Flying domestically with felony warrant??
 

Hello all,
I know this is a strange question but I told my friend I'd ask anyways.... I have a friend who has a felony warrant out for his arrest for theft (nothing violent) and he needs to fly back to his home state for his grandmothers funeral. I travel a good bit so he asked me if he thought it would be ok for him to fly from state to state and not be arrested. I told him I had no idea but I would research it for him and see if I could find out. I know that you aren't required to give your SSN when you book an airline ticket but I'm not sure if they cross reference your name and birthdate some other way. Any advice anyone could give on this would be appreciated. This is probably the strangest question I've ever had to ask. I know it wouldn't be a good idea for him to travel internationally at all because of customs but I've never really thought about domestic travel at all.
Thanks in advance!!

If he knows he has warrants, he should take care of them.

Welcome to Flyertalk.

Unless they have some reason to run his ID (he's noticed in the SPOT checks as behaving like he has a warrant, his name is close to somebody on the watch list, etc) he will probably be fine getting through security.

I would be more concerned going to a family member's funeral in my home state, that just sounds like an easy place to catch him, sort of like he's expected to be there. He seriously needs legal advice here.

I agree. Travelling internationally, you are almost certain to be picked up for an outstanding felony warrant coming back into the US. For domestic travel, something else would need to happen for it to be noticed. But I also agree that if the warrant is in the home state, somebody might be waiting for him at the funeral. I second the advice of getting an attorney involved.

I knew he wouldn't be able to travel outside of the US because of having to come back thru customs but I wasn't sure about domestically inside the US so thanks for all of the input. I have no idea what kind of security checks they do nowadays at airports. I know you can go online and check and see if your name is on the "no fly" list but that list is only for suspected terrorists and has nothing to do with warrants. I knew I'd never heard (or saw) anyone being arrested at an airport over something like this but then again I've never really thought about it before.

I told him the same thing about the warrant. He wasn't too overly concerned about being "turned in" in his home state, evidently the warrant is 10+ years old and hardly anyone even in his home state knows about it. I didn't pry for details, I could tell it was really hard for him to ask me for the help that he did and I figure it isn't my place to judge anyways.

Actually, we can't check if our name is on the No Fly list, as it is SSI information :rolleyes:

I'd tell your friend to be wary of his surroundings, especially at the funeral. You never know what may happen to him when he returns.

^^ right on.

I agree here, but I would highly suggest he retain the services of an attorney in the course of addressing it.

A warrant, especially a felony, will catch up with him sooner or later, likely when he least expects it. It may not have been "violent" per the OP, but most non-violent felonies I'm aware of have a degree of moral turpitude involved.

With respect to travel within the states, warrant checks are not conducted by the TSA. TSA does match your name, DOB, and gender, against the No Fly List and Selectee List.

It is always possible a Behavioral Detection Officer (BDO) could refer him to law enforcement, where a warrant check would be routine.

If he has a run-in with a police officer out of state, it is likely the Felony Warrant will appear with any warrant check.

From what I understand, it would be up to the other state to extradite him, collect him, and return him to the state/county where he is wanted.

I suggest, at the very minimum, your friend addresses his travel concerns with an attorney before he leaves.

A 10 year old warrant? What in the world? Has be been tried and convicted in abstentia or something?

okay guys, thanks for all the input but now I have even more questions (sorry but I'm a naturally inquisitive person and some of your answers intrigue me lol)

First of all in regards to SDF_Traveler's response. I know what the No Fly List is but I've honestly never heard of the "Selectee List" could you explain what this is?? It may have nothing to do with my original question but you have my curiosity spiked now :)

Also what is a BDO and what would make him want to refer David to law enforcement? Do you mean if David (by the way, that is my friend's name...) were acting strangely or something. Sorry for all the questions I'm just trying to understand.

