the Circuit Court.

Where pretrial inmates are held. The Northern Neck Regional Jail at 3908 Richmond Road opened in the mid-1990s and is governed by a board representing Richmond County, Westmoreland County, Northumberland County and the Town of Warsaw. Because the jail is in Warsaw, a Richmond County arrestee is booked only a short drive from the courthouse, and the county's magistrate works out of the jail building. Call the jail at (804) 333-6419 to ask about custody status, or the magistrate at (804) 333-6023 about the bail that was set.

Virginia towns do not run courts, and the state has no municipal, town or mayor's courts. That means charges filed by the Warsaw Police Department, the only town police force in the county, go to the Richmond County courts on Court Circle, the same as charges from Sharps, Farnham, Haynesville, Emmerton, Village and the rest of the county.

Court Circle, Warsaw

• Richmond County Circuit Court (15th Judicial Circuit), 101 Court Circle, P.O. Box 1000, Warsaw, VA 22572, (804) 333-3781. Felonies, jury trials, and appeals from the district court.
• Richmond County General and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Combined Courts (15th Judicial District), 201 Court Circle, P.O. Box 1000, Warsaw, VA 22572, (804) 333-4616. The clerk's office is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; misdemeanors, traffic, preliminary hearings, juvenile cases and family-abuse matters all start here.

Related offices

• Magistrate, c/o Northern Neck Regional Jail, 3908 Richmond Road, P.O. Box 1090, Warsaw, VA 22572, (804) 333-6023. In-person hours are limited, so video links to other District 15 magistrates cover the rest of the day and night for warrants and bond.
• 15th District Court Service Unit, which lists a Warsaw branch; main office at 615 Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401, (540) 372-1068
• Richmond County Commonwealth's Attorney, Warsaw, with a victim/witness program
• Indigent defense: private attorneys appointed by the court; there is no public defender office for the Northern Neck
• Richmond County Sheriff's Office, Warsaw, (804) 333-3611, the primary police agency outside the town
• Warsaw Police Department, Town of Warsaw, (804) 333-3737
• Virginia State Police, (800) 582-8350

A misdemeanor charge in Richmond County might start with a summons handed over at the scene or with an arrest by a deputy, a Warsaw officer or a state trooper. After an arrest, the person is taken before the magistrate, whose office is inside the Northern Neck Regional Jail.

Getting out

The magistrate first confirms probable cause and issues the warrant. Release can then be on recognizance (a written promise to come to court), on an unsecured bond that is owed only after a missed court date, or on a secured bond that someone must post in cash or through a bondsman holding a Department of Criminal Justice Services license. A no-contact order or pretrial supervision may be added. Someone who stays in jail can ask the district court judge for a bond hearing, and an unfavorable ruling can be appealed to the Circuit Court.

In the combined district court

The first appearance, sometimes called arraignment or advisement, usually comes on the next court day. If a conviction could mean jail and the defendant cannot afford counsel, the judge assigns a private court-appointed lawyer once the defendant completes a financial statement with the clerk, (804) 333-4616. A judge decides the case at trial; there are no juries in district court.

Possible penalties

Each of the offenses named above, petit larceny (property worth less than $1,000), assault and battery and trespass, is a Class 1 misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor class. A Class 1 conviction can bring up to 12 months in jail along with a fine as high as $2,500. Class 2 offenses carry up to 6 months and $1,000, Class 3 offenses a fine of up to $500, and Class 4 offenses a fine of up to $250. When the alleged victim of an assault is a family or household member, the JDR side of the court hears the case; a first offender may qualify for a deferred disposition, and a third family-assault conviction can be a felony.

For a first DUI, Virginia requires a fine of at least $250 and revokes the driver's license for 12 months, though a restricted license with an ignition interlock is frequently granted. A blood alcohol concentration between 0.15 and 0.20 adds a mandatory 5 days in jail, and anything above 0.20 adds 10. The court refers the defendant to the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP). At the time of arrest, the license is administratively suspended for 7 days.

The case may end with a dismissal, a deferred disposition, a fine, a suspended sentence and probation, or jail. A conviction can be appealed to the Richmond County Circuit Court within 10 days for a fresh trial. Most misdemeanors are resolved in one to three months, and some records may eventually be sealed under Virginia's record-sealing law.

Felony cases in Richmond County pass through the combined district court first and then up the hill on Court Circle to the Circuit Court.

Stage one: custody and release

The magistrate sets bail after considering flight risk and danger to the community; since 2021, no category of offense carries an automatic presumption against release. A defendant who is held stays at the Northern Neck Regional Jail and can ask the district court judge for a bond hearing at or after the first appearance, which is also when a court-appointed private lawyer is assigned to a defendant who cannot afford one.

Stage two: preliminary hearing

At the preliminary hearing, the district court judge listens to the prosecution's evidence and decides whether there is probable cause. If there is, the case is certified to the grand jury. In some cases the Commonwealth's Attorney skips this step and seeks a direct indictment.

Stage three: Circuit Court

Following indictment, the defendant is arraigned in the Richmond County Circuit Court. A plea agreement resolves most felony cases. At a jury trial, all 12 jurors must agree, and the judge pronounces the sentence unless the defendant has elected sentencing by the jury. The speedy-trial statute, Code section 19.2-243, generally requires trial within five months of the probable cause finding for an incarcerated defendant and nine months for a defendant on release, subject to several exceptions.

