O.C.G.A. 17-4-60 (2010)
17-4-60. Grounds for arrest
A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge. If the offense is a felony and the offender is escaping or attempting to escape, a private person may arrest him upon reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion.
GA Code § 16-7-1 (2014)
(b) A person commits the offense of burglary in the first degree when, without authority and with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein, he or she enters or remains within an occupied, unoccupied, or vacant dwelling house of another or any building, vehicle, railroad car, watercraft, aircraft, or other such structure designed for use as the dwelling of another. A person who commits the offense of burglary in the first degree shall be guilty of a felony
That’s nice
What crime did McMichaels witness? Because they both claim they didn’t witness any crime but was told about him trespassing on a construction site (house under construction)
That gives neither of them the license to pursue Arbery.
Honestly, they were better off just leaving the police work, to the police
Finally someone who can read and grasp the germane sections of GA law that pertain to this case. All of the other emotionally driven “legal experts” should go study law and pass the bar. “Close proximity is established by the new video footage of the felony burglary committed by the victim Ahmaud Arbery. Citizens arrest would have been justified and in doing so carrying a long gun is also permissible under GA law. Ahmaud can be seen attacking the man with the gun, striking the man and attempting to gain possession of the gun. The man with the gun was justified under GA law to use the gun in self defense. Case closed.
And the McMichaels had neither.
They didn't witness the offense.
They didn't have immediate knowledge. Meaning nobody that witnessed the event told them "I just saw that man rob a house."
They said the "looked like" someone who had been robbing houses. What they had was a suspicion, not immediate knowledge.
Thank you for posting the burglary statute. This actually backs up the defendants’ case more. In most states, a burglary requires an intent to commit a felony. In Georgia, it apparently includes misdemeanor theft.