With TV shows like CSI and Law & Order, it is a well-know fact that there have many advancements in crime scene investigation procedures and techniques. Dusting for fingerprints, searching with a black light, and digitally analyzing any evidence are all tools police investigators have at their disposal. However, no investigators were needed for the crime scene in today’s blog. A man used his own credit card to force open a garage door and then left it behind at the scene. When the homeowner heard a noise, he went to the garage and scared the man, who dropped the card and left it behind, making the police department’s job really easy. When arrested, the man admitted to breaking into the garage to steal gasoline for a car. This man is now facing Criminal Trespass charges, but he could have easily been charged with Burglary.
What is Criminal Trespass / Trespassing in Fort Collins?
Colorado law gives the definition of C.R.S. 18-4-502 – First Degree Criminal Trespass – as:
According to the law, “dwelling” encompasses the entire residential structure, including an attached garage. Because a garage is legally a part of a dwelling, the man above would be charged with 1st Degree Criminal Trespassing, a felony in Larimer, Boulder, and Grand County.
Trespassing is very closely related to Burglary in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park. Burglary is basically Trespassing + Any Other Crime together:
| Trespass / Trespassing | Burglary | ||
| 1st Degree Criminal Trespass | *knowingly and unlawfully entering or remaining in a dwelling of another; or*knowingly and unlawfully entering a motor vehicle with intent to commit a crime therein | 1st Degree Burglary | *knowingly and unlawfully entering or remaining in a building or occupied structure with intent to commit another crime and assaults or menaces any person, is armed with explosives, or possesses or uses a deadly weapon |
| 2nd Degree Criminal Trespass | *unlawfully entering or remaining on someone’s fenced in property; or*knowingly and unlawfully entering or remaining in the common area of a hotel, motel, or apartment building; or*knowingly and unlawfully entering or remaining in someone else’s vehicle | 2nd Degree Burglary | *knowingly and unlawfully entering or remaining in a building or occupied structure with intent to commit another crime |
| 3rd Degree Criminal Trespass | *unlawfully entering or remaining on someone else’s property | 3rd Degree Burglary | *entering or breaking into any vault, safe, cash register, coin vending machine, product dispenser, money depository, safety deposit box, coin telephone, coin box, or other apparatus with the intent to commit another crime |
Most commonly, Burglary is charged when someone breaks into a place to steal something, but Theft is not always the underlying crime. It can be for the purpose of committing any other crime like Assault, Harassment, or Murder. For the man in the story, by admitting he was planning to steal gas out of the garage, he technically could have been charged with 2nd Degree Burglary.