Trespass in Colorado
First degree criminal trespass is defined in C.R.S. 18-4-502 which defines the offense as follows:
C.R.S. 18-4-502, Colorado’s First Degree Criminal Trespass Statute
In Colorado:
(1) A person commits the crime of first degree criminal trespass if such person:
(a) Knowingly and unlawfully enters or remains in a dwelling of another; or
(b) Enters any motor vehicle with intent to commit a crime therein.
(2) Intentionally left blank —Ed.
(a) First degree criminal trespass committed pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section is a class 1 misdemeanor, but it is a class 6 felony if the dwelling is inhabited or occupied.
(b) First degree criminal trespass committed pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section is a class 1 misdemeanor.
Second degree criminal trespass is defined in C.R.S. 18-4-503 which defines the offense as follows:
C.R.S. 18-4-503, Colorado’s Second Degree Criminal Trespass Statute
In Colorado:
(1) A person commits the crime of second degree criminal trespass if such person:
(a) Unlawfully enters or remains in or upon the premises of another which are enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders or are fenced; or
(b) Knowingly and unlawfully enters or remains in or upon the common areas of a hotel, motel, condominium, or apartment building; or
(c) Knowingly and unlawfully enters or remains in a motor vehicle of another.
(2) Intentionally left blank —Ed.
(a) Second degree criminal trespass in violation of subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b) of this section is a petty offense, but it is a class 5 felony if the person trespasses on premises so classified as agricultural land with the intent to commit a felony thereon.
(b) Second degree criminal trespass in violation of subsection (1)(c) of this section is a class 2 misdemeanor.
(3) Repealed.
Third degree criminal trespass is defined in C.R.S. 18-4-504 which defines the offense as follows:
C.R.S. 18-4-504, Colorado’s Third Degree Criminal Trespass Statute
In Colorado:
(1) A person commits the crime of third degree criminal trespass if such person unlawfully enters or remains in or upon premises of another.
(2) Third degree criminal trespass is a petty offense, but:
(a) Repealed.
(b) It is a class 5 felony if the person trespasses on premises classified as agricultural land with the intent to commit a felony thereon; except that it is a class 6 felony if the agricultural land did not have a fence securing the perimeter.
Possible Penalties for Trespass in Colorado
Trespass
C.R.S. 18-4-503(2)(a)
C.R.S. 18-4-504(2)
C.R.S. 18-4-503(2)(b)
C.R.S. 18-4-502(2)(a) and C.R.S. 18-4-502(2)(b)
C.R.S. 18-4-502(2)(a)
C.R.S. 18-4-504(2)(b)
C.R.S. 18-4-503(2)(a)
C.R.S. 18-4-504(2)(b)
Petty Offense
- Up to 10 days in jail; and/or
- $300 fine;
- Restitution
Class 2 Misdemeanor
- Up to 120 days in jail; or
- Probation; and/or
- $750 fine;
- Restitution
Class 1 Misdemeanor
- 364 days jail; or
- Probation;
- And up to a $1,000 fine;
- Restitution
Class 6 Felony
- 12-18 months in Colorado State Prison or Community Corrections followed by 1 year of mandatory parole; or
- Probation; and/or
- $1,000 – $100,000 fine;
- Restitution
Class 5 Felony
- 1-3 years in Colorado State Prison or Community Corrections followed by 2 years of mandatory parole; or
- Probation; and/or
- $1,000 – $100,000 fine;
- Restitution
Trespass
(Click Links Below To See Penalties)
C.R.S. 18-4-503(2)(a)
C.R.S. 18-4-504(2)
C.R.S. 18-4-503(2)(b)
C.R.S. 18-4-502(2)(a) and C.R.S. 18-4-502(2)(b)
C.R.S. 18-4-502(2)(a)
C.R.S. 18-4-504(2)(b)
C.R.S. 18-4-503(2)(a)
C.R.S. 18-4-504(2)(b)
Petty Offense
- Up to 10 days in jail; and/or
- $300 fine;
- Restitution
Class 2 Misdemeanor
- Up to 120 days in jail; or
- Probation; and/or
- $750 fine;
- Restitution
Class 1 Misdemeanor
- 364 days jail; or
- Probation;
- And up to a $1,000 fine;
- Restitution
Class 6 Felony
- 12-18 months in Colorado State Prison or Community Corrections followed by 1 year of mandatory parole; or
- Probation; and/or
- $1,000 – $100,000 fine;
- Restitution
Class 5 Felony
- 1-3 years in Colorado State Prison or Community Corrections followed by 2 years of mandatory parole; or
- Probation; and/or
- $1,000 – $100,000 fine;
- Restitution
Defenses to Trespass in Colorado
General Denial
The accused will be acquitted if the prosecution cannot prove every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. When the accused raises a general denial defense, the accused denies that the criminal elements of the offense exist. General denial is related to the failure of proof defense. The failure of proof defense arises when the accused pokes holes in the prosecution’s case and argues that the prosecution failed to prove each and every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mistaken Identity
Mistaken identity is a general denial defense that attacks the element of who committed the alleged offense. As the prosecution is required not only to prove that the offense happened, but that the person charged committed the offense, the mistaken identity defense can be an effective way to challenge the prosecution on the element of who committed the crime. In the context of a trespass case, mistaken identity defenses usually arise when the accused is arrested and charged with disobedience to public safety orders in riot conditions after the alleged offense happened or when the accused is identified after a chaotic situation where eyewitness accounts are not trustworthy. Mistaken identity cases often involve witness misidentification issues, poor witness perception issues, inaccurate, improper, or biased police identification procedures, grainy surveillance videos, and mistaken eyewitness accounts.
