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When we were kids we played chicken with the farmer that owned the orchard we played in.
When we lost we got peppered with rock salt.
We had thieves stealing our fancy young pigeons when I was in grammar school.
One time on the board with nail’s covered with dirt stopped that in its tracks.
They do sell 12ga trip wire traps that can spray blue dye or give a loud bang or whistle report.
Those are pretty cool but I’m scared to use mine.
All joking aside,
Best bet is to have them on a game cam and show it to the game warden.
The game warden might be more helpful than a cop and are great assets to know.
That would be my choice.
Not necessarily. In CO, owners are not required to have fencing or signs to tell would-be trespassers it is private property. The burden of knowing what is private is on the “traveler.”
Fences and signs make it obvious, though, so both are good to have. As are multiple surveillance devices and observant owners.
OP should look up trespass laws for CA, as some states do require posting, and in some cases it gets very detailed as to paint colors and distance between No Trespassing signs.
Yes my question is for if I encounter a trespasser on my property. In my case there is no "accidental" trespassing, because I have fences.
Sounds like there is not much a landowner can do?!
Ummm, you most definitely can tell him to leave immediately. You have that right, and if he refuses to go, the trespass becomes a more serious matter. If he leaves when you tell him to, he might get away with only a warning, because it is “only” a misdemeanor trespass. Make him scared to ever come back. Seriously. If he damages something, that might be considered criminal trespass.
I caught someone trespassing and followed him on foot for 2 miles after my husband called the sheriff’s office. The trespasser was pretty cocky about being able to burn me off, but HE was the one who couldn’t keep up the pace. Hahahahah. He was also cocksure that “the police won’t come.” I smiled and said, “It might take a while, but they will. And I will dog you until they arrive.” The idiot bragged about how far he could walk and said I would not last, as he kept slowing down and breathing harder.
And then there they were: not one but TWO sheriff’s cars approaching from different directions. I think the trespasser nearly sht himself. They searched him and he had no ID, gave a fake name, etc. He got off with a trespass notice that I’m sure he tossed out. But he got proven wrong on both who could outwalk whom, and on LE response.
This was during the beginning of COVID and he counted on not being jailed due to concern over new inmates infecting other inmates. They would still jail, though—for more serious crimes.
Did you tell the trespasser to leave? Did you call LE? Do you have proof of trespass? (We did, though we weren’t required to show it because LE took our word for it. We kept the proof anyway.)
Not necessarily. In CO, owners are not required to have fencing or signs to tell would-be trespassers it is private property. The burden of knowing what is private is on the “traveler.”
Fences and signs make it obvious, though, so both are good to have. As are multiple surveillance devices and observant owners.
OP should look up trespass laws for CA, as some states do require posting, and in some cases it gets very detailed as to paint colors and distance between No Trespassing signs.
In CA, either fence or posted. Criminal/aggravated trespass (602.8cpc) defines what is required for citable offenses. Trespass is almost a wasted cite in CA - its almost always cited with 459cpc (burglary) or 484pc petty theft. This is why its important to know why the OP is asking...
(a) Any person who without the written permission of the landowner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession of the land, willfully enters any lands under cultivation or enclosed by fence, belonging to, or occupied by, another, or who willfully enters upon uncultivated or unenclosed lands where signs forbidding trespass are displayed at intervals not less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering the lands, is guilty of a public offense.
(b) Any person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) shall be punished as follows:
(1) A first offense is an infraction punishable by a fine of seventy-five dollars ($75).
(2) A second offense on the same land or any contiguous land of the same landowner, without the permission of the landowner, the landowner's agent, or the person in lawful possession of the land, is an infraction punishable by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(3) A third or subsequent offense on the same land or any contiguous land of the same landowner, without the permission of the landowner, the landowner's agent, or the person in lawful possession of the land, is a misdemeanor.
Yes my question is for if I encounter a trespasser on my property. In my case there is no "accidental" trespassing, because I have fences.
Sounds like there is not much a landowner can do?!
What do you WANT to do when that happens?
Then we can tell you if you can, can't, should or shouldn't.
It would also be helpful to know how often this happens, why it happens, who the trespasser is, what happened when you told him to leave, and whether it's the same trespasser numerous times.
Then we can tell you if you can, can't, should or shouldn't.
It would also be helpful to know how often this happens, why it happens, who the trespasser is, what happened when you told him to leave, and whether it's the same trespasser numerous times.
Details count and you have provided none.
In my particular case, I haven't seen the intruder; my property is unoccupied most of the time; when I arrive after an absence I just see garbage scattered around certain spots. I am preparing for the event when I do encounter the intruder when I arrive.
I want the intruder dealt with by the police. But in my case police is 30 min away; I think one of the below are more likely to occur:
1) The intruder leaves (seems there will be no consequence for the trespassing)
2) There is a confrontation
So I want to know how others deal with this type of issue.
is there an easement that runs thru your property or a trail system that has been used for many many years? Almost sounds like it. If so put out a couple of large trash cans next to the areas where people are stopping etc.
In my particular case, I haven't seen the intruder; my property is unoccupied most of the time; when I arrive after an absence I just see garbage scattered around certain spots. I am preparing for the event when I do encounter the intruder when I arrive.
I want the intruder dealt with by the police. But in my case police is 30 min away; I think one of the below are more likely to occur:
1) The intruder leaves (seems there will be no consequence for the trespassing)
2) There is a confrontation
So I want to know how others deal with this type of issue.
Good grief, start with putting up SIGNS and cameras. Some cameras in plain sight and some hidden, including those to keep watch on the obvious cameras. Without being there in person, you need evidence of the trespasses. You can show that to the police if the trespasser leaves—and you should, because it happens repeatedly. They still might be unable to do anything, but without any proof, they WON’T be able to do anything.
Confront or not is a judgment call. I don’t know what kind of person you are and how far you’re willing to go. It also depends on what the trespasser is like.
We dealt with the issue by moving there when the house was built. Still got some trespassers, though ramping up the monitoring and maybe sheer time has helped. Also, at least some neighbors do keep watch on suspicious activity. Not like geezers-sitting-all-day-on porch stuff, but anything helps.
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