Man Made a Citizen’s Arrest on Child Fishing Near His Home. Now He’s Charged

A fishing trip at a neighborhood lake in East Memphis has turned into a criminal case over just how far a private citizen can go when trying to enforce the law himself.

Stanley Trezevant is charged with child abuse and assault after a boy’s mother told Memphis police that Trezevant followed her son and another child as they were leaving a lake, grabbed one of them, threw him to the ground and restrained him.

The child was later taken to a hospital with bruises on his arm and leg, according to the police report. Trezevant later called police himself and acknowledged restraining the boy, saying he was carrying out a citizen’s arrest because the children had been fishing on his property.

Trezevant’s attorney, Blake Ballin, says Tennessee law gave his client the right both to make that arrest and to use reasonable force if the child was fleeing or resisting. Tennessee does indeed have statutes covering both situations, but the rules come with conditions that could become important as the case moves forward.

Lines In The Water

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The confrontation happened Sept. 12 near Norfleet Turner Lake, behind the 6400 block of River Tide Cove.

The boy’s mother told police that Trezevant approached her son and his friend while they were fishing and told them to leave. The children began walking away, but Trezevant followed them and allegedly grabbed one boy by the arm, threw him down, put a knee on his back and pulled his hands behind him.

The following day, Trezevant called police to his home and gave his own version of what happened. He said the children had been fishing on his property and that he followed them to perform a citizen’s arrest, eventually releasing the boy after the child apologized.

There may also be a property-line question behind the dispute. WMC reported that Norfleet Turner Lake is only partially bordered by private property, with other portions open to the public. Court records reviewed by the station showed that Trezevant’s home is one of several properties bordering the lake.

Ballin told WREG that no-trespassing signs were posted on the property and argued that Trezevant was trying to detain someone he believed had broken the law.

What Counts

The basic citizen’s-arrest argument is not imaginary.

Under Tennessee Code § 40-7-109, a private person may arrest someone for a “public offense” committed in that person’s presence. The statute also permits private arrests in certain situations involving felonies committed outside the arresting person’s presence.

Criminal trespass, meanwhile, is a Class C misdemeanor under Tennessee law. It generally covers entering or remaining on property without the owner’s consent.

That statute contains another wrinkle. Tennessee provides a defense to criminal-trespass prosecution when someone reasonably believed entry was permitted, did not substantially interfere with the owner’s use of the property and immediately left when asked. That defense does not apply in the same way when property has qualifying no-trespassing signs or markings.

The available reporting does not establish precisely where the children had been standing in relation to Trezevant’s property line, nor does it independently establish the location or visibility of the signs Ballin referenced.

Reasonable Has Limits

Ballin also pointed to Tennessee’s rules governing force during a private arrest.

Tennessee Code § 39-11-621 allows a private citizen to use force reasonably necessary against a person who flees or resists while the citizen is making an arrest “authorized by law.” Deadly force is restricted to circumstances that would separately justify it under the state’s self-defense laws.

That wording makes the legality of the arrest itself part of the equation. The statute does not create a general right to use force against someone merely because the person making the arrest believes an offense occurred.

Trezevant’s attorney argues that the affidavit supports his position because the child was leaving and knew Trezevant was trying to arrest him. Prosecutors will have the opportunity to contest that characterization as the criminal case proceeds.

Trezevant is presumed innocent of the charges.

One More Step

Tennessee’s citizen-arrest laws do not stop with making the arrest.

Under Tennessee Code § 40-7-113, a private person who arrests someone for a public offense is supposed to take that person before a magistrate or deliver the person to a law-enforcement officer “without unnecessary delay.”

The account Trezevant reportedly gave police describes something different: he restrained the child and then let him go after the boy apologized.

The presently available record does not establish how a court will apply that provision to Trezevant’s defense, and he has not been charged with violating the citizen-arrest statute itself. But it means the legal question is broader than whether Tennessee recognizes citizen’s arrests or permits reasonable force during one.

Trezevant had posted a $15,000 bond before appearing in court Friday. His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 3.