Burglary and Trespass Lawyer in Tempe, AZ

The charge name on a Tempe report decides the courthouse. Trespass in its lower degrees is a misdemeanor. Third degree criminal trespass, staying on property after a reasonable request to leave or after reasonable notice that entry is prohibited, is a class 3 misdemeanor under A.R.S. 13-1502(C). Unlawfully entering or remaining in a nonresidential structure or a fenced commercial yard is second degree trespass, a class 2 misdemeanor under A.R.S. 13-1503(B). When Tempe Police wrote the report, those counts generally go to the City Attorney's Criminal Division, which prosecutes misdemeanors in Tempe Municipal Court at 140 E. Fifth Street.

Burglary never belongs to that court. Third degree burglary is a class 4 felony, second degree burglary in a residential structure is a class 3 felony, and first degree burglary, which adds knowing possession of explosives, a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument, is a class 3 or class 2 felony depending on the kind of place. Unlawful entry into a residential structure without the intent element is first degree trespass, a class 6 felony. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office charges most of them, and the Arizona Attorney General's Office some others. Hearings are held in Superior Court downtown, at the Central Court Building, 201 W. Jefferson St., or the South Court Tower, 175 W. Madison St. Confirm the building on your current notice.

Tempe businesses have their own trespass paperwork. The department's Crime Prevention page encourages business owners and managers to fill out an Authority to Arrest for Trespass letter, which it says helps keep properties safe, particularly overnight. The form itself is signed by the owner or a designated agent, authorizes Tempe Police to arrest people trespassing, and describes trespassers as people who refuse to leave after being instructed. It lasts two years from signing and ends early if the property is sold or the department receives written notice. The owner agrees to cooperate fully in prosecuting anyone arrested there, and must post bilingual metal No Trespassing signs at all common entrances, worded to cite A.R.S. 13-1502(A)(1).

Each detail can be checked: who signed, whether two years had passed, whether the building changed hands, whether a sign hung at the entrance you used, and whether anyone asked you to go. Under 13-1502(B), an officer who asks on the owner's behalf stands in the owner's shoes.

Detective work sits in the Investigations Division, whose Major Crimes Section lists a Property Crimes Unit without describing it. The division's Technical Services Bureau names a Forensic Services Unit that collects and analyzes evidence, a Crime Analysis and Intel Center that looks for crime patterns, and a Property and Evidence unit that keeps seized items under chain of custody. A print lifted from a sliding door or a tool booked after an arrest can come through those units.

A Tempe burglary can also begin with nobody on scene. The city's online police report list includes burglary, theft from a fenced yard and theft from a motor vehicle, as long as the incident is not an emergency, happened in Tempe and did not happen at Arizona State University. The first you hear of it may be a detective's call days later.

Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. A felony burglary conviction makes a person a prohibited possessor under A.R.S. 13-3101 until the right to possess a firearm is restored. Each trespass degree appears on the domestic violence list in A.R.S. 13-3601, so trespass at the home of a former partner or a relative can carry a DV label and its release terms. A burglary record can follow someone into tenant screening and jobs that involve entering homes, and a person who is not a U.S. citizen should get immigration advice before any plea.

Restitution. A.R.S. 13-603(C) ties restitution to any conviction: the court sets the economic loss and the payments run through its clerk. A homeowner's list of missing items is a claim, not a finding, and replacement prices, recovered property and insurance records can all bear on the number.