Trespassing
Considered a Serious Crime
JEFFERSON CITY,
June 20, 2005—Missouri Capitol Police arrested a woman on Thursday, June
16 at the Department of Corrections Complex, 1663 Industrial Drive, for 1st
degree trespassing.
Mary Sumpter, 35, made repeated attempts to
contact a specific inmate, to whom she was denied visitation rights, in the
work release program. Sumpter was asked to leave the area, but instead hung
around in the wooded area south of the facility. Capitol Police arrested
Sumpter after she ignored Department of Corrections employees’ requests to
leave the property.
This incidence serves
as a reminder that trespassing is a very serious crime. Trespassing occurs
when a person knowingly enters a property unlawfully or remains unlawfully on
real property. For example, it is considered trespassing when a person enters
a property that is fenced in so as to keep out intruders, or when a person
ignores a sign that reads “no trespassing.” As in this incident, trespassing
also occurs when the owner of a property asks a person to leave their
property and that person does not leave.
First-degree trespass is considered a class B misdemeanor punishable
by anywhere between 30 days and six months in jail, as well as a fine up to
$500. First-degree trespass penalties are the same as those for first offense
DWI and DUI.
In addition, citizens are reminded that they can join Missouri
Capitol Police’s Crime Alert Network by sending an e-mail to Lt. Dan
Hoerschgen at
For more information about this incident or trespassing in general,
please contact Terri Durdaller at (573) 751-4819.
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