Trespass prosecution

[Satguy]

In Missouri there are degrees of trespass. You can be convicted of 3rd degree trespass and the property in question does not even have to be posted.The degrees of trespass go up from there depending on the extent of the posting of the property. Swat 1018 is correct on contacting an MDC agent as they are very persistent in these matters. I know of a case where the MDC agent got a conviction without pics and only a witness statement of the trespass violation. Good luck

 

[Jeff H]

Call your Conservation Agent. I would ask him to visit the property, take him to where the camera is, and show him the pictures and the spot in person. Explain to him the issue and let him deal with it. I have had great luck with MDC Conservation Agents doing their job. If he sees the situation and believes there is probable cause for an arrest, he may file the charge.

Thanks swat...I'll make that call to him this morning.

 

[Buckly]

Be advised, that different states have different trespass laws.

For instance; in Pennsylvania it's almost impossible to have somebody arrested for trespass, where here in New York, it's fairly easy with the type of evidence you've obtained. Like others have mentioned, it's best to get a hold of your Conservation officer or LEO. They should know all the info that you'll need.

Man, we should trade places. Around this part of NY it's just about impossible to get a conviction unless someone is actually breaking into your house! It comes down to their word against yours and a picture is just not enough evidence where I'm at. They will fill out a report but, that's as far as it will go around here. The officer would actually have to witness the trespass and that's pretty much a very long shot. It's just not high priority for them. More than once I've been told, "The other party said they didn't" or "they're probably just hunting". I can't recall how many times I've called a game warden. They will never ever respond. Call the sheriff and they would come out and fill out the report but, just a waste of time really.

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

Do game wardens or sheriff's department take care of these matters in your area? In my area it is just a matter of filing charges and they can go to court to prove they are innocent. The game warden takes care of these charges in Illinois. I would say if the justice system isn't going to work call a couple buddies and use some old fashion justice. Nothing irritates me more than worthless trespassers!

 

[Otghuntingclub]

Do game wardens or sheriff's department take care of these matters in your area? In my area it is just a matter of filing charges and they can go to court to prove they are innocent. The game warden takes care of these charges in Illinois. I would say if the justice system isn't going to work call a couple buddies and use some old fashion justice. Nothing irritates me more than worthless trespassers!

I've had numerous trespassing incidents on my property over the past three years. Reported all to DNR and local Sherrif. As far as I can tell, no action has been taken. I've had photographic evidence, although not positive ID. I would expect a little investigation, maybe a few patrols around the area, but have seen no evidence of either...disgruntled to say the least.

 

[Jeff H]

I just got off the phone with the conservation officer for my county. He has been the officer for my county for 18 years now and has always gone by the strictest interpretation of the law. He told me that he has no jurisdiction with the matter unless the trespass involved hunting or fishing. He advised me to call both the Sheriff and the prosecutor and to file a complaint. I told him that I've not had much luck with the Sheriff's office in the past. He was well aware of that problem as well and that's why he advised me to also call the prosecutor. I'll make those calls tomorrow. I've got a bad feeling this is going to go nowhere but going to move forward until I hit a wall. Then maybe I'll just have to hit back!

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

The laws on this issue are just crazy. I would think you could just file criminal trespass charges

 

[Mennoniteman]

Be advised, that different states have different trespass laws.

For instance; in Pennsylvania it's almost impossible to have somebody arrested for trespass, where here in New York, it's fairly easy with the type of evidence you've obtained. Like others have mentioned, it's best to get a hold of your Conservation officer or LEO. They should know all the info that you'll need.

So right, Pennsylvania has the weakest trespassing laws in the nation.

 

[Bowhunter]

Man, we should trade places. Around this part of NY it's just about impossible to get a conviction unless someone is actually breaking into your house! It comes down to their word against yours and a picture is just not enough evidence where I'm at. They will fill out a report but, that's as far as it will go around here. The officer would actually have to witness the trespass and that's pretty much a very long shot. It's just not high priority for them. More than once I've been told, "The other party said they didn't" or "they're probably just hunting". I can't recall how many times I've called a game warden. They will never ever respond. Call the sheriff and they would come out and fill out the report but, just a waste of time really.

I'm not far from you in New York state, so it should be the very similar for you as far as trespassers go.

When we have trespassing issues we always deal with the State Troopers. I haven't had any incidents in probably three or four years, but what I have done in the past that works is to record the trespassers tag number off from their hunting license back tag. I've had a couple that put up tree stands, and the State Troopers actually went out in the woods to take down the tree stands with me. Then they tell the trespassers that they can come get the stand at the barracks to recover it if it's theirs. Of course none do, because that proves that they are guilty, and would be arrested for trespass.

 

[farmer]

I know a guy who filed a civil suit against a trespasser and won after local authorities did nothing about it.
He was very meticulous to document all his expenses on habitat and deer and was able to somehow prove the neighbors negativitly impacted his hunting causing him financial loss.
Bet they think twice about it next time!

