Let me set the stage for you guys.... A few months ago we found our fence cut and 4 wheeler tracks all over our place we own in Kosse, TX. We set up some cameras and Friday night I went through 8000 pics and BAM! Got a couple pics of two men on 4 wheelers with dogs wearing vests. They were on a Tuesday at 4:30 in the afternoon. Their faces were perfectly clear in the pics so we had em. We sent the pics to neighbors around us and 3 out of four knew exactly who they were ( Kosse is a small town). Saturday we went to the sherrif woth the pics and names( they knew them as well). We took them and a game warden out to the property and showed em where the pic was taken and the cut fence. At the end of the visit we were told this ...
". At this point, what happens now is we will go to their homes and WARN them that if they are vaught on your property again they will be facing jail time."

So we asked why did they need to be caught again??? We have them on camera!!!
They told us that since there wereno guns in the pics this was the procedure they follow...
Then we asked "so if they get caught somewhere else they are done right?

"No, only if they are caught twice on the sane property. This is the 12th time we have had to warn these guys on 12 different properties around here."

I could not believe it. What a system.

Now that we knew their names we facebooked em and one of them had posted a picture of a dead hog on the same night of our pics of them on our land.

I have run dogs before but never on someones land who didnt give permission. This law needs to be changed. End of rant.

Btw. I will not post names or pics. It will do no good and since they know who we are and where our property is there is no reason to being any retaliation to our place.

Wow that sucks, Id be cussin a blue streak.

At least maybe they know the law and wont be back to your place!

did they tie the fence back?

That sucks, but that's the law. In a nutshell, it's not considered a criminal offense unless the person "knows" that they are trespassing. So basically, when the GW and Sherrif confront them, they will play stupid and say, "We didn't cut that fence, it was like that already. Also, we had no idea we were on somebody elses property." However, once they've been notified, the next time the enter the property, they're knowingly trespassing.

You know they were trespassing, so does the GW and Sherrif, and so do the hunters. However, there's no way to prove it. Had there been a "no trespassing" sign posted, or had you previously told them to stay off your land, then they'd be busted. Now that they've been notified, the next time they step on your land, they will be criminally trespassing.

You can always post the photos here:

http://www.trailcamtrespasser.com/

Sounds like thes guys know the law. 12 warnings and not caught on the same place more than once. You'd think theyed run out of warnings.

Wow, bad situation there.

Agreed, they know the law, and they know their limits. They probably say the exact same thing everytime. "No officer, we had no idea we were on private property. Thank you for notifying us. We'll never go back there again."

I guess laws must be different in different counties. They would have been ticketed here. The law states very clearly that a fence is notification not to come across. Purple paint is good no trespassing signs are good but are not necessary.

webb1974, Thats the way I understand it.

§ 30.05. CRIMINAL TRESPASS. (a) A person commits an
offense if he enters or remains on or in property, including an
aircraft or other vehicle, of another without effective consent or
he enters or remains in a building of another without effective
consent and he:
(1) had notice that the entry was forbidden; or
(2) received notice to depart but failed to do so.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Entry" means the intrusion of the entire body.
(2) "Notice" means:
(A) oral or written communication by the owner or
someone with apparent authority to act for the owner;
(B) fencing or other enclosure obviously
designed to exclude intruders or to contain livestock;
(C) a sign or signs posted on the property or at
the entrance to the building, reasonably likely to come to the
attention of intruders, indicating that entry is forbidden;
(D) the placement of identifying purple paint
marks on trees or posts on the property, provided that the marks
are:

I don't see anything in Texas Penal Code 30.05 which allows to get away with Criminal Trespass, especially since I assume they were carrying some kind of weapons. Even if the cut the it is still illegal to enter is intact fencing is visbile on either side of the damaged spot.

I suggest you tell your Sheriff, as the land owenr you want to press charges. He will tell you no. Then inform him that the decision is not up to him and you want the DA to refuse your request. The sheriff is being lazy, by law he can not refuse to allow you to press charges, only a DA can do that.

I would go straight to the DA. You have already done the Sheriff's job. The DA does the prosecuting. Let them tell you no.

x2
It's a crime. Go to the DA.

I was about to say, you need to go higher up. They are breaking the law, and they should be fined for something no doubt.

thats definetly a lazy LEO right there

X3

Sounds like they can’t be arrested at this point but they can be prosecuted. With your evidence it should be an easy suit to prove. It all depends on if the DA wants to pursue it though.

Good luck

By the way. We have "no tresspassing" signs on the place. But not where they cut the fence. And no. They did not fix it. We had already done that to keep the cows in/out.

I would also file a civil suit (find the average cost of a hog hunt in your area and use that amount plus the cost of repairs including labor then ask for punitive damages so they won't do it again). It will cost you money but it will cost them money too. You also might be able to get the court to award you attorney fees. A huge pain but worth it in my opinion.

They also rold us there was no proof it was these guys that cut our fence.... And there are no weapons in the pics. They probably killed the hogs with knives.

All of you are going about this wrong. You said you know who it is that solves half the problem. Tell them they can hunt your place but let you know when they are hunting it. When they show up call the warden and tell him they are back hunting after being told not to hunt there anymore. Play the way they play the game. Tell him you didnt tell them they could hunt there

Pretty much same thing happened to me on a lease just SW of Fort Worth. Deputy sheriff said they would, at most, give the guy a written warning. Game warden wants to go after the guy, mainly because his son (who we didn't catch) has a criminal record. Nothing has been done yet. We caught the guy in late December.

Driving 6 miles over the speed limit is a worse crime than poaching?

That really sucks. Hope you can get something done about it

Dogs cant read signs and dont care about fences. Coon hunters and hog hunters really want to go get their dogs if they are treed or bayed. Most of them (not all) will walk in, get their dogs and leave. Cutting a fence is bad and gives dog hunters a bad name. Its still trespassing to cross a fence, but if it was me, I would take the chance and walk in without a gun and get my dog. If someone filed on me for that (they never have)I would have to pay a fine (never had to)and pay it forward, or back. I know this comment wont set well with most deer hunters, but common sense goes a long way. Oh, by the way, most hog hunters dont carry a gun, they catch the hog, flip him over and tie him.

No wonder so many dog hunters think they can go wherever they want, whenever they want...

As a deer hunter I would be irritated, as a land owner I would be pissed. Hope the DA does something or at least they decide not to go back on your property

I understand the need to go get your dogs... Why not hunt where youhave permission all around, or at least not cut my damn fence and let all cows out??? Dont tell me your dogs cant read signs. These guys obviously dont give 2 craps about whose land they go on. If youhave that "dogs cant read" attitude im sure you do the same BS.