North Carolina § 14-50 - 42. Real property used by criminal gangs declared a public nuisance: abatement.

§ 14-50. 42. Real property used by criminal gangs declared a public nuisance: abatement.

Public Nuisance. - Any real property that is erected, established, maintained, owned, leased, or used by any criminal gang for the purpose of conducting criminal gang activity, as defined in G.S. 14-50.16A(2), shall constitute a public nuisance and may be abated as provided by and subject to the provisions of Article 1 of Chapter 19 of the General Statutes. Innocent Activities. - The provisions of this section shall not apply to real property used for criminal gang activity where any of the following conditions are met: The owner or person who has legal possession of the real property does not have actual knowledge that the real property is being used for criminal gang activity. The owner or person who has legal possession of the real property is being coerced into allowing the property to be used for criminal gang activity. The owner or person who has legal possession of the real property is making or has made a good-faith attempt to terminate the criminal gang activity or remove criminal gang members from the property through legal means, including trespass or summary ejectment. Proof that criminal gang activity by a criminal gang member is regularly committed at any real property or proof that the real property is regularly used for engaging in criminal gang activity by a criminal gang member is prima facie evidence that the owner or person who has legal possession of the real property knowingly permitted the act unless the owner or person who has legal possession of the real property is making or has made a good-faith attempt to terminate the criminal gang activity or remove criminal gang members from the property through legal means, including trespass or summary ejectment. For purposes of this section, the term "regularly" means at least five times in a period of not more than 12 months. For purposes of this subsection, evidence that the defendant knew, or by the exercise of due diligence should have known, of the criminal gang activity constitutes proof of actual knowledge. History (2008-214, s. 3; 2012-28, ss. 1, 2; 2017-194, s. 15.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2012-28, s. 1, enacted this section as G.S. 14-50.32. It has been renumbered as this section at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2012-28, s. 2, effective October 1, 2012, and applicable to offenses committed and abatement actions commenced on or after that date, repealed former G.S. 14-50.24 , pertaining to the declaration of and abatement of property used by criminal street gangs as a public nuisance. The text of G.S. 14-50.24 was substantially similar to this section, and its historical citation has been added here. Session Laws 2017-194, s. 20, made the amendment to this section by Session Laws 2017-194, s. 15, which substituted "criminal gangs" or variants for "criminal street gangs" or variants in section heading and throughout the section; in subsection (a), substituted "G.S. 14-50.16A(2)" for "G.S. 14- 50.16(c)" and added the second paragraph; and rewrote subsection (b), effective December 1, 2017, and applicable to offenses committed on or after that date. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2017-194, s. 15, substituted "criminal gangs" or variants for "criminal street gangs" or variants in section heading and throughout the section; in subsection (a), substituted "G.S. 14-50.16A(2)" for "G.S. 14-50.16(c)" and added the second paragraph; and rewrote subsection (b). For effective date and applicability, see editor's note.