18-4-504. Third degree criminal trespass.

Statute text

(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(a) Repealed.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.

History

Source: L. 71: R&RE, p. 431, 1. C.R.S. 1963: 40-4-504. L. 83: Entire section amended, p. 666, 9, effective July 1. L. 84: (2)(a) amended, p. 1119, 15, effective June 7. L. 89: (2)(b) amended, p. 834, 48, effective July 1. L. 93: (1) amended, p. 1732, 19, effective July 1. L. 2021: IP(2) amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3179, 213, effective March 1, 2022; (2)(a)(II) added by revision, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, pp. 3179, 3331, 213, 803. L. 2023: (2)(b) amended, (HB 23-1293), ch. 298, p. 1785 , 15, effective October 1.

Annotations

Editor's note: (1) Subsection (2)(a)(II) provided for the repeal of subsection (2)(a), effective March 1, 2022. (See L. 2021, pp. 3179, 3331.)

(2) Section 77 of chapter 298 (HB 23-1293), Session Laws of Colorado 2023, provides that the act changing subsection (2)(b) applies to offenses committed on or after October 1, 2023.

Annotations

 

ANNOTATION

Annotations

Law reviews. For comment, "People v. Emmert: A Step Backward for Recreational Water Use in Colorado", see 52 U. Colo. L. Rev. 247 (1981). For note, "The Right to Float: The Need for the Colorado Legislature to Clarify River Access Rights", see 83 U. Colo. L. Rev. 845 (2012).

Public has no right to use of water overlying private lands for recreational purposes without the consent of the owner. People v. Emmert, 198 Colo. 137, 597 P.2d 1025 (1979).

"Breaking the close" is trespass. Whoever "breaks the close" -- intrudes upon the space above the surface of the land -- without the permission of the owner, whether it be for fishing or for other recreational purposes, such as floating, commits a trespass. People v. Emmert, 198 Colo. 137, 597 P.2d 1025 (1979).

Proof of dwelling crucial for first degree trespass. The crucial distinction between first degree criminal trespass and second and third degree is that the prosecution must prove the additional element that the property which was unlawfully entered is a dwelling for first degree trespass. People v. Marshall, 196 Colo. 381, 586 P.2d 41 (1978).

But third degree criminal trespass is not a lesser included offense of attempted first degree criminal trespass. People v. Griffith, 58 P.3d 1111 (Colo. App. 2002).

Officers who enter under a warrant and rightfully seize certain property but wrongfully seize other property are liable as trespassers ab initio as to the property wrongfully seized. Walker v. City of Denver, 720 P.2d 619 (Colo. App. 1986).

Applied in People v. Huston, 197 Colo. 125, 589 P.2d 1367 (1979); People v. Hight, 198 Colo. 299, 599 P.2d 885 (1979).