Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center

The Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center, 141 Fort Collier Road, Winchester, VA 22603. Phone 540-535-3800.

The magistrate at 141 Fort Collier Road, Winchester, VA 22603, 540-665-5679.

Use the City of Winchester inmate search.

With booking at the regional jail on Fort Collier Road and a hearing before the magistrate there (Va. Code § 19.2-80). The jail serves Winchester and Frederick, Clarke and Fauquier counties.

For lesser city charges, a magistrate frequently lets the person sign and go. Bigger cases require bail up front (Va. Code § 19.2-123). The charge, record and ties to Winchester all matter (Va. Code § 19.2-121).

Cash, Virginia real estate, or a DCJS-licensed bail agent (Va. Code § 9.1-185) whose fee is kept (Va. Code § 9.1-185.8). Bonds can be posted day or night at the jail (Va. Code § 19.2-48.1).

A lawyer can ask the district court (540-722-7208) for a hearing. Someone who stays in jail gets a bail review (Va. Code § 19.2-158) and a chance to ask for counsel (Va. Code § 19.2-159). Circuit Court hears appeals (Va. Code § 19.2-124).

In the Judicial Center at 5 North Kent Street, downtown near the Old Town walking mall. City misdemeanor verdicts get a 10-day appeal window (Va. Code § 16.1-132), while felonies go to a preliminary hearing (Va. Code § 19.2-218). Family cases are in the same building (Va. Code § 16.1-241).

Yes. A judge appoints the public defender for city residents who could be jailed and sign a statement showing low income (Va. Code § 19.2-159).

Old Town bar arrests often carry a no-drinking rule, and other terms include curfews and keep-away orders (Va. Code § 19.2-123). When the arrest involves family, a protective order lasting roughly 72 hours comes first (Va. Code § 16.1-253.4).

Winchester city defendants who skip court face a capias, lose the posted money, and may get a failure-to-appear count (Va. Code § 19.2-128).

Federal Winchester cases are tried in Harrisonburg before the Western District of Virginia (18 U.S.C. § 3142). Winchester city co-signers pay the full amount after a no-show (Va. Code § 19.2-143), though delivering the defendant to Fort Collier Road first ends the debt (Va. Code § 19.2-149).

Jail: 540-535-3800. Magistrate: 540-665-5679. Circuit Court clerk: 540-667-5770.

The City of Winchester stands on its own as a Virginia independent city, with no county above it, and it is entirely surrounded by Frederick County. Felony indictments from the city are tried in the Winchester Circuit Court of the 26th Judicial Circuit; lesser charges and the first stages of felony cases are handled by two district courts the city has in common with the county, the Frederick/Winchester General District Court and the Frederick/Winchester Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. Prosecutions are brought by a Commonwealth's Attorney elected by city voters alone, not the county's. Anyone kept in custody is housed at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center on Fort Collier Road, a jail the city shares with three neighboring counties.

• Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center, 141 Fort Collier Road, Winchester, VA 22603, (540) 535-3800
• Winchester Circuit Court, Joint Judicial Center, 5 North Kent Street, Winchester, VA 22601; Clerk (540) 667-5770
• Frederick/Winchester General District Court, 5 North Kent Street, Winchester, VA 22601, (540) 722-7208
• Frederick/Winchester Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, 5 North Kent Street, Winchester, VA 22601, (540) 667-5770
• Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Winchester, 21 South Kent Street, Suite 200, Winchester, VA 22601, (540) 722-7940
• Winchester Public Defender, 100 North Loudoun Street, Suite 230, Winchester, VA 22601, (540) 722-3450
• Winchester Police Department, 231 East Piccadilly Street, Winchester, VA 22601, (540) 662-4131

Which court hears your case. Traffic tickets and misdemeanors charged in the city are decided by a judge sitting without a jury in the Frederick/Winchester General District Court. After a conviction there, the defendant can appeal within 10 days and get a fresh trial in the Winchester Circuit Court, including a jury if desired. Domestic charges, meaning offenses against a family or household member, and all cases against people younger than 18 are filed in the Frederick/Winchester Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. A felony charge receives its preliminary hearing in one of those district courts and, after a grand jury indicts, moves up to the Winchester Circuit Court.

