Burglar forced to clean up his mess at gunpoint

[Crunker1337]

I suppose it's technically illegal, but no reasonable person would press charges. I guess the robber should think about it as an out-of-court agreement.

 

[MT GUNNY]

Jorg

If the owner didnt tell him he was under citizen arrest then that law doesnt apply.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

If the owner didnt tell him he was under citizen arrest then that law doesnt apply.

I'm not sure I agree with that. Alabama Code 15-10-7 (c): A private person must, at the time of the arrest, inform the person to be arrested of the cause thereof, except when such person is in the actual commission of an offense, or arrested on pursuit. It certainly seems like it would be considered an arrest since he was commiting the offense at the time.

By the same token, if you claim the statutes regarding arrest by a private person doesn't apply, by what legal authority did he detain the guy? If it wasn't a legal arrest, how would it not be unlawful imprisonment under Alabama law?

It seems like you either have to legally detain the guy under the private person arrest law or illegaly detain him under the unlawful imprisonment law. What am I missing?

 

[JWarren]

One thing that no one has considered in this:

Do we KNOW the time-lapse between catching the criminal and calling the police?" "Do we know the time it took for the police to get there?" "Do we know how long the homeowner actually had possession of the criminal?"


Now, from the article, it appears that this occured in the city of Montgomery-- and I suspect it wasn't out in a rural area-- being University Drive. While I would expect a police response fairly quickly in the city limits, that is still by no way assured.

Where I live, a 911 response will not arrive for at least 20 minutes-- plan on over 30 minutes.

That means that I can count on holding this guy for half an hour. I think cleaning his mess is a lot more constructive use of time than chatting and making small talk.


While I agree that having a guy up is tactically unsound, I can see how the situation could be controlled depending on the lay of the floorplan.

But I think I'd have had him on the ground. The guy isn't going to be doing a great cleaning job, and you don't know if he has other weapons.

Making a point to a criminal isn't worth your life. And the point would most likely be lost on him.



But my point is this....


The homeowners COULD have had the guy clean up as they are waiting for the police. In that case, none of the issues brought to light on this thread come into play. While looking over the case is a good idea for hypotheticals, we are in no position to make any conclusions about the homeowners actions. We simply don't have enough information for that.


-- John

 

[buttflyzzz]

I hope if im ever in the same situation i would have the restraint of not shooting him. but he better not move to fast, im sure i would be a little edgy to say the least

 

[RPCVYemen]

I hope if im ever in the same situation i would have the restraint of not shooting him.

If you shot him while he was cleaning up at gunpoint, my guess is that you very likely be looking at time.

Mike

 

[RPCVYemen]

The guy isn't going to be doing a great cleaning job, and you don't know if he has other weapons.

I thought of that, too. The homeowner didn't say anything about searching the burglar. And I don't think you ever want to get that close to an uncuffed criminal while you are holding a gun.

Mike

 

[Dallas Jack]

Love a happy ending.
Dallas Jack