As a kid growing up in three different neighborhoods (Kentucky, South Dakota, and Illinois) when we lived in the United States as a military family...
There were new homes being built within a few blocks of our house and some of those new homes had "Under Construction Warning Signs".
None had "Private Property" nor "Do Not Enter" signs.
Simply, it was normal to see kids and teenagers
get curious and enter these new homes being built just to see what it looked like from the inside while the new home was under construction. I specifically remember doing such a few times with my friends but
never at night (too scared).
- We usually spent a few minutes walking around looking (curious) at the construction of a home. One of my friends was inspired by such. Today, he's a famous architect in Chicago.
Just as important, there was no law that doing such was a crime.
It was legal.
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Video from the day of Arbery's death,
obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, shows a black man wearing a T-shirt and shorts walking up to a house under construction, entering and then leaving shortly after. Lawyers representing Arbery's family said in a statement Saturday that the security camera video proves Arbery did nothing wrong.
"Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site," the family's lawyers said in a statement. "He did not cause any damage to the property. He remained for a brief period of time and was not instructed by anyone to leave but rather left on his own accord to continue his jog. Ahmaud's actions at this empty home under construction were in
no way a felony under Georgia law."
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Had this guy enter the new home under construction with a backpack and then left the home with a full backpack
or carrying items from the home...
Probable cause that a crime was committed.
- Jogging down a street in a tee-shirt and jogging shorts before briefly entering a new home under construction with no occupants living there...those seeing you do such and then see you leave the home to continue your jogging...
That's
not probable cause to make a citizen arrest in the state of Georgia and in many states like Kentucky, South Dakota, and Illinois.
Had this guy been pushing a wheel barrel down the street with construction supplies, loading up a car or van with material from the home under construction...
That's probable cause.
wrbtrader