Where pretrial inmates are held. Rather than operating a city jail, Winchester belongs to the regional jail board that runs the adult detention center at 141 Fort Collier Road, together with Frederick, Clarke and Fauquier counties. Every adult arrested in the city who is not released by a magistrate is booked there. The jail's main number, (540) 535-3800, is the place to ask whether someone is being held, what bail was set and how visiting works.

There are no municipal, mayor's or town courts in Virginia. As a result, city police charges, State Police arrests within city limits and warrants sworn out by private citizens all proceed in state courts housed at the Joint Judicial Center on North Kent Street, next to the Old Town business district. The circuit court is the city's own, but the two district courts double as Frederick County's, so the clerks keep separate files for city and county cases.

Circuit Court

• Winchester Circuit Court, 5 North Kent Street, Winchester, VA 22601, (540) 667-5770. One elected Clerk of Circuit Court serves both the city and county circuit courts; office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

District courts shared with Frederick County

• Frederick/Winchester General District Court, 5 North Kent Street, Winchester, VA 22601. Call (540) 722-7208 for criminal and traffic matters; the clerk's office keeps 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. hours.
• Frederick/Winchester Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, 5 North Kent Street, Winchester, VA 22601. The clerk can be reached at (540) 667-5770 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Magistrates and juvenile intake

• 26th District magistrates, who handle warrants and release decisions for the city around the clock, often through video links. Their district also includes Frederick, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah and Page counties and Harrisonburg/Rockingham. The Winchester Police Department at (540) 662-4131 can explain how to reach the magistrate on duty.
• 26th District Court Service Unit, the Department of Juvenile Justice intake office for the city, Frederick County and Clarke County; ask for intake through the JDR clerk at (540) 667-5770.

Prosecution, defense and police

• Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Winchester, The Creamery Building, 21 South Kent Street, Suite 200, Winchester, VA 22601, (540) 722-7940 (also the Victim/Witness line)
• Winchester Public Defender, a Virginia Indigent Defense Commission office for the city plus Frederick, Clarke, Page, Shenandoah and Warren counties: 100 North Loudoun Street, Suite 230, Winchester, VA 22601, (540) 722-3450
• Winchester Police Department, Timbrook Public Safety Center, 231 East Piccadilly Street, Winchester, VA 22601; around-the-clock line (540) 662-4131, office (540) 545-4730
• Winchester Sheriff's Office, which provides courthouse security, serves court papers and transports prisoners; its office in the Joint Judicial Center, 5 North Kent Street, answers at (540) 667-5770, extension 457

The magistrate decides initial release and any bond amount at any hour, so arrests made after the courthouse closes still get a prompt review.

Arrest or summons?

City officers write a summons for many minor offenses, letting the person go with a court date. For a DUI, a domestic call or an arrest on a warrant, the person is instead taken to a magistrate. That official may release the defendant on a simple promise to return (recognizance), on an unsecured bond that becomes payable only after a missed court date, or only after a secured bond is posted, either in cash or with the help of a state-licensed bail bondsman. Conditions such as pretrial supervision can be attached. The magistrate's focus is whether the defendant will come back to court and whether anyone would be endangered; Virginia removed its presumptions against release in 2021. Those who remain in custody are taken to the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center, and a district court judge can revisit the terms at a hearing, with a further appeal to the Circuit Court possible.

The first court date

A jailed defendant typically sees a judge, usually over video, the next day court sits. The judge reads the charge and asks how the defendant plans to handle legal representation. If the charge could lead to jail and the defendant's income is low, the judge can appoint the Winchester Public Defender once a financial affidavit is completed; the General District Court clerk at (540) 722-7208 provides it.

How much is at stake

Shoplifting goods worth under $1,000 (petit larceny), an ordinary assault and battery, and remaining on property after being told to leave are all Class 1 misdemeanors, which allow up to twelve months in jail and fines reaching $2,500. Class 2 offenses are capped at six months and $1,000, and the two lowest classes, 3 and 4, mean a fine of up to $500 or $250 with no jail.

