How to Check Criminal History in Pleasants County
A sound Pleasants County search starts with a name, known spelling variants, and any case number or likely date. The free West Virginia Judiciary Magistrate Record Search, or MCRSearch, is the broadest public first stop for local misdemeanor cases and early felony proceedings. It accepts a first name, last name, or case number. Yet its own guide warns that only 30 results appear, no filed documents can be downloaded, and the index is not a full civil or criminal history.
Match the source to the question. The Pleasants County Circuit Clerk holds felony pleadings and final orders. WVDCR shows jail or prison custody. The arresting agency keeps its report. WVSP keeps fingerprint-linked state history and a separate sex offender registry. Use this order:
- Search MCRSearch by case number when one is known, or use the most exact name available.
- Ask the Magistrate Clerk to validate the complaint, bond, hearing, and disposition shown in a result.
- Follow a felony into Circuit Court for the indictment, plea or trial, judgment, and sentence.
- Check WVDCR separately for current jail or state-prison custody.
- Request the incident narrative from the sheriff, St. Marys Police, or WVSP, whichever made the report.
- Use WVSP Form 136A and fingerprints when reviewing or challenging your own statewide CIB history.
No One-Stop Pleasants Criminal Search
A Pleasants County arrest can create several records at once. The police narrative describes the event and alleged cause. WVDCR records booking and custody. Magistrate Court records the complaint, warrant, bail, and first hearing. A felony may then produce a new file at Circuit Court. WVSP can receive the fingerprint event and a later disposition, while registry information follows its own disclosure law. One system cannot stand in for all the rest.
The practical flow is: Arresting Agency → WVDCR Booking → Magistrate Court → Circuit Court when a felony continues → WVSP CIB reporting. Delays or gaps can occur between those points. A jail charge is an intake snapshot, and a docket charge may later change. A missing final outcome in a state history should be checked against the filing court before drawing a conclusion.
Official West Virginia Background Checks
West Virginia has no general public name-based conviction portal. A person reviewing or challenging their own state criminal history uses the West Virginia State Police Criminal Identification Bureau. Form 136A requires identity details and fingerprints, plus a $20 check or money order payable to the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police. The request goes by mail to CIB at 725 Jefferson Road, South Charleston, WV 25309.
Fingerprints give the repository a stronger identity match than a name-only court query. When a charge or disposition is wrong or missing, CIB directs the person to the court or arresting agency that supplied it. Many checks required by a statute or licensing program use IdentoGO/IDEMIA, but the authorizing body must provide the correct service code. No universal Pleasants County enrollment site or fee was verified. Federal self-review is available through the FBI Identity History Summary process and remains separate from the West Virginia record.
| Channel | Identity basis | Published cost |
|---|---|---|
| MCRSearch | Name or case number | Free |
| Circuit Clerk copies | Case or party | “Copies $1”; confirm unit |
| WVSP Form 136A | Fingerprints | $20 |
| IdentoGO program check | Service code and prints | Program-specific |
Pleasants Courthouse Record Counters
The county courthouse page shows the building where Pleasants County court records split between counters. Circuit Clerk Millie Farnsworth works in Suite 201, while Magistrate Clerk Pam Cox is in Room B-6. The clerk offices are open with the courthouse on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call the exact counter before travel because holidays and court schedules can change.
The image also captures a piece of local records history. The present courthouse was built in 1924 and 1925 after lightning damaged its predecessor in 1923. Its brick Neo-Classical Revival design, high knoll, Doric columns, and 1924 cornerstone make the records site easy to recognize. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
Circuit Clerk
301 Court Lane, Suite 201
St. Marys, WV 26170
304-684-3513
Felony and circuit files
Magistrate Clerk
301 Court Lane, Room B-6
St. Marys, WV 26170
304-684-7197
Misdemeanors and felony preliminaries
Types of Criminal Records
Pleasants County records describe different stages and custodians. An agency report covers an investigation or arrest. A booking entry covers intake and custody. A magistrate file can show the complaint, warrant, initial appearance, bail, misdemeanor disposition, or felony preliminary hearing. The Circuit Clerk holds felony indictments, motions, pleas, trial events, judgments, and sentences. WVSP CIB assembles fingerprint-linked arrest and disposition data, not police narratives.
