i have a question about trespassing/possession

[Slo65]

well me and a couple of friends were out in my friends hemi ram, on the way back to his house we saw a blue unmarked expodition taking a "shortcut" through the traintracks, so my friend followed it. (we thought it was just a person offroading) so we're having fun just kinda rompin in the mud when the expo stops, we were kinda like :??: all of a sudden two cops jump out hands on their guns, telling us to get out so we do, hands up all that stuff... turns out they were undercover cops :whine: so basically my friend got a citation for trespassing/possession of alcohol (he had a 12 pack in the back, they were all unopened). about a week prior he got a citation for petty theft (he tried to take a pair of pants), in all honesty my friend's a good guy hes just made a couple of bad decisions, my question to all of the leo's is what exactly is going to happen to my friend? the cop did him a favor and didnt put it under i guess the car penal code (he would of gotten points). so yea thanks in advance op:

 

[mswaim]

I'm assuming your friends attempt to "take a pair of pants" was a case of Shoplifting. In this state, it's classified as a misdemeanor - as is the trespassing statute.

It all depends on the prosecuting agency's policies on such matters. Some try to keep petty theft cases out of the courts, although keep in mind a second offense can be a felony punishable by prison time.

I would think he is looking at fines and probation at this point, however any further citations, violations or other acts will place him in violation of the probation clauses and could send him to jail.

Sounds like your friend needs to take this as a wakeup call and start acting more like an adult - and an honest, law-abiding one at that.

 

[EvergreenSVT]

Sounds like your friend needs to be busted, but maybe you should look into whose land it was and what authority the officers were there on. You're probably still screwed, but you never know.

 

[Lawman85]

If it was near the train tracks then it is all federally owned. If they were railroad marshalls then I don't think they can issue citations. If they are local leo's then they would have to have permission to enforce the trespass laws on federal property. Depends on how far away from the tracks they were.

 

[mswaim]

Not all railroad land is federal, some is held in private hands. Our company owns several rail heads and the accompanying tracks. We have signed agreements with local authorities in every location to make arrests and to otherwise operate as our agent.

In California we have numerous, privately owned railroad lines that have their own police departments. They are bonifide law enforcement agencies covered under POST and stay pretty busy.

Here's a link to one such department.

http://www.nvrpolice.com/about.html

 

[Slo65]

i supposed he needs a wakeup call, but i was thinking more a long the lines of maybe some fines or probation or something, they were two sheriffs who cited us, thanks everyone for the responses

 

[EvergreenSVT]

I think out west most railroad land is private, and back east public. But I may be wrong.