Drunk driving deserves its own note. For a first DUI, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor, the minimum fine is $250; mandatory jail is five days for a blood alcohol concentration between 0.15 and 0.20 and ten days over 0.20. A seven-day administrative license suspension starts at arrest, a conviction brings a one-year revocation (restricted driving with an ignition interlock may be allowed), and the court will order VASAP classes.

Assault charges between relatives or members of the same household go to the JDR court. That court can offer an eligible first offender a deferred disposition, with the charge dismissed after treatment and a period of good behavior, while repeated convictions, three within the statutory period, can turn a later charge into a felony.

Verdict, sentence, appeal

Possible results include a dismissal, a deferred disposition, a fine, a suspended jail term with probation, or days to serve. Because the General District Court judge rules alone, the law gives every convicted defendant 10 days to appeal to the Winchester Circuit Court for a completely new trial, where a jury of seven can hear a misdemeanor. A typical case is finished in one to three months unless appealed.

Sentencing ranges to know

• Grand larceny, the theft of property valued at $1,000 or more, permits a prison term of one to twenty years, though a judge or jury may impose twelve months or less in jail instead.
• For burglary, entering a dwelling at night to commit a crime is a Class 3 felony with a 5-to-20-year range, or Class 2 if a deadly weapon is involved; the remaining statutory burglary offenses top out at 20 years.
• Possessing heroin, cocaine, fentanyl or another Schedule I or II drug is a Class 5 felony punishable by one to ten years or a jail sentence of up to a year. Selling, or holding drugs with intent to sell, is punished by five to forty years for a first offense and by mandatory minimums when the quantity is large. Possessing an ounce or less of marijuana is lawful for adults 21 and older; distributing it is not.
• Malicious wounding (Class 3) brings 5 to 20 years; unlawful wounding (Class 6) brings one to five years or a jail term of a year or less.

From the magistrate to indictment

A felony arrest in the city leads to the magistrate first, who is more likely on a felony to demand a secured bond or to require pretrial services supervision, no contact with a complainant, or drug screens. Defendants held at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center are advised of the charge in the shared General District Court, where a lawyer is appointed if they qualify. That court later holds the preliminary hearing (the JDR court does so when a family member is the alleged victim). If the judge decides there is probable cause, the charge is certified to a grand jury; the prosecutor may also go directly to the grand jury without a preliminary hearing.

In the Winchester Circuit Court

An indicted defendant is arraigned in Circuit Court and enters a plea. Negotiated pleas with the Commonwealth's Attorney end the majority of cases. A defendant who goes to trial may choose a judge or a jury of 12, whose verdict must be unanimous; the judge sets punishment, using Virginia's voluntary sentencing guidelines, unless the defendant requests jury sentencing. Virginia's speedy-trial law requires that trial start within five months after probable cause is found if the defendant is held, or within nine months if the defendant is free, with exceptions for continuances and defense-requested delays.

After a conviction

No parole is available for felonies committed since January 1, 1995, although sentence credits earned in custody can reduce the time. Anyone sentenced to more than a year serves the time in a Department of Corrections prison. Appeals go first to the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Including any plea talks, a city felony usually takes four months to a year. Appointed lawyers' fees can later be assessed as court costs.

Crimes of serious violence inside the City of Winchester are relatively rare but are among the cases the Commonwealth's Attorney's office prepares most intensively.

Custody while charges are pending

A defendant accused of murder, rape or robbery is usually held at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center. The defense can request release at a bond hearing in district court and appeal a refusal to the Winchester Circuit Court. Judges consider the nature of the accusation, prior convictions and the victim's safety; strict supervision or GPS tracking is often a condition if release is allowed.

What the law provides

• Life imprisonment for aggravated murder, the Class 1 felony formerly called capital murder (the death penalty ended in Virginia in 2021).
• For first-degree murder, a Class 2 felony, no less than twenty years and up to a life term; for second-degree murder, five to forty years.
• For rape, between five years and life.
• For robbery, likewise five years up to life.
• For aggravated malicious wounding, the same Class 2 range as first-degree murder.

The path through court

As with other felonies, the case passes through a preliminary hearing or direct indictment and a grand jury before trial in the Winchester Circuit Court, but laboratory work, expert evaluations and pretrial motions mean one to two years is common. Defendants who cannot pay are represented by the Winchester Public Defender or a qualified appointed attorney. Under the Crime Victim and Witness Rights Act, victims can be notified of proceedings and heard at sentencing, and the Commonwealth's Attorney's victim-witness staff, (540) 722-7940, assist them.

