Criminal trespass goes beyond unauthorized entry into another person's property. It requires criminal intent, like interfering or damaging another's property or actual interference or damage to another person's property. Aggravated trespass carries severe felony consequences. It involves making credible threats to injure another person and trespassing into that person's space within thirty days to execute the threat.
An aggravated felony offense carries more severe consequences, including imprisonment and a hefty fine. A felony conviction will also affect several aspects of your life, including your social and career lives.
But when does criminal trespass become aggravated? We'll look at this offense's elements that make it a more severe crime than misdemeanor trespass. For more information and legal guidance, engage the services of a competent criminal lawyer.
Legal Definition of Criminal Trespass
California law against criminal trespass is under Penal Code 602. The law defines criminal trespass as entering or remaining on another person's property without their permission or the right to do so. You could face criminal trespass charges if you camp on another person's property without authorization or on a property marked " no trespassing. Even a simple and innocent act like hiding in another person's backyard or garage could result in criminal trespass charges. The violation is mainly a misdemeanor, punishable by six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
However, the district attorney must prove the elements of this offense beyond a reasonable doubt for the court to find you guilty of criminal trespass. These elements are:
- That you willingly entered or remained in another person's property
- You did so without the owner's authorization or the right to do so
Remember that a willful act is deliberate or done on purpose. Thus, you will not be guilty if you accidentally enter another person's property under this statute. You must know or should have reasonably known that the property you were entering or remaining in belongs to another person.
Criminal trespass is prosecuted as an infraction, misdemeanor, or felony, depending on the circumstances of your case. If you entered a private property marked 'no trespassing' with no criminal intent, you would face an infraction punishable by $75 for the first offense and $250 for the second and subsequent offenses. Misdemeanor trespassing involves criminal intent, like interfering with the business conducted on that property or damaging the property.
Felony charges occur in case of aggravated trespass. It is a more severe form of criminal trespass as it involves issuing credible threats accompanied by an effort to carry through with the threat.
California Aggravated Trespass
Criminal trespass becomes aggravated if it involves threatening another person with physical injury and entering the person's home or place of work without authorization to execute the threat. It is a more severe crime than misdemeanor trespass under California Penal Code 602. For instance, threatening to beat someone and showing up in their workplace a few days later to carry through with the threat.
The law treats threats seriously, especially if they place a person in fear for their life or that of their loved ones. That is why you will likely face a felony trespass charge if you threaten to harm a person and follow them to their home or place of work, intending to execute the threat.
But, the district attorney must prove all elements of this offense beyond a reasonable doubt for the court to find you guilty under this statute: These elements are:
- That you issued criminal threats against another person to cause them a severe physical injury
- You issued the threats with an intent to put the victim in reasonable fear — Fear for their safety or that of their loved ones.
- Within thirty days of issuing that threat, you entered the person's home or place of work without authorization and without a valid reason other than to carry through the threat.
- You knew very well that the person lived or worked there, and you even tried to locate the person with a plan to execute your threat.
Even though aggravated trespass requires a willful act, the district attorney does not need to prove that your actions were willful for the court to find you guilty under the law.
Additionally, this law does not hold if the home, real estate property, or workplace you entered is your own. Remember that criminal trespass only occurs when you unlawfully enter another person's home, workplace, or property without their consent.
Let us look at some of the elements in greater detail to understand aggravated trespass more:
Issuance of a Criminal Threat
The issuance of a criminal threat is the distinguishing factor between misdemeanor trespass and aggravated trespass. Criminal trespass will not be prosecuted as a felony without a criminal threat. In that case, it helps to understand what a criminal threat is and what it is not. That will help you to understand your charges even better.
California law defines a credible threat as any threat that causes the victim to experience reasonable fear for their safety or that of their loved ones. It is also the kind of threat that the issuer appears to be able to execute. A person issues a credible threat when they intend and have the means to carry it out. You could issue it in writing, verbally, or even electronically. Sometimes, people imply it through a series of behavior or a combination of behavior and words. What matters is that the victim understood the threat, which brought them fear for their safety or that of their loved ones.
Threats to Cause a Serious Physical Injury
Aggravated trespass also involves threats of harm. Serious physical harm will likely result in severe impairment in a person's physical condition. It is also an injury that could result in:
- Concussions
- Loss of consciousness
- Fractured bones
- Loss of a body organ, or loss of the functioning of a body organ
- Serious physical disfigurement
- A wound that could require extensive suturing
Reasonable Fear for Safety
A credible threat causes a person to reasonably fear for their safety or their loved ones. But the defendant could argue in court that they did not intend to cause the victim's anxiety. The judge will consider the details of your case to conclude your intentions and whether or not the victim had a reason to fear for their safety. To do that, the judge will consider the following elements:
- Your behavior at the time of the offense
- Your verbal message
- Other people that were present when you committed the crime
- How the victim reacted to the threat
- Your relationship with the victim and their family
- Any prior issues between you and victim
Loved One's Safety
A credible threat will cause a person to fear for their safety or their loved ones. In this case, loved ones mean the victim's immediate family members, including their parents, spouse, children, grandchildren, grandparents, sisters, brothers, and anyone related to them by blood. A loved one could also mean a person that regularly lives with the victim in their household.
Penalties for Aggravated Trespass
Aggravated trespass is a wobbler in California, meaning that the prosecutor can charge it as a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the circumstances of the case.
