I am posting this on behalf of a colleague because we've been getting all sorts of different opinions...
This happened back when he was 16 or 17. He and his friends were leaving a movie theater at night time, and with all the lights in the parking lot he didn't notice that his headlights were off. A couple police cars are sitting in the parking lot or something, and right before reaching the exit to the lot, he is pulled over for this. The officers discover a paintball gun in the backseat of the car with the co2 canister in but no paintballs...i.e. not "loaded". He is let off with a warning but they confiscate the paintball gun to "make sure no vandalism is reported that night." Small town, etc...
Several days pass and when he calls to inquire about getting it back, he is informed that the DA has decided to charge him with a felony carrying of a concealed weapon. Again, small town.
Somehow he works it out that he and his father go down to the police station, pay a bond, and he's free to go until the court date. He was never "arrested", placed in handcuffs or anything, but he did have to get fingerprinted. It was eventually lowered to a misdemeanor, and when it finally got before a judge, quickly dismissed as being frivolous.
So the big question is, since he's filling out apps to 121 jobs now, would this be considered an arrest even though he was never physically "arrested"? Would he need to disclose that he was at one point charged with a felony even though it was dropped to a misdemeanor by the DA? He's been clean as a whistle since, not even a speeding ticket.