Rice County Arrest Records and Court Charges
Rice County arrest records start on the law-enforcement side. They can relate to a sheriff report, a booking event, the current jail roster, or custody information held by the Rice County Sheriff's Office and Jail. The Sheriff's Office is at the Public Safety Center, 50 East View Drive, Faribault, MN 55021. Sheriff Jesse Thomas is listed as sheriff. Main sheriff and non-emergency dispatch is 507-334-4391, with general information at 507-332-6000 or 866-727-5299 during weekday hours.
Court charges after arrest start when the charging authority files the accusation in District Court. That is the court-charge record. It is tracked through MCRO and the Rice County District Court file. A jail roster can show a current booking charge, but the final case file, plea, disposition, sentence, dismissal, or acquittal are court records. The full court case outcome belongs in Rice County criminal court records.
The image manifest assigns the Rice County Sheriff's Office directory source to this page from the official sheriff directory.
The sheriff directory supports the arrest-record and report-request side, not the certified court-charge file.
Find Rice County Arrest Records and Charges
Use the right source for the stage of the matter. For a current custody check, the Rice County jail roster can show current detainees, booking date, mugshot column, and charges. For a filed court charge, use MCRO Case Search with Rice selected as the county court location. For an active warrant tied to a charge, the Rice County active warrant PDF may show warrant number, type, defendant, case number, citation or offense date, status, issuing authority, degree/offense, and description.
- Check the current jail roster only for current booking and custody information.
- Search MCRO by case number, citation number, or defendant name, then filter to Rice County.
- Open the criminal case and read the charge list, degree, offense date, Register of Actions, and current status.
- If the warrant list gives a case number, use that number in MCRO rather than relying only on a name search.
- For certified copies or older court records, contact Rice County Court Administration at 507-497-7134.
Pending criminal, traffic, and petty misdemeanor cases with no conviction may not return by defendant-name search in MCRO, so case numbers and citation numbers matter. Sheriff reports are requested from sheriff records staff at 507-332-6003, subject to release rules. Court Administration handles the District Court record and certified court copies.
Charges After Arrest Documents
After an arrest, law enforcement investigates and submits reports or evidence for charging review. The Rice County Attorney's Office says it does not investigate crimes or accept crime reports. Law enforcement investigates, and prosecutors review the submitted material. A court charge begins when a formal charging document or charge entry is filed with District Court. Minnesota practice and the research emphasize the complaint as a key document starting many criminal cases, while information and indictment language may appear in broader charging discussions.
| Complaint | Information | Indictment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Role | Starts many criminal cases and lists the alleged offense | Formal prosecutor-filed charge document where used | Grand-jury accusation used in serious or required contexts |
| Record Location | District Court criminal file and Register of Actions | District Court file if filed in the case | District Court file if returned and filed |
| Reader Caution | An accusation, not a conviction | An accusation, not a conviction | An accusation, not a conviction |
Rice County Attorney Brian Mortenson leads the County Attorney's Office. The office prosecutes all felonies committed within Rice County, misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offenses outside city limits but within the county, and certain statutorily designated misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor matters regardless of where they occur in the county.
Rice County Charge Status
Charge status can change as the case moves through District Court. A charge may be pending early in the case. It may be amended if the prosecutor changes the count or degree. It may be reduced through plea negotiations or court rulings. It may be dismissed before trial, at plea, or by order. The final answer is not the first charge line, but the disposition and sentence fields in the court record.
| Status | What It Means in a Court Charge Record |
|---|---|
| Pending | The charge is filed and the court case has not reached a final outcome for that count. |
| Amended | The filed charge changed, such as charge wording, level, statute reference, or count detail. |
| Reduced | The charge was lowered in severity or replaced by a lesser count. |
| Dismissed | The charge was ended without a conviction on that count. |
| Convicted | The court entered a guilty plea, guilty verdict, or conviction result. |
| Warrant Event | A bench warrant, violation warrant, or failure-to-appear event may appear if the case status requires it. |
Terms such as nolle prosequi are common in some states, but the Rice research did not identify that term as a local field. For Rice County, use the actual disposition, charge status, Register of Actions, and court order language shown in MCRO or the court file.
