Can I be charged with trespassing after a few weeks? 51 Answers as of June 09, 2013

Yes, potentially. If you are ultimately charged, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty and the prosecutor would need to prove their allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. You have a right to council. Speaking generally, the police may take weeks or months to complete an investigation. While delays may hinder the defense's ability to obtain potentially exculpatory evidence, they often hinder the police's case as well because witnesses may not remember details, physical evidence may be lost or destroyed, and generally, the cases may be harder to pursue. If you are ultimately charged or if at anytime the police attempt to question or interrogate you, I'd recommend you retain an attorney to assist you.

A couple of points: The owner of the property might have a civil case against you, but the owner does not press charges. Only the District Attorney can press charges, not an alleged victim. As far as the DA pressing charges, criminal charges can be filed at any time before the statute of limitations has run. For a misdemeanour such as trespassing, the statute of limitations would be one year.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes, you can be charged with a year after the incident.

Yes.

Technically, if they charge you with a municipal violation, they have 6 months to file. If it is a state law violation, they have 18 months.

Yes. Charges are filed by a prosecutor. The statute of limitations even for a misdemeanor is a term of years.

Charges could still be brought if the prosecuting attorney decided to file a criminal complaint. The statute of limitations is much longer than 3 weeks.

A person can be charged for a misdemeanor up to about 18 months after the crime occurred.

Yes, it is still possible, so you should consult with a criminal attorney about all your rights and options. Good luck.

The owner has up to a year to bring charges.

Well he could but the longer he waits the less likely the police will act on the complaint.

Yes, the Statute of Limitations is generally six years.

Yes, the statute of limitations on most crimes is 6 years.

Yes.

In many cases it will take the police department that long just to get to it.If they call you and want to talk, exercise your constitutional right not to talk about anything.If they arrest you it is a minor crime and should be able to be dealt with without a record.

The police have up to one year to charge a misdemeanor.

The statute for charging someone with misdemeanor trespassing is one year. To sign a warrant requires setting up a date and time to meet with a magistrate to do so. After that a warrrant may be active for several days before a police office arrives to arrest someone or you receive notification by some other means.

Yes he can but the likelihood is diminished.

Yes he can. The statute of limitations is one year. The good news is that if he has not pressed charges after 3 weeks, he probably won't. Just remember that if any law enforcement officer contacts you, just say that you do not wish to to talk about it. You have the right to remain silent so please use it.

The statute of limitations on most charges is two years. However the more time goes by the less likely charges will be brought. However the owner does not make the decision. He must file a police report and then the prosecution reviews for charging.

The answer to your question will depend on whether or not the pool owner contacted the police or not. If he did, then the police officer may submit a report to the prosecutor for charging out of misdemeanor trespass. If the matter was not reported to the police, you should be OK.

It depends on where the trespass occurred and if there were signs posted.

He could report it to the police and you could still be charged. However, it is unlikely to happen after the passage of three weeks.

Yes. If the police will take the charge.

Yes.

The passage of time is not the issue. What you describe does not fall into any criminal trespassing prohibition, unless there is something you are leaving out.

Individuals cannot 'charge' other individuals with crimes. This is a job for the District Attorney. However, the owner may call the police at any time and report the trespassing. Also, if the owner can prove damages, he can sue you for the trespass.

The owner has up to 18 months to file charges against you for this misdemeanor offense, however, if he has not done so yet, I would doubt that he will proceed. Being caught in a pool after hours is not a serious offense, in relation to a host of other crimes on the books, and the owner probably does not want the hassle of having to go to court to proceed with charges, if same are filed against you. In the future do not trespass where you are not allowed.

Usually only a prosecuting authority can charge you with a crime and for misdemeanors they have up to a year and for gross misdemeanors they have up to two years to charge you.

The manager cannot "charge" you. That authority resides with the county prosecutor. The prosecutor's office usually receives a police report and has up to one year after the offense to charge the responsible parties.

Yes.

He can file a complaint at any time. The decision to charge you with a crime lies with the city/county. Generally speaking the longer it's been, the less likely you will be charged. Chalk it up to lesson learned.

Yes. The statute of limitations for a misdemeanor is 2 years. However, its less likely the owner will call the police if he didn't do it at the time.

The answer is yes. The prosecutor where you were caught has time to make the decision whether or not to prosecute you or not. I would contact an attorney in your area soon to discuss your situation.

You can be charged with a crime anytime as long as it is within the statute of limitations and this certainly is since the statute won't toll until six years from the incident date. However, it will be somewhat problematic if there was no incident report by the police from that night. The owner could also take a civil action against you as well.

The statute of limitations for trespassing in Illinois is 18 months. It is substantially unlikely you will be charged after a 3 week delay, but it is possible.

Yes, it is legally possible to be charged with a misdemeanor within 18 months of the event, and for petty offenses, within six months of the event.

Yes, you can still be charged.

Yes, he can.

Yes, he can always report it to the police. He has 1 year to do it. Practically speaking, if you haven't heard anything for a few months, you probably won't be charged.

He can't charge you with anything. Only the prosecutor's office can. Is there a chance a report was taken and submitted to the DA's office for the filing of criminal charges? Yes. If the police weren't called out that night, odds are nothing is going to come of it. If you get anything in the mail from the court, the DA or law enforcement, then there may be a case filed, so don't ignore any official letters you get.

Technically the statute of limitations for a misdemeanor is one year. Therefore, you may still be charged with trespass.