View Free Lee County Arrest Records (Detainee Lookup)

Look up free Lee County arrest records quickly and conveniently. Under the Florida Sunshine Law, these records are considered public information and must be made available for citizens to inspect and make copies of. There are various tools and resources that allow you to search anyone’s arrest information in Lee County, Florida.

Accessing this information can help you understand a person’s current situation, such as whether they’re incarcerated. You can also search arrest records to find out why someone was arrested and more.

These records can be obtained via various online tools and record custodians, but knowing where to look is key to an effective search. This article walks you through the process of seamlessly finding the arrest records you’re seeking.

This resource was written by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

Find Lee County Arrest Records & Recent Mugshots at No Cost

Arrest records are a valuable tool for learning more about a person and any trouble they may be in with law enforcement.

There are ways that any citizen can access arrest record information for free because of the rights provided under the Florida Sunshine Law. When preparing to search for these types of records, gather as much preliminary information as you can.

This may include the person’s name, address, when they were arrested and the type of charges.

One option for accessing arrest records is to search with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Search Tool.¹ This is primarily a name-based search tool you can use to access arrest records.

However, there is other information you can enter as part of your search.

You can include an offender’s date of birth or booking number. You also have the option of specifying whether you want to search for people in or out of custody. Your last option is to set a booking or release date range.

In addition to conducting a name search, as described above, you can also just click on a list of either recent bookings or releases on the same page. Whichever option you choose, the results page will provide you with the person’s full name, ID and booking number, date of birth and the date and time they were taken into custody. You can also view their mugshot and current status (e.g., released or in custody).

To view more of a particular person’s arrest record, you can click on their name. For their full online criminal record, click on their booking number. The arrest information is broken down into a few different sections.

Those sections are as follows:

Person: This section provides additional information about a person, such as their height, weight and address.

Booking: Here, you can view specific booking information and where, if applicable, they are currently incarcerated. This section also contains a larger mugshot.

Charges: In this section, you will find a description of all charges brought against a person and the arresting agency. You can also view bond information, including the amount. Lastly, you can also view the associated case number and hearing date.

If there is more than one charge, this information will be provided for each count.

Another option for accessing arrest records is to submit a public records request online.² When submitting a request online, you can view the status to see if the record has been located.

Alternatively, you can contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Central Records Division for arrest and criminal information. You can call them at 239-477-1350 or go in person to the address below:

Lee County Sheriff’s Office
Central Records Division
14750 Six Mile Cypress Pkwy.
Fort Myers, Florida 33912

The cost for a records request is $0.15 per page. However, the fee is waived if you were the victim of the crime involved.

In addition to searching broadly at the county level, you can also search with city law enforcement departments for arrest information. This can be a valuable tool if the person was just arrested and you need the information quickly. You also may want to search at the city level to get a detailed police report from the arresting agency.

In Lee County, the largest city by population is Cape Coral. As an example, you can access arrest records directly from the Cape Coral Police Department. You can submit an arrest records request online through the Cape Coral Police Department’s public portal.³

You can use this online portal to track the status of any request you make. To get a copy of a police report or related information, you can go in person to the address below:

Cape Coral Police Department
1100 Cultural Park Blvd. 
Cape Coral, Florida 33990

The police department is available for this type of request on Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For additional records questions, you can call them at 239-574-0695.

A last option to consider for accessing arrest records is utilizing a third-party service. One example of a service that provides access to arrest information is VINELink.

Arrest records allow you to view a person’s current situation. However, if you want to find out about prior arrests and convictions, you will have to search an individual’s criminal record. In the next section, you will learn how to access an offender’s criminal record and what additional information you can obtain from this type of search.

How To Obtain Details of Prior Arrests & Charges in Lee County Florida

Criminal records can give you a full picture of the types of crimes a person has committed and been convicted of. In Lee County, you can search for prior arrests and charges online with the Clerk of Courts Case Record Inquiry Tool.⁴

To use this online search tool, make sure you select only the appropriate case types. Otherwise, you will have civil and other types of cases included in your search results. Applicable case types include felony, traffic and misdemeanor.

After you select the case type, you can enter the person’s name, case, or citation number you want to search. If you are conducting a name search, you might also consider setting a filing date range to refine your results.

Once on the results page, you will see a summary of case information for all records that match your search criteria. The results page will include the person’s name, date of birth and the judge adjudicating the matter. It will also include the case number, caption, type (e.g., felony), description of charges and the date the case was filed.

