Rhea County 72 Hour Booking

Rhea County 72 hour booking records cover all recent arrests processed at the Rhea County Jail in Dayton. About 33,000 people live in this eastern Tennessee county, which is pronounced "Ray." Sheriff Mike Neal runs the department and jail, with Chief Deputy John Argo. The jail holds an average of 100 to 120 inmates at any given time and operates at all security levels from minimum to maximum. An online inmate search portal shows names, mugshots, charges, and booking dates. You can look up recent bookings on the portal or call the jail at 423-775-7837 for help finding someone who was arrested in Rhea County.

Rhea County Sheriff's Department

The Rhea County Sheriff's Department is at 7800 Rhea County Highway in Dayton. Sheriff Mike Neal leads a department with multiple divisions including patrol, SWAT, narcotics, corrections, K9, marine, courthouse security, and school resources. The main phone number is 423-775-7837. For emergencies, call 911. Central dispatch can be reached at 423-775-2442.

The jail sits at 444 2nd Avenue in Dayton. Lt. Melba Huffman serves as the jail administrator. The facility was originally built for 54 inmates in 2002, then expanded with two extra wings in 2009. Even with the expansion, the jail often runs over capacity. The department has arrangements with several nearby facilities to house overflow inmates. If someone was arrested in Rhea County but is not showing up in the local system, they may have been placed at a neighboring jail.

For records requests, all submissions must be made in person at the sheriff's department. Each type of record has its own fee. The public records coordinator for Rhea County is Jacob Ellis, who can be reached at ellisj@rheacounty.org or at 375 Church Street, Suite 200, in Dayton.

Rhea County 72 Hour Booking Portal

The Rhea County inmate information page is the main way to look up recent bookings online. It shows current inmates, bookings from the last 24 hours, and inmates sorted by booking date. You can filter by first and last name to find a specific person.

Each record on the portal shows the inmate's name, number, booking date, mugshot, charges, and court details. The roster updates every 24 hours. That is standard for most Tennessee county jails. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503, these booking records are public and must be open to inspection by any citizen of the state during business hours. You do not need to give a reason to look at them.

The Rhea County government website also has an inmate information page with links to the search tool and contact numbers. The screenshot below shows the Rhea County jail information page where booking resources are listed.

From this page you can reach the inmate search portal, jail contact numbers, and details about Rhea County booking procedures.

Rhea County Jail Overcrowding

The Rhea County Jail runs over its intended capacity on a regular basis. Because of this, some inmates may be housed at other facilities around the region. If you search the Rhea County roster and do not find someone you expected to see, they may have been moved. Call the sheriff's department at 423-775-7837 to ask which facility holds a specific inmate.

Nearby jails that take Rhea County overflow include:

• Bledsoe County Jail: 423-447-2197
• Meigs County Jail: 423-334-3163
• Morgan County Jail: 423-346-6262
• Perry County Jail: 931-589-8803
• Robertson County Detention Facility: 615-384-7974

This overflow system means a 72 hour booking that starts in Rhea County might end up in a different county's jail. The arrest still counts as a Rhea County arrest, but the person's physical location can be elsewhere. This is important to know if you are trying to visit or send mail.

Note: Inmates transferred to overflow facilities should still appear in the Rhea County system, but it may take extra time for records to update.

Rhea County Arrest Records

Browsing the online inmate portal is free. For copies of records, fees apply and vary by type. All record requests at the Rhea County Sheriff's Department must be made in person. You cannot do it by phone or email. Bring your ID and the name of the person you are looking for.

For a statewide check, the TBI TORIS portal costs $29 per name. It covers all adult criminal history in Tennessee. The Felony Offender Information Lookup is free and shows anyone in state prison. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-7-103, Tennessee law lists when officers can arrest without a warrant. Those warrantless arrests produce 72 hour booking records just like any other type. However, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-7-118, some misdemeanors can result in a citation instead of a full arrest. No booking record gets made in that case.

72 Hour Booking Alerts in Rhea County

Track custody changes for anyone in the Rhea County Jail by signing up at VINELink. This free service sends alerts by phone, email, or text when an inmate's status changes. You search by name or inmate ID. The system covers all Tennessee counties and updates around the clock.

VINELink is especially useful for Rhea County given the overcrowding situation. If someone gets moved to a different facility, VINELink can notify you of that transfer. It also tells you when a person bonds out or gets released. Registration takes a few minutes and there is no cost.

Cities in Rhea County

Rhea County includes Dayton, Spring City, and Graysville. All arrests in the county go through the Rhea County Jail in Dayton for booking. None of the cities in Rhea County have a large enough population for a dedicated page. All local bookings are processed at the county jail.

Nearby Counties

Rhea County is in eastern Tennessee along the Tennessee River. Check the county where the arrest took place if you are not sure where someone was booked.

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