I already told him that he really, really needed to take care of this, if not now, when he returned back after the funeral. He explained to me a little more about what went wrong. Evidently 11 years ago he stole a case of baby formula for his 2 month old baby son (which was evidently valued at more than $250, which in his home state constitutes a felony) he and his wife were out of work so it was either that or lose his son (or his son go into foster care) he had already tried to get help from the state but they were dragging their feet, meanwhile he had a hungry baby so he got caught and arrested, sat in jail for a few weeks, was released, put on probation, made to pay thousands of dollars in fines which he couldn't pay (because he was still out of work) and his probation officer threatened him every month when he went to his appointment that he would go back to jail if he didn't have his fines caught up by the next month so he finally just didn't show up for his appointments so a warrant was issued. He finally found a job out of state, moved and is now a lot more stable, 10 years have went by, he hasn't so much as had a speeding ticket, I've known him for about 6 years and I never would have guessed something like this about him. I actually feel bad for him. Did he commit a crime? Yes. But would I have done the same thing if I didn't have any family who would have helped out? Maybe. His grandmother was the only family he had and she has been in a nursing home until she died for over 15 years.

Or hasn't the statute of limitations run on the crime?

No lawyer here but doesnt an arrest warrant trump any statute of limitations.

MisterNice

Agree. At least with an attorney he can take care of it on his terms. The other option includes handcuffs and a really uncomfortable car ride.

That's my (non-lawyer's) understanding. As long as the law enforcement agency makes half an effort to look for him every once in a while to avoid Speedy Trial issues.

Nope. Statute of Limitations is only from the time a crime is committed to the time it is indicted. If the cops can't figure out what happened, who, where, when, etc within the allotted time, the statute of limitations kicks in. As long as there is a warrant, it means there was an indictment or probable cause enough to issue a warrant so statue of limitations does not apply.

Your followup clears a great deal of confusion...

First, he already has a Felony Conviction on his record, guilt already established. His punishment was a probated sentence, for which failure to comply with all requirements thereof essentially put him in a (other than a hearing whether or not revocation is appropriate, and "fleeing the jurisdiction" will weigh heavily against him) bad position..."Go Directly to Jail! Don Not Pass Go!", since he has not yet "served" out his term.

His home state likely neither wants to spend the money to extradite or imprison him, but under the "For an example for the others" doctrine, there's a bench warrant out there, and any LEO in his home state could clearly exercise it at any moment his identity was made clear or discovered. It ain't going to go away, and by violating his probation, he has of his own free will and doing, established for himself "Fugitive Status" until such time as the court in which he was convicted (or a higher court) acts to change his status. if picked up, there's like not going to be bail (already having demonstrated to the court the likelihood of his flight from its jurisdiction).

It's long past time to get a lawyer and make some attempt to find out what would be necessary to (if possible) remove what is essentially classification as an "Outlaw". Just wait until his status crops up in a pre-employment or promotion investigation, or even a routine check at a traffic stop. Then, it's too late.

Before this thread gets locked or moved to OMNI, let me add my endorsement to getting this cleared up. If the circumstances are exactly as described, my guess (and that's all it is) is that your friend will be in for the attorney's expenses and probably those fines. With the circumstances for the crime, and a jurisdiction's likely simply wanting the money, get it resolved so your friend can move on with his life and not worry about this. All it takes is a speeding ticket or a traffic accident to get caught.

I just want to add a suggestion to your friend that he clear this up on his own terms. It very well may be that he has lived a normal life for the past 11 years, but this issue could come back to haunt him at any time, and might be very inconvenient and expensive to deal with. 11 years ago he was able to get a job, but if he ever needs to look for work again a background check today is a lot different than it was back then. With computerized records his arrest warrant will be found, and he will be arrested, and as a flight risk he most likely will be held without bail.

The attorney's fees will be huge for his family.

Jail time will mean lost employment and lost wages.

Considering that at my kids schools, the PTA runs a background check on all sports coaches and parent volunteers sooner or later this is going to come up.

How would your friend feel if he was driving down the road with his 11 year old kid, gets pulled over because he doesn't even realize he has a burned out tail light and gets cuffed & stuffed by the cop when he runs a basic warrant test? How would he feel if some overzealous prosecutor charges his wife with harboring a fugitive just to make a name for himself? How would he feel if his kid(s) are taken from him and placed in foster care? Clearly this is the extreme, but wouldn't it be worth it to find out if he can pay his fines and get this warrant discharged?