For the complete online criminal record, you can click on the case number. After you scroll past the same data you already viewed on the results page, you can find additional party information. This information also includes any attorneys that represented the Plaintiff or Defendant.

The next section contains the charge details. Here you can find a description of the charge, the offense date, arrest details and the disposition of the case (including the date it was issued). The next section is the docket events.

Here, you can view the date and description for every action and filing that occurred in the criminal case. If a filing is publicly available, there is an option to request to view it and obtain a certified copy.

After that, you can view the hearings section. For every hearing that occurred, you can view the date, time, and type. The last two sections are financial information and bonds.

The financial section details all payments charged and made in the criminal case and whether there is a balance due.

The bonds section provides the status, amount and a description of the type.

Criminal cases in the county are divided between two courts. The Lee County Court is responsible for adjudicating minor offenses regarded as misdemeanors. The Lee County Circuit Court is tasked with handling more serious criminal offenses referred to as felonies.

For either type of criminal case you can seek out these records from the Lee County Clerk of Court. You can submit a public records request to the Clerk’s Office.⁵ Online requests with the clerk’s office provide the benefit of being able to check on the status of your request.

If you have questions about criminal records with the Clerk’s Office, you can contact them by phone at 239-533-500 or by going to the address below:

Lee County Clerk of Court
2075 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Fort Myers, Florida 33901

They are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

In some counties, certain cities operate municipal-level courts that handle criminal cases. There are no city-level courts in Lee County that adjudicate criminal matters. While you cannot further narrow your search, there are other options for searching criminal records.

However, if you are interested in expanding your search throughout the state, you can use the Florida Department of Corrections Offender Information Search Tool.⁶ This tool will allow you to search for anyone who has a criminal history in Florida. This search tool includes current and released inmates as well as those under court-ordered supervision and fugitives of the law.

You can search with this tool by an individual’s name or their Department of Corrections Number. There is also an option to search for a person by any of their aliases.

Once you run your search, you will be asked to select a specific database to search. This includes the current inmate population, those who have been released, individuals under supervision, and fugitives. The summary results page will provide you with a person’s name, sex, race, date of birth, and Department of Corrections number.

When you click on a person’s name, you will be able to view additional information on prior arrests and charges. At the top of the page, there is a summary, along with the individual’s mugshot and sentencing information.

You can also view a person’s prior and current prison sentence history. This will provide you with details on every offense that a person has been convicted of, including the date and county where it occurred. You can also see the case number, sentence date and length for each crime.

Lastly, you can view information on detainers and the inmate’s incarceration history, which provides the start and end date for every time the defendant has been incarcerated.

So far, you have learned how to search public records for various types of arrest and criminal information. In the final section, you will be provided practical advice on how to post bail in order to get someone released from jail in Lee County.

How Do I Post Bail & Get Someone Released From Jail in Lee County?

The time between a person’s arrest and the determination of their innocence or guilt can be lengthy. Balancing the seriousness of the crime, the defendant’s likelihood of being a flight risk and other factors, a judge will set a bail amount that, if posted, will allow the person to be released from jail until the matter is resolved.

There are ways to bail an individual out of jail, and it depends on the type of charges the person was arrested on. The Lee County Clerk of Courts may be paid using cash, a money order, or a cashier’s check.⁷

You may find yourself in a situation in which you want to assist someone in being released from jail. To have a person’s bail posted, you should consider the following two options:

Bail Bondsman: If the bail amount is high, or the defendant may be a potential flight risk, this is likely your best option. With this choice, you will pay a fee to the bondsman (10% of the bail amount), and they will pay the full amount of the bond.

In addition, they will be responsible if the defendant does not show up for their hearing. However, the fee you pay is non-refundable, even if the person abides by all court-ordered requirements.

Self-Bail Process: With this option, you will be responsible for posting 100% of the bail with your own funds. This can be done with a cash or property bond. When using a property bond, you are essentially placing a piece of property with enough equity in it as collateral for the bail.

If the defendant abides by all conditions, you will receive your bond back in full. However, if the defendant flees or otherwise fails to abide by their bail requirements, you face the potential of losing everything you put up for bail.

There are pros and cons to each option, so consider what works best in your specific circumstances.

You now have several options for accessing and requesting Lee County arrest records; follow the steps provided throughout this article to guide you in your next search.