Kidnapping Lawyer in Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale Police publishes no kidnapping unit. Persons crimes sit with its Investigations section, and the department's Crimes Against Persons investigators are based at the city's Family Advocacy Center, 10225 E. Via Linda. Sharing that building are crisis intervention staff, a Department of Child Safety team, city prosecutors and forensic nurse examiners. The city describes the center's mission as stronger investigations of crimes against persons, especially child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault, with less trauma for victims. It has a pair of interview rooms and space where detectives process video, so a recording made there can turn up in the State's disclosure. Tempe, Carefree, Cave Creek, Paradise Valley and Fountain Hills are also on its service list, so a neighboring agency's case can pass through Via Linda too.

Every kidnapping under A.R.S. 13-1304 is a felony. Unlawful imprisonment (13-1303) is a class 6 felony by default, and a class 1 misdemeanor only if the release was voluntary, injury-free, in a safe place and ahead of any arrest. Scottsdale's Prosecution Division works city misdemeanors in City Court and lists state felonies as the work of the County Attorney or the Attorney General, so a kidnapping charge is prosecuted downtown rather than on 75th Street. Where the relationship qualifies, both crimes are domestic violence offenses under A.R.S. 13-3601, and the County Attorney says its Family Violence Bureau is responsible for domestic violence prosecutions, including child and vulnerable adult abuse cases.

Some reports start with a parenting schedule. Under A.R.S. 13-1301, a child under 18 is restrained without consent if the lawful custodian never agreed, and the child's own willingness does not change that. For unlawful imprisonment, a relative has a defense when the relative's only goal was lawful custody and no one was physically injured. The custody order, the exchange calendar and the parents' messages therefore sit near the center of the defense.

An arrest on either felony moves the case into the county system. The city jail on 75th Street holds jail court for city cases, but a kidnapping booking generally means a first hearing at the county's 24-hour booking center, ITR, 2670 S. 28th Dr., Phoenix, and Rule 4.1 sets a 24-hour deadline for it. In setting release, A.R.S. 13-3967 has the judge weigh the views of the victim along with the nature of the charge, the accused's employment and family ties, the weight of the evidence and how long the accused has lived in the community.

Release terms can change where you sleep tonight. Pretrial Services, which Adult Probation runs out of the South Court Tower, lists no-contact orders for alleged victims, orders to stay away from the scene, drug and alcohol testing and ankle monitors among the conditions it supervises. Make no contact with the other person of any kind: no apology, no explanation, no message passed through a friend or relative, and no social media post aimed at them. If a term blocks you from your own home or from parenting time, ask the judge to change it through your lawyer, and never by ignoring it.

Separate from the criminal case, the other person may seek an order of protection. Scottsdale City Court describes these orders as a tool to stop domestic violence, takes petitions during weekday business hours and points petitioners to AZPOINT, the state's online petition tool; after hours, it says, any police officer can help with an emergency order. Granted orders go straight to law enforcement for service. Petitioners are told to expect sworn testimony, so what either side says at that hearing may later be quoted in the criminal case.

Officers can also take statements, submit a report and leave the call to prosecutors. The County Attorney's outline lets a reviewing prosecutor send a submission back for further investigation, refuse it, or route it to a different jurisdiction. Weeks of silence after an interview may simply mean nobody has decided yet, and a lawyer can use that time to show the prosecutor messages or witnesses the report missed.

Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. A kidnapping conviction is a felony record, as is a felony unlawful imprisonment conviction. A.R.S. 13-3101 makes a person convicted of a felony a prohibited possessor until that right is restored, and it reaches people serving probation for a felony or a domestic violence offense while the probation lasts. In a domestic violence case, 13-3601 requires the charging papers to say so and carry the DV letters. Restitution for the full economic loss is mandatory under 13-603(C), and a person who is not a U.S. citizen should consult an immigration lawyer before any plea.