Expert: Philip Sweeting - 11/7/2007

Question
I am writing a novel and I have a couple of queries.
Two of my characters have been kidnapped and are being held aboard a large luxury yacht in the Marina in LA.

1)  Does my Deputy Chief and his detectives of the LAPD need a Search Warrant to board the yacht?   If they get the warrant can they then board the yacht themselves and perform the search or would they need the Harbour Police to be involved with them?   Would the latter be in the more senior position?

2)When the kidnappers are arrested and I presume brought before a Magistrate's Court would they be allowed bail?    Or would kidnapping be an offence for which bail would not be considered?   Also how long would they be in the LAPD jail before a court hearing would be arranged?

Mr Sweeting I will be so grateful for any help you can give me.   I am writing to you from Ireland.

Answer
If they knew they were being held on the yacht they would not need a search warrant. The police are permitted to enter a residence/yacht without a warrant if there is an "emergency". So it would depend on how reliable the information was that indicated the victims were on the yacht.

But once they rescue the victims then they should get a search warrant to do the crime scene search on the yacht.

The people searching the yacht would have to be the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction but keep in mind in the U.S. the FBI has jurisdiction in kidnappings since it is also a Federal offense. So in all likelihood the FBI would be in charge of the investigation but they would be working with the local jurisdiction.

Once the bad guys were arrested, they would be held in the LA jail but would be taken for a Federal Judge for the charges. Every jurisdiction has their own bail schedule but I suspect for kidnapping there would be no bail....so they would sit in jail until trial but would see a judge within 24 hours..