If you enter onto someone’s property, or stay there without their permission, you may be charged with trespassing. A trespassing conviction can carry serious criminal charges. If you or someone you know has been charged with trespassing, reach out to an expert who has experience with trespassing cases, like the team at MRD Lawyers.
Misdemeanor Trespassing Statute
Citation: MO Rev Stat § 569.140 (2015)
569.140. 1. A person commits the offense of trespass in the first degree if he or she knowingly enters unlawfully or knowingly remains unlawfully in a building or inhabitable structure or upon real property.
- A person does not commit the offense of trespass in the first degree by entering or remaining upon real property unless the real property is fenced or otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders or as to which notice against trespass is given by:
(1) Actual communication to the actor; or
(2) Posting in a manner reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders.
- The offense of trespass in the first degree is a class B misdemeanor.
Penalty of Conviction
A person convicted of trespass in the first degree in Missouri faces a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $500 fine. Trespass in the second degree is punishable by a fine of up to $200.