What the charges carry

• Grand larceny (a theft of $1,000 or more): a prison term ranging from 1 year to 20 years, or as an alternative a jail term no longer than 12 months.
• Burglary: entering a home at night to commit a crime is a Class 3 felony, 5 to 20 years, and a Class 2 felony if the defendant was armed; other statutory burglary offenses carry up to 20 years.
• Drug possession of a Schedule I or II substance: Class 5 felony, 1 to 10 years or up to 12 months in jail. Distribution (or possession with intent): 5 to 40 years on a first offense, with mandatory minimum terms for larger quantities. Marijuana possession up to one ounce is legal for those 21 and older, but selling it is still a crime.
• Malicious wounding sits in Class 3 with its 5-to-20-year range, while unlawful wounding, the version without malice, is a Class 6 felony that a court may punish with 1 to 5 years in prison or a jail term of a year or less.

The judge looks to Virginia's voluntary sentencing guidelines. Felonies committed since January 1, 1995 are not parole-eligible, though earned sentence credits may cut the time served, and prison terms longer than 12 months are served in the Virginia Department of Corrections. A typical felony takes four to twelve months.

Violent crime is infrequent in Richmond County, which has roughly 9,000 residents. When a killing, rape or robbery is reported, the Sheriff's Office, or the Warsaw police inside the town, typically works with the Virginia State Police. Release on bond is often denied or set very high for these charges, so defendants frequently spend the pretrial period at the Northern Neck Regional Jail.

• Aggravated murder, formerly capital murder: Class 1 felony, life imprisonment as the maximum since Virginia repealed the death penalty in 2021.
• First-degree murder, a Class 2 felony, is punished by a term of 20 years up to life; second-degree murder carries 5 to 40 years.
• Rape: Richmond County Circuit Court in Warsaw can sentence a person to anywhere from 5 years to life, and the person is also placed on the sex-offender registry.
• Robbery: 5 years to life.
• Aggravated malicious wounding: a Class 2 felony.

The steps are the ones described for other felonies, but these prosecutions involve more forensic analysis, expert testimony and motions practice, and they usually take one to two years. The Crime Victim and Witness Rights Act entitles victims to be kept informed, to attend proceedings and to make an impact statement, and the Commonwealth's Attorney's victim/witness staff help victims use those rights.

Juvenile cases are heard on the juvenile and domestic relations side of the Richmond County General and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Combined Courts, 201 Court Circle, Warsaw, (804) 333-4616.

The first decision belongs to the 15th District Court Service Unit of the Department of Juvenile Justice, which has a branch in Warsaw; its Fredericksburg headquarters is at (540) 372-1068. An intake officer reviews each complaint and chooses among informal diversion, a formal petition to the court, and detention for a youth who is a danger or a flight risk. The Richmond County Commonwealth's Attorney presents petitions in court.

No juvenile detention center operates in the county. A youth ordered detained is typically placed in a regional center such as the Merrimac Juvenile Detention Center, 9300 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg, VA 23185, (757) 887-0225, run by the Middle Peninsula Juvenile Detention Commission for the 9th and 15th districts. The judge must hold a detention hearing within 72 hours, ordinarily on the court's next sitting day. A lawyer is appointed for the child when the family cannot hire one.

Outcomes include diversion, dismissal, probation with conditions such as counseling, restitution and community service, and referrals to community programs. In serious cases, the court may commit the youth to the Department of Juvenile Justice for placement at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center or in a community placement.

Youths 14 and older charged with certain serious felonies can be tried as adults in the Richmond County Circuit Court after a transfer hearing. When a 16- or 17-year-old is accused of one of the gravest crimes, such as murder or aggravated malicious wounding, the law generally lets the Commonwealth's Attorney certify the case for adult trial once a preliminary hearing has been held. Juvenile records are kept confidential in most cases.

Richmond County is assigned to the Richmond Division of the Eastern District of Virginia. The name is a coincidence of geography; the federal courthouse is in the City of Richmond, about 60 miles from Warsaw.

• U.S. District Court Clerk, Richmond Division, 701 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 916-2220
• U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond office, 919 East Main Street, Suite 1900, Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 819-5400
• Federal Public Defender, Richmond office, 701 East Broad Street, Richmond, with CJA panel attorneys for additional defendants

Which cases go federal. Most federal prosecutions from the Northern Neck involve drug trafficking, firearm possession by people prohibited from having guns, bank robbery, child exploitation or fraud. The county also includes land managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge; minor violations on federal property are generally handled on a magistrate judge's petty-offense docket, while serious crimes can be indicted in district court.

The process. A person arrested by federal agents is brought to Richmond for an initial appearance before a magistrate judge and, when requested by the government, a detention hearing usually held within three court days. Federal judges do not use commercial bail bonds; under the Bail Reform Act, defendants are released on conditions with oversight by U.S. Pretrial Services or detained. A grand jury must indict within 30 days of an arrest on a complaint, and the Speedy Trial Act sets a 70-day limit for trial, with exclusions. The Eastern District has long been known as the "rocket docket" for moving cases quickly.

Resolution. A trial requires a unanimous verdict from 12 jurors, though guilty pleas account for most cases. Before sentencing, a probation officer prepares a presentence report, and the judge considers the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and any mandatory minimum. Without parole, federal inmates serve about 85 percent of their sentences in the Bureau of Prisons and then begin supervised release. The Fourth Circuit hears appeals.

Searching for a federal inmate. Families looking for a federal prisoner can enter a name or a register number in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. Federal detainees awaiting trial are sometimes housed in local or regional jails under contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service, and such a person may be listed on that jail's own inmate roster too. Juvenile cases in federal court are rare.