Alternate Suspect
The alternate suspect defense occasionally arises in trespass cases. When the accused raises the alternate suspect defense, he or she does so to cast doubt on the identity element of the offense. In other words, the alternate suspect defense is used to cast doubt on the prosecution’s evidence that the accused committed the crime. By raising the alternate suspect defense, the accused casts doubt on the identity element of offense by raising the possibility that another person committed the offense rather than the accused. In Colorado trespass trials the admissibility of alternate suspect evidence will depend on “the strength of the connection between the alternate suspect and the charged crime. If there is a non-speculative connection or nexus between the alternate suspect and the crime charged, the evidence will be admissible.”
If the defense introduces “alternate suspect” evidence, the judge must “look to whether all the similar acts and circumstances, taken together, support a finding that the same person was probably involved in both the other act and the charged crime.” If the judge finds that the accused has presented evidence sufficient to support a finding that an alternate suspect committed the crime, the accused can have the jury consider this evidence in their deliberations. While the alternate suspect defense is seldom used in trespass cases, certain circumstances will give rise to the availability of this defense.
Duress
Under Colorado’s duress statute C.R.S. 18-1-708, a person may not be convicted of an offense, other than a class 1 felony, based upon conduct in which he engaged at the direction of another person because of the use or threatened use of unlawful force upon him or upon another person, which force or threatened use thereof a reasonable person in his situation would have been unable to resist. This defense is not available when a person intentionally or recklessly places himself in a situation in which it is foreseeable that he will be subjected to such force or threatened use thereof. The choice of evils defense, provided in section 18-1-702, shall not be available to a defendant in addition to the defense of duress provided under this section unless separate facts exist which warrant its application.
Entrapment
Under Colorado’s entrapment statute, C.R.S. 18-1-709, the commission of acts which would otherwise constitute an offense is not criminal if the defendant engaged in the proscribed conduct because he was induced to do so by a law enforcement official or other person acting under his direction, seeking to obtain evidence for the purpose of prosecution, and the methods used to obtain that evidence were such as to create a substantial risk that the acts would be committed by a person who, but for such inducement, would not have conceived of or engaged in conduct of the sort induced. Merely affording a person an opportunity to commit an offense is not entrapment even though representations or inducements calculated to overcome the offender’s fear of detection are used.
Choice of Evils
Under Colorado’s choice of evils statute, C.R.S. 18-1-702 (1) conduct which would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable and not criminal when it is necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent public or private injury which is about to occur by reason of a situation occasioned or developed through no conduct of the actor, and which is of sufficient gravity that, according to ordinary standards of intelligence and morality, the desirability and urgency of avoiding the injury clearly outweigh the desirability of avoiding the injury sought to be prevented by the statute defining the offense in issue.
(2) The necessity and justifiability of conduct under subsection (1) of this section shall not rest upon considerations pertaining only to the morality and advisability of the statute, either in its general application or with respect to its application to a particular class of cases arising thereunder. When evidence relating to the defense of justification under this section is offered by the defendant, before it is submitted for the consideration of the jury, the court shall first rule as a matter of law whether the claimed facts and circumstances would, if established, constitute a justification.
Statute of Limitations for Trespass in Colorado
In Colorado the statute of limitations for commencing criminal charges against a person is governed by C.R.S. Section 16-5-401. The statute of limitations for commencing criminal charges for trespass in Colorado is as follows:
- Felony trespass charges must be filed within 3 years. C.R.S. 16-5-401(1)(a.5)
- Misdemeanor trespass charges must be filed within 18 months. C.R.S. 16-5-401(1)(a.5)
- Petty trespass charges must be filed within 6 months. C.R.S. 16-5-401(1)(a.5)
Legal References
- C.R.S. 18-4-502 https://colorado.public.law/statutes/crs_18-4-502
- C.R.S. 18-4-503 https://colorado.public.law/statutes/crs_18-4-503
- C.R.S. 18-4-504 https://colorado.public.law/statutes/crs_18-4-504
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