imported post
Citizen wrote:
Interesting. I was under the impression, perhaps incorrectly, that Virginians were not permitted to make citizens' arrests.
Was my information incorrect?
Hudson vs. Commonwealth (2003) (holding that "[a]t common law, a private citizen may arrest another for a
breach of the peace committed in his presence.
See Gustke, 516
S.E.2d at 291-92;
see also Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S.
132, 156-57 (1925) ('In cases of misdemeanor, a peace officer
like a private person has at common law no power of arresting
without a warrant except when a breach of the peace has been
committed in his presence . . . .' . . . The common law in Virginia permits a citizen to effect an arrest for a breach of the peace occurring in his or her
presence").
2. "A breach of the peace is an act of violence or an act likely [size=to produce violence."[b]
Taylor v. Commonwealth[/b], 11 Va. App. 649, 653, 400 S.E.2d 794, 796 (1991).
"Barrett nonetheless retained power as a private citizen to make an arrest when, as here, the felony had actually been committed and he had reasonable grounds for believing the person arrested had committed the crime."
Tharp v. Commonwealth, 221 Va. 487, 490, 270 S.E.2d 752, ___ (1980).