Ah, but here we have a problem. If Arbery were still alive and being accused of second degree burglary, intent would need to be proved. But you don't need to prove intent before you carry out a citizen's arrest - reasonable suspicion of a felony is enough.
I'm back to thinking the McMichaels could easily be acquitted.
Well, "reasonable suspicion" by a wannabee citizen arrester that a felony had been committed by someone actually is NOT enough.
1. Again. Neither Senior or Junior witnessed Ahmaud entering into English's property that day. It was physically impossible for them to have witnessed it, and they have never claimed they did. Whether or not Ahmaud's entry that day was a misdemeanor or a felony is therefore legally irrelevant.
2. What Senior has said is that he identified Ahmaud as the man he had seen in English's nighttime videos, AND that he believed was responsible for a "rash" of burglaries in the neighborhood.
3. Neither Senior or Junior witnessed any of the alleged burglaries OR the trespasses. The most recent incident on record was the supposed theft of Junior's gun from his unlocked truck, almost 2 months prior. Unwitnessed. And not captured on surveillance tape. Ditto the theft of fishing gear, not from English's construction site, unreported if true, and not captured on surveillance tape.
4. Even if Senior thought the prior trespasses onto English's site were felonies (despite what he saw on the tapes), he did NOT have the requisite immediate knowledge of those"crimes" to make a citizen's arrest. That even after the fact it can't be established that Ahmaud was the man in those videos tells you Senior lacked that requisite knowledge.
Beyond all that, it isn't permissible for a private party to pursue someone as Junior and Senior did unless they witnessed Ahmaud commiting a crime (they didn't) and saw him attempting to flee the crime (see not witnessing any crime), and even when such pursuit is permissable, the use of excessive force in that pursuit most definitely isn't.