Other products have narrower roles. A warrant event may appear on a court docket, but no official Pleasants County active-warrant list exists. Probation and parole records come from different systems. The WVSP registry is a statutory disclosure product, not a whole criminal history or a risk score.
- Docket
- The dated list of events entered in a court case.
- Disposition
- The outcome of a charge, such as dismissal, acquittal, or conviction.
- Booking
- The jail intake record created after custody begins.
- Expungement
- A court-ordered process that seals the court file and directs agencies to expunge qualifying records.
Two Pleasants Custody Systems
People arrested in Pleasants County do not enter a county-operated jail. The usual local and pretrial custody path leads to North Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility in Greenwood. Use the WVDCR Offender Search hub and choose Jails, then enter at least the first three letters of the last name. Daily Incarcerations offers an admissions view by date and facility. Neither display proves guilt or replaces the case file.
Saint Marys Correctional Center and Jail is different. The WVDCR facility page describes a state correctional campus inside Pleasants County, not the St. Marys city lockup and not the usual booking site for a recent local arrest.
The campus began as the Colin Anderson Center and converted to medium-security corrections in 1998. Search Prison records for a person serving a state sentence and Jail records for a recent Pleasants County booking. Mixing those channels is a common reason a valid custody search returns no useful match.
What a Pleasants County Criminal Record Shows
The content changes with the product. MCRSearch can show a case ID, location, filing date, agency, charge number, alleged date, statute, plea, disposition, bond data, scheduled events, parties, and docket descriptions. It may display terms such as Felony Complaint, Warrant Issued, Service Successful, Initial Appearance, Bond Posted, Motion to Continue, Criminal Judgment, or Dismissal. It does not provide the filed document image, and sensitive details must be treated with care.
A WVDCR entry focuses on admission, facility, custody status, and listed charges. A police report may add a narrative, time, place, evidence, and witness details, subject to redaction. The final court file is the source for the legal outcome.
| Name and identifiers | Party name in court; fingerprint-linked identity in a CIB history. |
|---|---|
| Arrest and booking | Agency, admission data, custody facility, and listed intake charge when published. |
| Charges and statutes | Alleged offense, count, code citation, and later amendments recorded by the court. |
| Disposition | Dismissal, acquittal, conviction, or another recorded outcome for each charge. |
| Sentence | Confinement, probation, restitution, or other terms entered after conviction. |
| Custody or supervision | WVDCR status, court probation events, or parole information where lawfully public. |
Pleasants MCRSearch Result Limits
A broad name query can reach the MCRSearch cap of 30 results. That limit does not mean only 30 cases exist, nor does no visible match prove a clean history. Narrow with a case number when possible, record the case ID and location from the index, and validate the result with the filing court. CourtPLUS e-filing began in Pleasants in 2021, but local instructions focus on attorney workflow and do not promise anonymous access to every old circuit document.
The West Virginia Judiciary page for Third Circuit probation illustrates how state and county functions share one circuit structure.
Pleasants County now shares the configured Third Judicial Circuit with Doddridge, Ritchie, and Wirt Counties. That explains why an assigned judge or service office may be based outside St. Marys. It does not move the Pleasants case file away from the clerk that received it.
| Search field | Use | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| First Name | Optional name field | Use with last name to narrow |
| Last Name | Optional name field | Common names may hit cap |
| Case Number | Best exact key | Format must match the court record |
| CAPTCHA and disclaimer | Required gate | Maximum 30 results; no documents |
Public Access Laws
The West Virginia Freedom of Information Act applies to identifiable records held by public bodies, but it is not an order to create a new criminal history or answer research questions. A request should state the record, likely date, place, agency, and incident or case number if known. The custodian must produce, arrange inspection, or deny in writing as soon as practicable and within five qualifying days. Actual copy cost may be charged, but search, retrieval, and staff-time fees are barred by the cited provision.
Key West Virginia laws:
Section 29B-1-3 sets request, response, inspection, and reproduction-cost rules.
Section 29B-1-4 protects specified personal and investigative material.
Section 61-11-25 governs qualifying nonconviction expungement.
Section 61-11-26 governs qualifying conviction expungement.
Section 15-12-5 controls sex offender registry disclosure and community notice.
