Texas Star
US Veteran
Many of you know that we've had two killings of a DA and his chief prosecutor in Kaufman County. Also in the news today is the case of a couple of social msfits who escaped from a small town jail and are at large.
One of these charmers is charged with murder. His companion was just sentenced to prison for 40 years for parole violations.
The media note that the FBI has joined local and state officers in seeking these people. The US Marshal's Service is also involved.
Why are the Feds working these cases? I'm sure the cops here need all the help they can get, but i'm puzzled how Federal crimes are at issue. Is it a Federal crime to kill a prosecutor? What about those escaped prisoners, neither of whom was involved in a Federal case, insofar as the media have reported. As far as the public knows, no state lines have been crossed, so that angle is out.
I know we have SIG P-220 and other FBI agents here. Can they explain how the Bureau and the US Marshals get involved in such cases?
I'm just curious, not being a states rights complainer, etc. I'm sure their help will be invaluable. I'm just wondering on what legal basis it's being provided. i may need that info for a crime novel that I'm writing. i don't want to get the FBI involved in a case where they wouldn't be, in real life.
I know that, "Criminal Minds" has the Bureau's agents chasing local serial murderers, etc. In real life, such BAU profilers normally work within the police HQ, not out pursuing leads in the field and trying themselves to apprehend the "unsubs." And I sometimes wonder if NCIS would be handling some cases that they do on TV.
What's the jurisdiction issue here? On what basis does FBI, etc. get involved in chasing local fugitives, including murderers? When does murder become a federal crime, unless committed on a US reservation? Or when murder suspects flee across state lines, making a case for Interstate Flight To Avoid Prosecution.
I was once asked to assist an FBI agent in trying to apprehend a fellow wanted for various crimes, but the federal rap was just for Interstate Flight. He was also believed to have driven a stolen car across state lines. (I was at the time a security officer/access controller at a telephone company building, where the suspect's girlfriend worked. Many of the phone company employees were widely believed to be hookers on the side, and I was wholly unsurprised to learn that some associated with criminals. In that case, one of the other girls saw us waiting for the girl and her lover and tipped him off. An informant later said that the guy had been warned, so he let the girl out a couple of blocks away and drove off before we saw him.)
In such a case, I was willing to assist the agent and believe that any court that heard the case would approve my actions. I don't know if I should have pressed the agent to formally deputize me, or if he could. I think I was justified in assisting him in preventing a felony suspect from entering phone company property and perhaps being a menace to anyone there. He was believed to be armed and dangerous. And the agent told me that this was his first case on his own. He was pretty fresh out of basic training at Quantico. He was glad to have backup.
But legally, how would this have played out if a defense attorney questioned whether I was authorized to help the FBI? I am a former military cop, but never received any training about such a question, other than being warned about the posse commitatus (sp?) act. We were advised that an Air Force cop shot an armed robber at a convenience store. In that case, he was presumed to have acted as a private citizen. Because he was legally armed, there were no repercussions. But he was judged not to have acted as a police officer.
Any answers?
One of these charmers is charged with murder. His companion was just sentenced to prison for 40 years for parole violations.
The media note that the FBI has joined local and state officers in seeking these people. The US Marshal's Service is also involved.
Why are the Feds working these cases? I'm sure the cops here need all the help they can get, but i'm puzzled how Federal crimes are at issue. Is it a Federal crime to kill a prosecutor? What about those escaped prisoners, neither of whom was involved in a Federal case, insofar as the media have reported. As far as the public knows, no state lines have been crossed, so that angle is out.
I know we have SIG P-220 and other FBI agents here. Can they explain how the Bureau and the US Marshals get involved in such cases?
I'm just curious, not being a states rights complainer, etc. I'm sure their help will be invaluable. I'm just wondering on what legal basis it's being provided. i may need that info for a crime novel that I'm writing. i don't want to get the FBI involved in a case where they wouldn't be, in real life.
I know that, "Criminal Minds" has the Bureau's agents chasing local serial murderers, etc. In real life, such BAU profilers normally work within the police HQ, not out pursuing leads in the field and trying themselves to apprehend the "unsubs." And I sometimes wonder if NCIS would be handling some cases that they do on TV.
What's the jurisdiction issue here? On what basis does FBI, etc. get involved in chasing local fugitives, including murderers? When does murder become a federal crime, unless committed on a US reservation? Or when murder suspects flee across state lines, making a case for Interstate Flight To Avoid Prosecution.
I was once asked to assist an FBI agent in trying to apprehend a fellow wanted for various crimes, but the federal rap was just for Interstate Flight. He was also believed to have driven a stolen car across state lines. (I was at the time a security officer/access controller at a telephone company building, where the suspect's girlfriend worked. Many of the phone company employees were widely believed to be hookers on the side, and I was wholly unsurprised to learn that some associated with criminals. In that case, one of the other girls saw us waiting for the girl and her lover and tipped him off. An informant later said that the guy had been warned, so he let the girl out a couple of blocks away and drove off before we saw him.)
In such a case, I was willing to assist the agent and believe that any court that heard the case would approve my actions. I don't know if I should have pressed the agent to formally deputize me, or if he could. I think I was justified in assisting him in preventing a felony suspect from entering phone company property and perhaps being a menace to anyone there. He was believed to be armed and dangerous. And the agent told me that this was his first case on his own. He was pretty fresh out of basic training at Quantico. He was glad to have backup.
But legally, how would this have played out if a defense attorney questioned whether I was authorized to help the FBI? I am a former military cop, but never received any training about such a question, other than being warned about the posse commitatus (sp?) act. We were advised that an Air Force cop shot an armed robber at a convenience store. In that case, he was presumed to have acted as a private citizen. Because he was legally armed, there were no repercussions. But he was judged not to have acted as a police officer.
Any answers?
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