Source: http://www.landrights.com/atv.htm
Timestamp: 2014-04-21 07:30:37
Document Index: 756946002

Matched Legal Cases: ['art5', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art2', 'art5', 'art3', 'art4', 'art2', 'art4', 'art82', 'art4']

ATV-Trespass Problem
Other "Invasion" of the Territory of United States)
a post-script commentary by Arizona Sheriff Larry A. Dever]
by Mark R. Ferran BSEE scl JD mcl
essay collects articles about the ATV-Trespass problem occurring in New York
and throughout the United States and Canada, and about the way some
landowners are lawfully resisting intrusions by ATV-trespassers. Typical
1) [Pittstown, Rensselaer County, NY] "Phil Kelly ...
finds himself constantly chasing off and being threatened by illegal hunters
and all-terrain vehicle riders on his posted property. ... The landowner
riders began cutting through and even stealing gates off of one section of
his property ... They destroyed around $6,000 worth of gates .... "I've
had neighbors and people at the Country Store threaten to burn me out and
put a bullet in me ["and that other (Landowner), Ferran]" Kelly
said. "Little did I know serious they were." [They burned down his
storage barn and attempted to enter his home at midnight] "It's
like something out of 'Deliverance'. ... the State Police ... make me feel
like the criminal instead of the victim." http://www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2721020&BRD=1170&PAG=461&dept_id=7022&rfi=8
2) A Farmer stopped a group of riders and told them to leave. He was
beaten up. http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/news/story/03602002_new11.asp
3) "ARSON. A male on Rutland Way, Stephentown [Rensselaer
County, NY], said his vehicle, which was parked along a trail to deter ATV
use, was damaged by fire. Officer: Trooper Steve Kovaleski." Albany
(NY) Times Union, Police Blotter (Wed. July 28, 1999 p. F2) 4) ATVs are frequently used by Marijuana "Farmers" and other
intentionally-masked criminals. "All the dopers want is a new ...
ATV to drive up to their patch." http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5944.shtml
"Since 1998, the state line between Kentucky and Virginia has become a
crisscross of trails created by all-terrain vehicles used by growers to get
to their marijuana
plots...." http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1430/a09.html
http://www.nypress.com/15/33/news&columns/feature.cfm
http://www.trcmaine.org/news/02/06/po-drugs.htm
"The cultivators are 'quite frankly, very wealthy: Four-wheel drive
trucks ... ATV's. They usually have expensive toys. [M]arijuana growers
often carry firearms.'" http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5729.shtml
In Rensselaer County, NY, ATVs appeal to the "cultivators" and all
other sorts of "recreational" criminals who can use them to
trespass, commit acts of violence or arson, and escape arrest
anonymously wearing full-face masks: "Members of the State
Police Community Narcotics Team, the Troy Police, the federal Drug
Enforcement Administration and the Rensselaer County District attorney's
office [arrested] four suspects [ages 22, 24, 25, and 33] thought to be
connected in a mid- to upper level cocaine-dealing operation. Authorities recovered an AK-47 rifle, a 9mm and a 45 caliber handgun [and] two
ATVs and a snowmobile allegedly purchased with the proceeds from drug
sales." Troy Record, Nov. 28, 2002. (Landowners can't
know the extent of the evil that hides behind the face
mask and helmet of an unknown ATV-trespasser, and landowners should be
prepared to defend themselves during any personal confrontations with them).
This essay collects many similar articles and a discussion of the
New York statutes that authorize citizens to forcibly stop and to perform
citizen's arrests of ATV-offenders in NY. Save, and print copies of the
linked articles in case they cease to be maintained online. Feel free to
forward or post.
In 1988, Time Magazine described how "roaring ATVs are
shattering the peace" and introduced America to a lawless subculture
whose members presume that by buying (or stealing) an "all
terrain" vehicle, they are entitled to intrude upon "all
terrain":
"Villages on Missouri's Black River ... used to be oases of
tranquillity, the destination of weekend canoeists, tube floaters and
fishermen. No longer. All too often the solitude of the Ozarks wilderness is
shattered these days by the whine and rumble of powerful engines. ... Locals
call it "the Invasion." The ... four-wheel vehicles, running up
and down the riverbed with abandon. ... For the ATV crowd, it was all just
good fun. But for conservationists and others interested in keeping the
river pristine, the Invasion is a nightmare ... and the law has failed to
halt the nightmare. "These things destroy the ecology of the
river," says Larry Koeler, a Centerville lawyer, of the ATVs. ...