Young people accused of crimes in the city appear in the Frederick/Winchester Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, which uses a separate, confidential process from the adult system.

Detention

If police believe a youth must be held, the decision is made by an intake officer or a judge, and a child from the city is normally placed at the Northwestern Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 145 Fort Collier Road, Winchester, VA 22603, (540) 722-6174. The law requires a detention hearing within 72 hours, usually the next day court meets, where the JDR judge decides whether the child goes home, perhaps with electronic monitoring, or remains in detention. Juvenile release does not involve posting bail.

Intake and the petition

The 26th District Court Service Unit, a Department of Juvenile Justice office covering the city, Frederick and Clarke, reviews each complaint. Its intake officers can resolve minor first offenses through diversion, or they can file a petition that puts the case on the JDR docket. Call the JDR clerk at (540) 667-5770 to be connected. The city's Commonwealth's Attorney prosecutes petitions that go forward.

How cases end

There are no juries in JDR court; a judge decides. Options include dismissal, informal supervision, restitution, community service, treatment and counseling, probation through the Court Service Unit, and, for the most serious or persistent offenders, commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice, with placement at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center or a community program. Every child has the right to counsel, and the public defender or an appointed lawyer is available to families who qualify.

Trial in adult court

Youths 14 or older charged with certain serious felonies may be sent to the Winchester Circuit Court after a transfer hearing in JDR court. For the most serious crimes, such as murder or aggravated malicious wounding, a 16- or 17-year-old can be certified for adult trial by the Commonwealth's Attorney following a preliminary hearing. Juvenile records are generally kept confidential.

The federal court for the city

Federal prosecutions from Winchester go to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Harrisonburg Division: 116 North Main Street, Room 314, Harrisonburg, VA 22802, clerk's office (540) 434-3181.

Typical federal charges

With no federal installation in the city, federal cases from Winchester usually arise from task-force investigations: drug distribution networks using the I-81 and Route 7 corridors, firearms found with convicted felons or other prohibited people, holdups of banks, internet child exploitation, and fraud involving financial institutions, the mail, wire transfers or government benefits. Whether a case is brought in state or federal court is a decision made by prosecutors and can change during an investigation.

Prosecution and defense offices

• U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia: Charlottesville branch, 255 West Main Street, Room 130, Charlottesville, VA 22902, (434) 293-4283; headquarters, 310 1st Street SW, Room 906, Roanoke, VA 24011, (540) 857-2250
• Federal Public Defender, Western District of Virginia: Roanoke, 210 First Street SW, Suite 400, Roanoke, VA 24011, (540) 777-0880; Charlottesville, 401 East Market Street, Suite 106, Charlottesville, VA 22902, (434) 220-3380. When the office has a conflict, a Criminal Justice Act panel attorney is appointed.

How a federal case proceeds

First comes an initial appearance in front of a U.S. Magistrate Judge, and if the government seeks to keep the defendant locked up, a detention hearing generally takes place within three court days. There is no cash bail schedule and no role for commercial sureties. The judge, applying the Bail Reform Act, sets release conditions supervised by U.S. Pretrial Services or orders detention if no conditions are adequate. A grand jury must indict within 30 days of an arrest on a complaint, and the Speedy Trial Act's 70-day trial deadline applies, although excluded periods often lengthen it. Most defendants plead guilty, and a trial jury of 12 must reach a unanimous verdict. The sentence rests on three things: a presentence report prepared by federal probation officers, the advisory Sentencing Guidelines, and any mandatory minimum the statute requires. Since federal law has no parole, a prisoner can expect to serve roughly 85 percent of the term in the Bureau of Prisons, then supervised release. The Fourth Circuit, sitting in Richmond, decides appeals.

Finding a federal inmate

Families in Winchester can look up a federal prisoner by name or register number in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. Before trial, a defendant may be held at a local or regional jail under a U.S. Marshals housing agreement, in which case that jail's roster should also show the person. Juveniles are seldom prosecuted in federal court.