I think we have finally talked him into talking with a lawyer once he returns from the funeral about all of this. I told him that he literally can't run forever.

He is still REALLY worried about getting caught flying though. I tried to reassure him with all of what you guys said though. He is still afraid somehow someone out there will cross reference his name and birthdate with some list and find him. I told him thousands and thousands of people fly every single day and not to worry about that so much.

(I think he is actually just as worried about actually flying as he is worried about getting caught and arrested while flying! He has never flown before)

SOL doesn't run in most places once a person is indicted. In Wisconsin, prosecutors started indicted John Doe DNA samples to stop the statute of limitations in rape cases (and other crimes where they had genetic material and more than ordinary interest in the suspect).

We've now clarified this is a warrant for a probation violation, not a warrant for arrest for committing a crime.

Anyway, if had just been the underlying crime then the guy was known and identified and I think the warrant would be invalid once the SoL had run.

so just to make triple sure, none of you have ever heard of anyone with a warrant hanging over their head getting arrested at the airport (at least this type of warrant) I'm sure everyone has heard of child molestors or murderers getting arrested)?? Or know of any new security measures they take that check for these kinds of things now? I just want to make sure before I talk to him tonight, he leaves for the airport in the morning and he is a nervous wreck. I know he would drive if he had the time but he doesn't.

Thanks!!

Excellent advice, but it doesn't address the OP's question.

Because they have been oh so busy looking for him in the past 10 years and this is now their one chance . . . :rolleyes:

Your friend should take care of his warrant but . . .

With respect to air travel wholly within the USA, there is no current procedure that routinely runs passengers' names, genders and/or dates of birth through law enforcement databases in search of open warrants. Such a system doesn't exist. The way for your friend to get caught would be for a cop to run his ID. That is unlikely unless he attracts the attention of a cop though the TSA does have Behaivor Detection Officers (BDOs)-- you can read up on them here and elsewhere-- and if he is suspicious to them, they might be inclined to call the police and the police would then run his ID. Absent such a situation, your friend isn't going to have his ID run for warrants while flying within the USA.

I haven't really seen airport cops do anything other than use their butts on a regular basis, so I wouldn't exactly worry about "active" patrol like on the street where cops will pull someone over for a very minor violation and then fish for more. Airport cops seem more "on call" than "on patrol" when I see them, except here in ORD where they seem more "on break" than anything else.

Yes, depending on how "wanted" he is, he will most likely be arrested at the funeral.

Well, if he wants to give me his friends flight info, I'm sure I can help him take care of the warrant. ;)

:D

. . . though I doubt you'd want to waste the taxpayer's funds that way upon reflection.

Thanks guys, David, his wife, son and little girl will be off to the airport first thing in the morning, he is still nervous but I read all your posts to him just a few minutes ago and he seems a little less nervous. And good news, he is going to call a lawyer we both knows as soon as he is back home and deal with this once and for all!

It is good for David that they don't cross reference passenger names with law enforcement but in other situations it might be a good idea I guess. Until this came up I'd never really thought about it. No telling who I've been in the sky with before?! Kind of scary to think about in a way.

As far as attracting attention at the airport....that would be highly unlikely for David. He really is a sweet man, I'm surprised he is in this situation honestly. He is more likely to attract attention by helping some elderly person than by doing anything ugly any day. I've known him for years and I've never even saw him come close to losing his cool even once so I think he will be fine. I used to travel ALL the time for work and I don't even really remember seeing airport cops around much so they must not be out and about very much!

Again, thanks for everyone's help and advice. I'm glad I found these boards. Everyone was so nice. I was afraid when I posted everyone would be all judgemental and rude, glad to see that just wasn't the case.

:)

Yeah, you are right, there's like no chance he would be arrested on an outstanding warrant when returning to a funeral. He's got nothing at all to worry about just like these people didn't have to worry.

Not Richard Malave

Richard Malave thought no one would think to find him at a funeral in Cambridge, Mass., but he couldn't be more wrong. U.S. Marshals had him surrounded and at gunpoint when they arrested him -- on his birthday.