Horror stories abound. Former River Guide Eric Dunn recalls ... "a
young boy tried to run down me and my wife and son." ... County
Sheriff Gary Barton ... and his two deputies can hardly make a dent in the
rampant ATV challenge. On Memorial Day weekend they wrote scores of tickets
to ATV riders who trespassed on private property or were intoxicated. ...
The sheriff, who owns three ATVs himself, takes no chances. "I
don't equip my patrol car with a regular rifle," he says. "I have
an M-16. I leave it in the patrol car where you can see it. You have to make
a show of force." Although the state conservation commission sent five
agents into Reynolds County to help Barton out, it was not enough of a show
to make much difference. "The ATVs still go anywhere they want."
... Sierra Club Director Hattoy charges that the ATVs permanently scar
the land, kill wildlife and destroy vegetation, as well as cause noise,
safety and pollution problems. Says he: "... no one has the right to
chase jackrabbits until their hearts explode, or roar over desert
turtles." ATV Enthusiast Buddy Bray sees it differently. "I don't
believe riding ATVs destroys the desert," he says. "All you kill
is the bushes."
Time, 6/13/88 (Invaders on The Black River). "Kids
are out there five evenings a week running over everything including the
cactus. They just don't seem to care." http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/scottsdale/articles/0722sr-offroad22Z8.html ATVs stir dust, controversy, The Arizona Republic (July 22, 2003) (or try
On the sand dunes of the Albany (NY) Pine Bush,
trespassing ATVs kill the wild "bushes" called wild Blue Lupine,
and so they ultimately kill the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly that depend
on the bushes. In 1998, the Albany (NY) Times Union described the
"serious" ATV problem in the Albany Pine Bush ecosystem:
"The Karner blue butterfly is slowly losing its fight to survive in the
Albany Pine Bush Preserve, one of the species' last remaining natural
habitats in the United States. The killer: humans. The latest tool of
destruction: the all-terrain vehicle. The azure-winged butterflies,
about the size of a quarter, are being threatened by burly ATVs illegally
churning through the property, Pine Bush officials said Tuesday. As
they pop wheelies and spin doughnut-shaped grooves into the earth, ATV
riders are also mowing down the wild blue lupine, the only plant that Karner
caterpillars eat, said Preserve Steward Joel Hecht. ``If you impact the
plant, you're going to directly impact the Karner blue butterfly,'' he said.
This region was once home to hundreds of thousands of the flying blue
lepidoptera... Now, there are only a few hundred in the Pine Bush. ... The
species is listed by the federal government as ENDANGERED. ATVs aren't
permitted in the 2,400-acre Pine Bush, said ... Ranger Joseph Hess, the lone
DEC officer patrolling the preserve. But ... riders ignore posted signs.
Anyone caught riding a vehicle over Pine Bush land could face a $100 fine
and up to 15 days in jail, Hess said. ... 'Without intervention, they
will be lost.''"
Albany (NY) Times Union, September 2, 1998, by Paul Zielbauer.
(Title/subtitle: "ATVS A MENACE IN KARNER BLUE'S BACK YARD
Vehicles threaten butterfly's food source in Pine Bush, officials say")
See also "GOODBYE KARNER BLUE"
http://headlines.igc.apc.org:8080/enheadlines/992560769/index_html
("New England's only wild population" of the endangered
Karner blue butterfly "appears to have died out")
The "lone ranger" in the Albany Pine Bush has
not evolved the super-human ability to enforce the law in all parts of his
territory at the same time. But the ATV industry has been busy
flooding the land with ATVs. ATV manufacturers knowingly place ATVs
into the hands of people ready, willing, and able to intrude upon any and
"all" unguarded public or private "terrain". "Industry-wide ATV retail sales increased during the first quarter [of
2001] in spite of the concerns of a slowing economic environment." "American Honda's ATV sales also soared in 2000, ending the year at
211,152, an increase of 29.6%. Once again Honda exceeded the ATV industry's
healthy growth rate of 18.8%..." Arctic Cat Dealers advertised in
2002: "New
this year!! A smaller ATV just for kids!!" (And already: "Boy,
12, killed in ATV crash" ( June 7, 2002) ; "9-year-old
Boy killed in ATV accident" (July 7. 2003); (6-year-old
Boy killed driving ATV into ditch) ( June 6, 2003)
[ATV -Trespass] problem is going to get worse and worse." "A
lot of the time, the problem is that they're usually kids riding them, and
the ATVs are bought for them by their parents, who may or may not know, or
may not care if their kids are riding legally."