Charge Is Not Conviction
Charges after arrest are accusations. A conviction is a court outcome. A Rice County jail roster charge may show why a person is in custody now, while MCRO may later show amended counts, dismissed counts, plea results, probation violation events, or sentencing. MCRO also warns that case type does not show final outcome. Always read the disposition before treating a charge as a conviction.
| Charge | Conviction | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Formal accusation after arrest or investigation | Court outcome after plea, verdict, or finding |
| Where Seen | Jail roster charges, MCRO charge list, warrant Degree/Offense, complaint | Disposition, judgment, sentence, conviction entry |
| Can Change | Yes, charges can be amended, reduced, or dismissed | May be appealed, corrected, or later sealed or expunged |
| Best Proof | Court case details and charge status | Certified court disposition from Court Administration |
Warrants and Charge Records
Rice County's active warrant PDF can connect an arrest or charge question to a court case. The PDF is not an interactive search form. It is a public warrant roster. Research captured fields such as warrant number, warrant type, defendant, case number, citation number, offense date, issued date, current status, status date, location, judge or issuing authority, degree/offense, and description. Addresses and phone details can be confidential or omitted.
If a warrant entry gives a 66-CR or 66-VB case number, use that number in MCRO to review the court case. A name search may miss a pending matter with no conviction. Phone verification also matters because a warrant PDF may not be real-time. Sheriff main/non-emergency dispatch is 507-334-4391, and Court Administration can answer case-status questions at 507-497-7134.
Note: An active warrant can show charge-related fields, but the court case file controls the filed charge and outcome.
Rice County Arrest Records Access
Access rules depend on which office holds the record. Court charges and criminal case files are Judicial Branch records governed by Rules 2, 4, and 8 of the Minnesota Rules of Public Access. Sheriff reports and other county executive-branch records are handled by the office holding the data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. That distinction matters because the same incident can generate a sheriff record, a jail record, a warrant entry, and a District Court case file.
The image manifest assigns the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act source to this arrest records and charges page.
The statute source supports access to county-held data, while District Court case access is controlled by Judicial Branch rules.
For sheriff reports, the research says a police or accident report taken by a Rice County sheriff's deputy may be requested in person at the Public Safety Center on weekdays, by mail, or by calling sheriff records staff at 507-332-6003. Insurance-company requests require signed authorization before records are released.
Restricted Charge Records in Rice County
Some arrest records and charge records are not public, not online, or not complete in remote systems. Juvenile case information is more restricted. MCRO excludes CHIPS and certain juvenile delinquency case types from internet access. Protective order and harassment case types are not displayed in MCRO. Rule 8 removes or limits personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, many street addresses and phone numbers, and identifying information for jurors, witnesses, and victims.
The manifest assigns Rule 4 on inaccessible case records to this page.
Rule 4 explains why a court-charge record can exist but still be unavailable to the general public.
| Sealed | Expunged | |
|---|---|---|
| Public Access | Closed from ordinary public inspection | Public access limited under statute or court order |
| Record Existence | Record still exists with access controls | Usually sealed, not automatically destroyed |
| Rice County Starting Point | Identify the case number and sealing basis | Identify the case number, agencies, and Chapter 609A eligibility |
Charges and Treatment Court
Some Rice County criminal charges may later connect to treatment-based court supervision if the person is eligible and accepted. Rice County Treatment Court is a problem-solving court for non-violent offenders with a substance use disorder diagnosis. The county describes a team approach involving a judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, law enforcement, probation, social services, and treatment providers. Program length is generally 18 months to two years depending on participant progress.
The assigned image comes from the official Rice County Treatment Court page.
Treatment Court is not an arrest lookup tool. It is relevant because some filed charges can move into specialized supervision and treatment conditions through District Court.
Rice County Charge Record Contacts
Use the office tied to the record. For a current booking charge, call Rice County Jail at 507-332-6021 or review the jail roster. For sheriff reports, contact sheriff records staff at 507-332-6003. For the filed charge, case status, certified disposition, or hearing record, contact Rice County Court Administration at 218 Third St. NW, Faribault, MN 55021, phone 507-497-7134. For prosecution questions, the Rice County Attorney's Office is at the courthouse, phone 507-332-6103.
Rice County Court Administration
218 Third St. NW
Faribault, MN 55021
507-497-7134
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Rice County Sheriff's Office
50 East View Drive
Faribault, MN 55021
507-334-4391
General office hours Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.