Not Tran Nguyen

A known gang member arrested at a funeral home in Calgary was ordered deported almost four years ago, officials say. Tran Trong Nghi Nguyen, who goes by the name Jackie Tran, was arrested on an immigration warrant Thursday night, police said.



Not Brenda Miguel

Orange County detectives arrested Brenda Miguel, 48, at the Baldwin-Fairchild funeral home on North Ivanhoe Boulevard after receiving a tip that she'd be in town for her aunt's funeral, sheriff's officials said Friday.

Please fill in the blank above. Does the phrase, "tried and convicted" seem correct?

"Pled guilty" would also fit there.

Anyway, we have no way of knowing if "David" was even convicted of a felony in the first place because we weren't there in court. It seems more likely that he plead to a lesser misdemeanor and the state dropped the felony charge; that is standard practice in many jurisdictions for first-time offenders who engage in non-violent criminal conduct.

Certainly an interesting topic.

Though if this guy has never flown before, he may look a bit out of place for the BDO. No reasont to run his license if he handles it well, but one never knows.

I'm curious if we'll hear the end of "David"s story.

And they were all picked up on warrants for probation violations for non-violent crimes, right? :rolleyes:

Wow, I'm really surprised, this is a really tolerant board! I pride myself in being someone who tries not to judge too harsly or too quickly. This thread is very informative. I'm hoping "justplainme" will update soon on "David's" situation and I hope he made it through his travels safely. And I hope for his childrens sake he takes care of all of this ugliness as soon as he is back home safely.

As far as the flying with a warrant it sounds like he didn't have much to worry about unless he was leaving the country and trying to re-enter or if he for some reason decided to act strangely at the airport (or strangely enough to attract the attention of an airport cop) - - which lets be honest with all the strangeness walking around out there would have to be pretty strange :)

Hi everyone,
Just a small update, David and his family did make it to his home state with no problems, now we are just waiting to see if he is just as lucky and makes it back just as safe.

Thanks everyone for your kind words and help!
I will keep you updated as I am

BTW, Ari you have the best sense of humor...

Glad to know he's OK! ^

Thanks, though I think the funnyman award goes to Good Guy for this thred. ;)

ehh.. If hes willing to talk to lawyer, they will msot likely tell him to turn self in, as tehy aren't going to give out advice against the law. Seeing how its a probie violation I see jail time associated with this, does he need more time?

Hi Davef139!
Actually my friend Dave whom this post was all about was able to fly back to his home state to attend his grandmother's funeral, he will be flying back here as soon as he has matters settled there. We are hoping he will be able to speak to a lawyer shortly after his return. I, myself am hoping with everything that he can avoid jail time. Dave is the sole breadwinner for his family, after his daughter was born almost 4 years ago his wife was forced to quit work because of his daughter being born with Kawasaki Disease. I guess we will see when he gets home. You asked if he could "use" more time. Honestly I'm sure he could use forever but I think he is finally just tired of living life looking over his shoulder.

I'm not familiar with how any of these things work (probation, violations, etc...) but I've been trying to do research since David came to me. I know it isn't related to flying but if anyone does know about probation or probation violations and wants to throw any advice or tips my way I'd appreciate it. :) Thanks

For practical purposes, depending upon the state, "probation violations" fall into the same category as escaping from a jail or prison, conveying after the issuance of a warrant, fugitive status.

Dave's problem depends on just how badly the court of appropriate jurisdiction (and that's likely to be the court from the jurisdiction of which he fled) wants him back or will the court - if he's very lucky - allow the reinstitution of a probation period in the state in which he now lives (which would require that state to agree to provide the services for which Dave would have to pay a hefty fee - and few states don't have over-burdened probation systems and even fewer would accept a probationer of out of state origin).

He's got to hope the court doesn't want him back....

He can move to Switzerland, where even child-rapists can remain on the lam.

Anyway, it sounds like he's close to reaching a short-term solution, and hopefully he can hire a lawyer to clear his name and resolve the issues without too much problem so that there's a long-term solution. Absent the desire to make an example of him, it seems that a resolution involving payment of the debts and perhaps some penalties will suffice.