Becoming Big Problem http://sierraactivist.org/article.php?sid=30637
'The problem is that [Police] can't [enforce the Law] on private
property.' 'There's only so much that you can do legislatively, some of it
has to be parental responsibility.' Enacting more laws at
this point is not going to do anything," said Maurice Sargent of Surry,
president of ATV Maine, a statewide interest group. "The responsibility
has got to be put where it belongs," Sargent said. "The laws are
great - let the parents of teenagers stop them from doing this." [M]any
parents don't realize that a decision to let their young child ride an ATV
is 'patently bad' until a tragedy has occurred."
http://www.seacoastonline.com/2002news/3_26maine.htm
ATV-trespassers
will increasingly target (and damage) relatively undefended private
lands in order to selfishly avoid the costs and fees associated with leasing
and renting land to lawfully ride upon. ATV-trespassers
generally seek the "Path of Least Resistance-By-Landowners" (see,
e.g., ATV Riders Hack Way Through Yards: "Last
month, while walking at the rear of his property, Heikel discovered that
people had blazed a [ATV] path through his and his neighbors' wooded
tracts." http://sierraactivist.org/article.php?sid=5836) until
they decide they can get away with running over, beating up, or
killing the landowner who tries to resist them: "In
Morgan County [West Virginia] last year [2002], a man was viciously
assaulted on his property by four ATV-riding trespassers he had told to stay
off his land. Instead of leaving as they were obligated to do by law,
these trespassing thugs drove an ATV onto the man�s leg, pinned him down
and beat him nearly to death. Then they rode away, leaving him to die.
Fortunately, he survived to identify the attackers." (February 23,
2003) http://sundaygazettemail.com/news/Woods & Waters/2003022234
is Written: "THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE ... NOR ANYTHING
THAT IS YOUR NEIGHBOR'S" Exodus
20:17 (Deuteronomy 5:21, Romans 7:7, 13:9)
= is when DESIRE becomes INORDINATE or
UNLAWFUL. THIS LEVEL OF DESIRE PLANTS THE SEEDS OF
WILLINGNESS TO: HURT, STEAL, KILL. Coveting is desire run rampant
w/o control. It will injure, hurt, even destroy to get what it wants
[but is not lawfully entitled to]!" http://www.apostolic.edu/biblestudy/files/10th-com.htm
many riders use ATVs on their own property, many others don't, and that's
the problem. They think the neighbor's private property is their
own personal turf to cruise over, ignoring fences and "No
Trespassing" signs. Farmers, woodsmen, home owners have become
helplessly enraged over the ATV damages they have undergone. Last year, a
property owner in western Morgan County was badly beaten when he tried to
stop a group of young "macho?" ATV riders who were driving across
his property." http://www.cacaponriver.org/news/newsletter2003-1.htm ( The
Craze- and Curse- of ATVs) There are
"growing legions of fans of ATVs and dirt bikes, known collectively as
off-road vehicles. An estimated 45,000 ORVs are sold in New Jersey
each year. But as the number of ORVs has grown, so has the number of
conflicts with land owners, who complain about the noise and damage to dirt
roads caused by ATVs and dirt bikes that trespass on their land. ... ATV and dirt-bike riding is illegal on private property without
the owner's permission. ... Little Egg Harbor resident
Bill Hartley lives in woods along a private dirt road that he says ORV
enthusiasts use constantly. The vehicles chew up the road, creating
deep ruts and making it difficult for him to drive on his own road. "Look, everyone has to do a hobby. It's fun, it's great," he
said. "It's when they don't respect another person's property, that's
when I have a problem." ... "I guess there was
this general belief (among ORV riders) that if there is vacant land, they
could just use it," Tavarez said. "As more and more houses were
built, they found the land did belong to somebody. But that didn't stop
them from riding on the land. ... "There's still
that small percentage of riders that create most of the problem, and there
is nothing you can do to stop that except enforce the law." http://www.southjerseynews.com/issues/april/m040702a.htm
looking at pretty consistently, year-in and year-out, 10 percent increases
in the number of machines." http://www.seacoastonline.com/2002news/3_26maine.htm At this rate of population growth (10% per annum), the
ATV-population will double every 8 years or so. "[Maine] has
suddenly become a magnet for ATVers from all over New England. The
popularity of ATVs, though, has not come to Maine without a cost. Landowners
across the state, outraged over the destruction caused by the machines, have
posted thousands of acres of land, closed long-established snowmobile and
hiking trails, and even set traps to catch trespassing ATVs. Safety
experts gasp at the rapid increase in injuries and deaths among ATV users. Farmers fear ATVs could become the next vehicle for spreading plant diseases
from one field to the next. And legislators are responding with a raft
of bills aimed at tightening rules, increasing fees, and toughening
enforcement. ... Widespread ATV resentment could even trigger a
resurgence of efforts to require a [statutory] presumption that all private
land is closed [for ALL recreational uses] unless posted as open to the
public.... "It's a very explosive issue," says Roberta
Scruggs, a veteran outdoors writer who recently authored a landmark report
on the deteriorating relations between landowners and ATV owners.... People are angry to a point that I've never seen before," Scruggs adds. 'The
Number One landowner problem is ATVs.'
