CanI be found guilty of criminal trespassing in the 3rd degree ifI left the premises the first timethat Iwas told to?
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CanI be found guilty of criminal trespassing in the 3rd degree ifI left the premises the first timethat Iwas told to?
Went to a golf course and asked if I could scuba dive there lakes to remove the golf balls. The person I spoke with said yes and provided me with a golf cart to use to get to the lakes. Later another person who worked there saw me diving and called the police. This person told them I was not allowed to be there and as a result the police gave me a ticket for criminal trespassing in the 3rd degree.
Asked on September 16, 2011 under Criminal Law, Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Trespassing is not made not trespassing by the fact that the trespasser leaves when asked to leave. Rather, it is the act of trespassing in the first place that is criminal.
However, that said, it is NOT trespass if you had permission to be where you were, doing what you were doing. If the person you spoke with was actually an employee or representative of the golf course (and not, say, a customer or patron, or a caddy hired directly by a customer or patron), and if you were given permission by that employee or representative to dive in the lake, you would have a good defense to a trespassing charge, even if some other person later claimed that you were trespassing.
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