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N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-404

Detention of offenders by private persons

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case 118 N.C. App. 200 - State v. Gilreath (1995)

Most recently applied in 229 N.C. App. 416 - State v. Verkerk (September 2013)

1973, c. 1286, s. 1.

How often courts cite this section

199520002010201310
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) No Arrest; Detention Permitted. - No private person may arrest another person except as provided in G.S. 15A-405. A private person may detain another person as provided in this section.

(b) When Detention Permitted. - A private person may detain another person when he has probable cause to believe that the person detained has committed in his presence:

(1) A felony,

(2) A breach of the peace,

(3) A crime involving physical injury to another person, or

(4) A crime involving theft or destruction of property.

(c) Manner of Detention. - The detention must be in a reasonable manner considering the offense involved and the circumstances of the detention.

(d) Period of Detention. - The detention may be no longer than the time required for the earliest of the following:

(1) The determination that no offense has been committed.

(2) Surrender of the person detained to a law-enforcement officer as provided in subsection (e).

(e) Surrender to Officer. - A private person who detains another must immediately notify a law-enforcement officer and must, unless he releases the person earlier as required by subsection (d), surrender the person detained to the law-enforcement officer.

Official source: North Carolina General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain North Carolina statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.