In Re the Driver's License of Pinyatello

CLARK, Judge.

The petitioner contends that his arrest was illegal because the alleged violation of G.S. 20-138 was a misdemeanor, which was not committed in the presence of the arresting officer, and that, therefore, the evidence relating to the attempted administration of the breathalyzer test should be excluded.

G.S. 15A-401(b)(2), effective 1 July 1974, gives the officer broadened authority to arrest for crimes committed out of his presence. Prior to this statute North Carolina law limited arrest without a warrant for crimes not committed in the presence of the officer to felonies, when…