A misdemeanor aggravated trespass offense is less-severe and is punishable by:
- Misdemeanor probation
- A maximum of one year in jail
- Court fines of up to $2.000
If the judge places you on misdemeanor probation, you will be under the direct supervision of the court. Your probation could last between one and three years. You will be required to submit periodic progress reports for the judge to know how well or otherwise you perform during probation. You will also be given several probation conditions that you must abide by. They could include:
- Remaining within the court's jurisdiction throughout the probation period
- Not committing any crime or facing an arrest within the probation period
- Paying the required court fines and restitution to the victim or the victim's family
- Finding a permanent job
A felony charge for aggravated trespass will attract more severe penalties, including:
- Felony probation
- A maximum of three years in jail
- A maximum of $10,000 in court fines
Felony probation is a little different from misdemeanor probation. You could be on probation for up to five years and under the supervision of a probation officer. The probation department will ensure that you abide by all conditions given by the judge without fail. The probation officer in charge of your case will prepare and submit progress reports to the court on your behalf. The judge could call a probation violation hearing if you violate any probation condition. The outcome of the hearing will enable the judge to make one of these three crucial decisions:
- To cancel your probation and send you to jail for the entire term provided under the law
- To order you to continue probation under the same conditions, but with a stern warning against subsequent violations
- To continue probation but with new but more severe probation conditions.
Other Consequences for Aggravated Trespass Conviction
Aggravated trespass is a grave offense, attracting severe consequences after a conviction.
For instance, a conviction under this statute could affect your immigration status if you are an immigrant living or aspiring to live or work in California. Remember that some criminal convictions in California could result in deportation or being marked as inadmissible into the country. They mainly include crimes of moral turpitude and aggravated felonies. If you face felony charges for aggravated felony and are consequently convicted, your immigration status will likely be impacted. It means that an immigration court could order your immediate removal from the U.S. temporarily or permanently, or immigration could mark you as inadmissible. When you are inadmissible, you cannot obtain a visa to visit, live or work in the U.S.
A conviction for aggravated trespass could also impact your gun rights. California gun laws allow adults of sound mind and without felony convictions to use, buy or possess firearms. However, you could lose your gun rights after a felony conviction or if you are otherwise declared unfit to possess a firearm. A misdemeanor conviction for trespassing will not affect your gun rights but a felony conviction. If you already have a gun, you will be expected to give it up after a sentence.
You Can Fight Your Charges
The best way to avoid a conviction and the consequences for aggravated trespass in California is to fight your charges in court. You are allowed time by the court to prepare for defense, which you can present during the trial. You can do that with the help of a competent criminal lawyer. Fortunately, the law allows several defense strategies that your lawyer can use to compel the judge to reduce or dismiss your charges. The best of these strategies are:
You Did Not Issue a Credible Threat
Remember that trespassing becomes aggravated by issuing a credible threat against another person to cause severe bodily injury. While defending yourself, your lawyer can convince the court that while you gave a threat to the alleged victim, the threat you made was not severe or credible. It could be that you issued it jokingly and had no intention of carrying it out. Or, you gave a threat but had no means of carrying it out. The jury will dismiss your charges if your lawyer convinces the court that the threat was not credible.
You Did Not Intend To Cause the Victim's Fear
A credible threat places the receiver in fear for their safety or that of their loved ones. If that was not your intention, your lawyer could use this defense to have the court drop or dismiss your charges. Your lawyer can argue that while you made a threat against the other person, you did not intend to cause them to fear for their safety or anyone else's safety. For instance, if you threatened to haunt a person and their entire family in the middle of the night every day. You intended the victim to take it as a joke, not an actual threat.
You Did Not Intend to Execute The Threat
Penal Code 601 also includes making an effort to make good of the threat, for instance, entering the alleged victim's home or place of work intending to execute the threat. If this intention is lacking in your case, you will not be guilty of aggravated trespass. You could have entered the victim's home or workplace under different circumstances and did not carry out the threat. For example, you were accompanying your friends to a party held in the victim's home or workplace. Or, you were seeking the victim to offer an apology and not necessarily to harm them.
Having Your Conviction Record Expunged
A conviction for aggravated trespass will impact several aspects of your life. For instance, it could affect your efforts to find a job, a place to rent or lease, or affordable insurance services. But, you can change all that by petitioning the court to expunge your conviction record to make it publicly unavailable. That way, prospective employers or landlords will not use it to make decisions regarding your applications.
Expungement in California is under Penal Code 1203.4. It gives ex-convicts a second chance in life by eliminating all disabilities and consequences of a criminal conviction. After conviction, you will not be obligated to disclose your arrest or conviction to a prospective employer when applying for public office.
Fortunately, you are entitled to a record expungement after a conviction for aggravated trespass in California. You only have to meet specific conditions, including the following:
- Completing probation or serving the entire jail sentence (whichever is applicable in your case)
- Not facing any criminal charge
- Not on probation or serving a sentence for another offense
If you do not have a pending criminal case in court and have completed your sentence for aggravated trespass, you can petition the court where the conviction was issued to have your conviction record expunged. The judge will study the details of your case to decide whether or not to grant your petition.
Note that the judge has total discretion in granting these petitions. For instance, the judge can deny your request if you violate any probation condition or are yet to complete probation for the underlying offense. But the judge can grant your petition if you did not violate any probation conditions and completed probation with minimal issues.
Find a Skilled Criminal Lawyer Near Me
Are you facing aggravated trespass charges in Los Angeles and are afraid of the severe implications they carry?
It helps to speak to a skilled criminal lawyer. Your lawyer will study the details of your case to explain to you the nature and legal implications of your charges. They will also smoothen the legal process for you and plan a solid defense against your charges in court. Our Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer team will also be with you throughout the legal process, removing your worry and anxiety and replacing them with hope for a fair outcome. Call us at 310-502-1314, and let us walk this difficult journey with you.
