Authorities issue warnings over ATV trespassing (complete article from source)
Source: The Daily Leader, by Therese Apel
May 25, 2007
South Mississippi folks love their four-wheelers, and riding them down the creek with a couple of brews may seem just the thing to do on Memorial Day.
Not so fast, say law enforcement officials.
"We have a major problem with people trespassing on the creeks on their four-wheelers," said Capt. Jamie Cummins, conservation manager for District Five of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. "Several county (property) owners have asked for assistance on their land, and we will have people assigned to help local law enforcement with trespassers."
Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing said some people don't wait until Memorial Day, of course, to enjoy a day in the woods on someone else's land.
"It started last weekend," he said. "We've already been having trouble. It's something we deal with every summer."
Cummins said the property owner can help head off the problem by posting private property signs at entry points to his land.
"But if your signs are falling down or being taken, you can also get some orange spray paint and paint 'Posted' on the trees," he said. "Nobody can take that down."
Rushing said trespassing can be a misdemeanor offense and depending on whether the landowner wants to press charges, fines or jail time can ensue.
"The hardest part for us is finding who the trespasser was sometimes," said Rushing, who said authorities will do their best to find the trespasser on neighboring lands to get their name and address for the landowner.
"Usually they're just passing through," he said. "But the landowner has the right to file trespassing charges."
Cummins said the issue of trespassing is a safety issue as well as a legal issue, citing a Lawrence County case a few years ago where a landowner shot a violator on his land.
Rushing agreed that safety can be an issue, as well as just general common courtesy.
"These families with their kids, they're just going out to enjoy their day off at the creek," he said. "They don't want to have to worry about people they don't know coming through on their land."
The point, according to both Rushing and Cummins, is that people are entitled to privacy on their land, and that it will be enforced.
"State law says you can't be on someone else's land," said Cummins.
Rushing said he's just hoping people in the county will use common sense.
"A good rule of thumb is if you don't know whose property it is, stay off it," he said.
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