 

[TreeDaddy]

I feel for you ,Jeff

I went through similar bulls**t with a neighbors cows several years ago

previous post may be best option

bill

 

[Jeff H]

I feel for you ,Jeff

I went through similar bulls**t with a neighbors cows several years ago

previous post may be best option

bill

Thanks Bill, I appreciate it. I've been blessed with the first two neighbors. Had a chance to buy that home at a great price but the boss wasn't going to do a 3rd mortgage. She was right. It would have difficult with our income. One thing I know is the only way to control your neighbors is to own them.
Did your isue ever get resolved?

 

[Jeff H]

I know a guy who filed a civil suit against a trespasser and won after local authorities did nothing about it.
He was very meticulous to document all his expenses on habitat and deer and was able to somehow prove the neighbors negativitly impacted his hunting causing him financial loss.
Bet they think twice about it next time!

That's very interesting. I wonder what it takes to prove financial loss. A term that my conservation officer used is harassment. It's illegal to harass hunters in Missouri. If I can document harassment I have a case.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Jeff,

I paid for the fence materials and the neighbor put it up

Best money I ever spent, because it resolved the issue

bill

 

[Satguy]

Your original post says you and your neighbor are in a boundary dispute. Do you have a survey showing your boundary lines? I would show your neighbor the survey if you have one. If he has one look at it and see if they match up.

 

[Jeff H]

Your original post says you and your neighbor are in a boundary dispute. Do you have a survey showing your boundary lines? I would show your neighbor the survey if you have one. If he has one look at it and see if they match up.

I was told two Sundays ago by the wife that they are planning to have their property surveyed and that they believe my private road lies on their property. I do have a survey but they have not had theirs done yet as far as I can tell. I set cams up on the line so that I could see if/when a surveyor was actually out there. That's how I got the trespass pics. I spoke to the survey company that did my survey and they said that there is nothing to dispute until they come up with a survey that reads differently than mine. They were very open to discussing it if there is a problem. I did tell the wife that if their survey shows differently than mine then I would need a copy of their survey to take to my surveyor. The problem is that if they actually have a survey and it's not in their favor I'm not going to hear a thing. Again that's why I set cams up so that I would know definitively that a survey has been done. I'm not going to show them mine until I have to.
So at this point I guess I don't have a boundary "dispute", but a "claim".

 

[144]

I'd do like you and try to find out when the surveyors are there, camera will work great for that. Also, if you could find out the surveying company, that would be even better. Not sure if your area is like mine or not, but around here all of the surveyors know each other. After they are done surveying, you could reach out to your surveyor and see if they would check with the neighbor's surveyor to find out what they came up with. If the neighbor's surveyor finds an indication of who surveyed the line before, they may reach out to your surveyor anyway and may reference them on the survey given to the neighbor.

As an example, I bought my land a few years ago and had a copy of the survey from the former owner, which my legal description was based on. One line had been apparently ran wrong by multiple surveyors in the past, since there are three existing pins within 10 ft of each other. The survey I had showed that line referencing a neighbors survey, which actually worked 10ft in my favor. That was the recognized line by the neighbors, which i was good with. I was able to track down the neighbors surveyor from 20 yrs before (now retired) and asked him about it. Weirdly enough, he remembered the property and why they were having issues lining it up. My surveyor knew the neighbor's surveyor, so he had reached out and discussed with him. They agreed and my surveyor used the neighbors survey as reference and cited him on mine.

I actually went out to the guy's house and he gave me a copy of the neighbor's survey that he ran with the line in question and put his seal on it. Was very grateful to him that he did so, since that should clear up any issues in the future. The neighboring land is in succession, and will most likely never be sold, since there are so many owners. Just didn't want an issue to crop up later, when someone gets a wild hair. Ended up costing me nothing, just did a good bit of research and had some helpful surveyors.

Who knows, you may be able to get a copy of their survey through your surveyor. Worth a shot...

Feel your pain, boundary/trespassing issues are no fun. Hoping it works out for you and you can get the issue put to bed.




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[Jeff H]

Called the prosecutors office just now. I asked "what do I need to successfully prosecute someone for trespassing".
She said I could not speak to a prosecutor as they are not allowed to give legal advice. I explained that I'd rather not waste their time or mine by not having everything they need to successfully prosecute. "sorry You'll need to call the Sheriff's office. Got the same treatment at the Sheriff's office.

 

[Mo-Ape]

You might want to put an old, non-working trail camera in an obvious spot and put another well hidden or text camera pointing towards it to catch them if they stole it.


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[Otghuntingclub]

Called the prosecutors office just now. I asked "what do I need to successfully prosecute someone for trespassing".
She said I could not speak to a prosecutor as they are not allowed to give legal advice. I explained that I'd rather not waste their time or mine by not having everything they need to successfully prosecute. "sorry You'll need to call the Sheriff's office. Got the same treatment at the Sheriff's office.

From what I can tell, trespassing is a big concern for those of us that have paid a good chunk money to own our own chunk of property, but generally is a very low priority for law enforcement personnel. In addition to trespassing, I've had incidents of larceny (cameras vandalized or stolen) and harassment (gates cabled and locked), and still no face-to-face meeting or action by law enforcement. It's almost as they are encouraging landowners to take enforcement into our own hands, which personally I would prefer not to do.