Extradition: 22-Year-Old Headed Back To Durham To Face Felony Charges

In December, Durham police responded to a 911 call regarding a shooting near Truman Street. When police arrived, they found a 29-year-old man with gunshot wounds who required hospitalization. The man police believe is connected to the shooting was recently found in Florida and arrested by U.S. Marshals.

Twenty-two-year-old Terrell Barnes had reportedly fled North Carolina and was found in Orlando. He faces several NC felony charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, firing a gun in an occupied home and firing a gun within city limits.

Extradition To North Carolina

If you have been charged with committing a felony – or a crime punishable by a year or more in prison – you cannot simply leave the state where the felony was charged to avoid prosecution.

The Extradition Clause of the U.S. Constitution specifically allows removal from one state to another if he or she has been charged with a felony in another state. The Uniform Criminal Extradition Act (UCEA) allows federal officers, local police and even private citizens to arrest an individual who is the subject of out-of-state criminal charges.

Once arrested on an out-of-state warrant, a defendant will typically have to wait in jail until the extradition process is complete. A criminal defense lawyer in your area can help you fight the extradition and get you out of jail, if possible.

Extradition can also be used to move a defendant from one county to another within North Carolina. For example, if you were arrested in Wake County for a crime committed in New Hanover County, the police can move you to New Hanover County for prosecution through the extradition process

Source: WRAL, “Durham fugitive arrested in Florida,” January 18, 2012