Juvenile information, sealed matters, protected victim details, and active investigative material may not be open. A written denial should state its basis. Judicial records also follow court access rules, so direct court contact remains important even when FOIA governs an agency request.
Pleasants Sheriff or Circuit Clerk
The sheriff and clerk are close in St. Marys but hold different records. Pleasants County Sheriff headquarters is at 305 Barkwill Street. The office publishes law-enforcement, process-service, prisoner-transport, and bailiff duties, yet it lists no separate records division, online form, arrest blotter, warrant search, or local jail roster. Call 304-684-2285 during weekday public hours and ask how to deliver a focused FOIA request for a sheriff-created report.
The Pleasants County government gateway routes readers to both the sheriff and courthouse offices.
Use the Circuit Clerk at 301 Court Lane for felony pleadings, dockets, judgments, and certified court material. Use the Magistrate Clerk for misdemeanor files and preliminary felony events. The local FAQ lists copies at $1 and faxes at $2 but does not say whether those amounts apply per page, request, or transmission. Confirm the unit and total before ordering.
Sealed, Expunged & Restricted
West Virginia provides two main expungement routes. Section 61-11-25 covers qualifying acquittals, dismissals, diversion, and deferred adjudication. A qualifying petition begins in the circuit where the charge was filed no sooner than 60 days after acquittal or dismissal, and that statute provides no filing fee. A granted order seals the court record and directs agencies to expunge their copies, with agency certification due within 60 days.
Section 61-11-26 covers certain convictions. The waiting period is one year for one eligible misdemeanor, two years for multiple eligible misdemeanors, and five years for an eligible nonviolent felony, measured from the latest relevant conviction, custody completion, or supervision completion. Many exclusions apply. A successful petitioner pays $100 to the WVSP Records Division in addition to the civil filing fee, whose current Pleasants County amount should be confirmed with Suite 201. Court staff may explain filing steps but cannot decide eligibility.
Pleasants Probation and Parole Split
Probation is a court sentence supervised through the state judiciary's Third Circuit structure. Parole follows release from prison, with release decisions made by the West Virginia Parole Board and supervision handled by WVDCR Parole Services. Neither system offers a public Pleasants County name database. Start with the court docket for a probation term or revocation and with WVDCR custody information for the prison and parole path.
The Parkersburg Parole Office page identifies the Region 5 office serving Pleasants County.
The office is at 225 Holiday Hills Drive, Suite 1, Parkersburg, with phone 304-420-4630. Third Circuit adult probation has a St. Marys contact through the Judiciary. Community Corrections is another distinct set of multi-county sentencing services, not probation, parole, or a public status lookup.
Criminal Records by City in Pleasants County
Pleasants County has two incorporated municipalities. St. Marys has its own police department and a municipal court for city matters. Belmont publishes neither a police department nor evidence of a municipal court, so city-document questions begin with City Hall while state-law incidents and arrests route through the Pleasants County Sheriff and county courts. Those differences make each city record path distinct.
St. Marys Criminal History
1,761 in the 2020 Census · City police, monthly municipal court, and county custody routes
Belmont Criminal History
877 in the 2020 Census · City Hall records, sheriff reports, and county court routes
Do not confuse Belmont, West Virginia with Belmont County, Ohio. For either Pleasants County city, a municipal source cannot replace MCRSearch, the Circuit Clerk, WVDCR, or WVSP when the needed record belongs at county or state level.
Fix a Missing Pleasants Disposition
A CIB history can show an arrest cycle without the final court outcome when reporting has not caught up or the source data are wrong. First identify the exact charge and court. Ask the Magistrate Clerk or Circuit Clerk for the final disposition, and obtain a certified copy if the office recommends one. If the mistake began with arrest data, contact the agency that submitted that event. Keep each response and copy.
Then follow the current WVSP challenge instructions and Form 136A process. CIB cannot create a court outcome that the filing court has not supplied. Likewise, a corrected CIB record does not rewrite a separate police narrative or court docket. Verify each affected source after the statutory or agency processing time. Keep the certified disposition, agency reply, and proof of mailing together so a later follow-up can identify the same arrest cycle without starting over. This source-by-source method is slower than one name search, but it respects how Pleasants County criminal records actually flow.