I could be wrong on this (been wrong before), but I believe a citizens arrest is only for a felony committed in your presence. Also consider that even though its legal to use force to eject a trespasser, I tend to recommend to people to call police rather than putting 'hands on' a trespasser; this could go south in a heartbeat, especially with the situation you described.Beiruty wrote:No, do not do it. It is not justified and you are not a Police Officer. Avoid him and ask the LEO that you would like to press charges for the verbal threat.northexpedition wrote:A homeless kid has been living in the laundry room at my apartment complex and I have been trying to get him arrested for trespassing. I have emailed the apartment management more than once and they have so far done nothing except tell residents to lock the door to the laundry room, which obviously doesn't do anything if he has a key.
At 5AM as I was taking out the trash, and I was checking the laundry room to make sure it was clear so I could do some laundry. The homeless guy opens the door and asks me "Hey blood, do you have WiFi?" I told him no, and he tried to watch me enter my apartment. I pretended to go somewhere else and waited until he went back into the laundry room and called the police. Eventually the police arrived, questioned him, and escorted him off the property. Only a few minutes later I hear something, and through the window blinds I see it's the same guy getting his bicycle, talking all kinds of trash. He said "I know it was you! I see you looking at me! I'll be coming back for you!" I opened my door and said "Don't come back here." I called the police again and they said "I'm not sure how he got back in your apartment complex after we escorted him away. If we see him again we will talk to him."
I am probably a few weeks away from getting my CHL and I anticipate running into this lowlife again. What should I do if I see this guy again after he made a terroristic threat towards me? Can I perform a citizens arrest if I catch him in the laundry room and he acts threatening towards me?
I'm not suggesting that you ignore it, or tap dance around, but also consider that the 'No Duty to Retreat' & 'Presumption of Reasonableness' clauses in TPC 9.31 & 9.32 require that we didn't provoke. (Not saying you did, just be careful of how you interact if/when the next time you run across this fella).
Calling the police to report the trespasser, following up with management like you did, & remaining vigilant are all very prudent things to do. If you haven't already, I'd also suggest a follow up call to police to let them know about the threat he uttered, what you found in the laundry room, & that you are concerned he will return to fetch his stuff.