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Can I Be Charged With Trespass Even If I Didn’t Mean To Go On To Someone Else’s Property?

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Yes, indeed you can. It may seem counter-intuitive, but you can be charged with trespass even if you made a mistake by going on to someone else’s property. Even though that may seem strange, there are definitely ways to handle the charge if you hire the right attorney.

Let me give you an example of a recently handled case: An individual went to drop something off to his girlfriend at her high school (he had graduated from the same school the year before). The girlfriend knew he was coming to drop the item off to her, but she did not tell her teacher. The young man pulled into the school parking lot, entered the front door, and starting walking towards the girl’s locker. A school security guard stopped him halfway down the hallway, and asked him what he was doing. After a few minutes of explanation, the security guard informed the young man that from now on, he would have to check into the front office before visiting anyone. It just so happened that a police officer was at the school that day, and he also spoke the scared kid. The young man leaves, gets back into his car, and drives away.

A few days later, the young man receives a citation in the mail for trespassing. The police officer decided that enough facts exist to charge him with such an offense, and now the kid is scared to death. Now keep in mind, this was a kid who had attended this same high school, still knew all the teachers, and was even on a first name basis with the school security guard. But nevertheless, he was charged. Does this seem fair? Probably not. But then this type of thing happens all the time.

So the question becomes, what to do about it? Well, the citation that the young man received looks like any speeding ticket that you might get when pulled over on the highway. It’s a yellowish-orange, small, rectangular-shaped document that gives you the basics of the charges: the date on which it occurred, the officer’s information, the officer’s description of the facts, and the court date and time. On the back, it also lists ways in which you can simply pay the fine associated with the charges (it will literally give you a list of ways, like pay by mail, internet, or over the phone). The municipality will strongly encourage you to simply pay for the fine instead of showing up in court, because they do not want a lot of people on the night docket.

But this is not your only option. Another option would be contact an attorney with the knowledge and skill to either get the charges reduced or dropped. The affordable St. Louis criminal defense attorneys at The Bankruptcy Company have been making sure that our client’s rights and needs are taken care for years. Our goal is to put you in the best position possible, make sure you receive the most appropriate outcome, and do it all at an affordable cost.

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