" The ATV Menace http://www.easterntrail.org/lib/atvart5.html
the ATV-riding population increases, while new land is not being created on
this continent, Landowners who own highly coveted terrain will
be increasingly targeted by ATV-trespassers ranging from peaceful
sneak-thieves to violent fully-masked land-robbers, and even vindictive
arsonists riding in on four wheels. The only solution is to diligently ENFORCE
the LAW in order to maintain RESPECT for PRIVATE PROPERTY, and vice
versa. "For nothing is more destructive of respect for the
enforced." Albert Einstein.
forbidding coveting thy neighbor's land, and the commandment that "Thou
Shalt Not Steal" are at "the
foundation of the moral code and legal system of justice for Western
Christian civilization." http://biblescripture.net/Commandments.html To openly REBEL against these commandments by disrespecting your
neighbors rights to his private property is to Declare War Against
YOUR NEIGHBOR And War Against GOD (See Part 2 at www.billstclair.com/ferran
Moral Code and Legal System (in New York State) "makes it lawful for a
man to kill a thief, who [uses] force ... to take away his money,
or what he pleases, from him; because using force, where he has no right, to
get me into his power, let his pretence be what it will, I have no reason to
suppose, that he, who would take away my [property], would not, when he had
me in his power, take away every thing else. And therefore it is
lawful for me to treat him as one who has put himself into a state of war
with me, i.e. kill him if I can; for to that hazard does he justly expose
himself, whoever introduces a state of war, and is aggressor in it."
John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, Ch. III, sec. 18 ( http://www.thisnation.com/library/books/locke/2ndtreatise-c03.html );
Accord, Rights of New York Landowners to Use Force www.billstclair.com/ferran
riders have 'started a war.' "I mean, cutting the trail through my
property, that was enough," he said. "But then I come back and I'm
telling these people, 'Look, I don't want you riding through here,' but
they're going to do just what they darn well please." ... "I
caught a few people out there and I lit into them," he said. "One
guy told me I was some sort of nut. Well, I don't care what you think,
you're on my property and you have no right to be here." " http://www.seacoastonline.com/2002news/3_26maine.htm People
submit to the state to remain free and to have their property protected. �Political
power, then, I take to be a right of making laws [�] for the regulating
and preserving of property,
and of employing the force of the community in the execution of such laws
and in the defense of the commonwealth from foreign injury; and all this
only for the public good� (John Locke 4)
is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense. ... Each of us has a natural right--from God--to defend his
requirements of life, and the preservation of any one of them is completely
dependent upon the preservation of the other two. For what are our faculties
but the extension of our individuality? And what is property but an
extension of our faculties? If every person has the right to defend --
even by force -- his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows
that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to
protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right --
its reason for existing, its lawfulness -- is based on individual right. And the common force (i.e., Government and Law) that protects this
collective right cannot logically have any other purpose or any other
mission than that for which it acts as a substitute. " The Law,
by Frederic Bastiat (French economist, statesman and Anti-Socialist,
1850) http://jim.com/bastiat.htm
Locke believed that man created Government and Law to help him secure
his property. "Man wanted, first, an established and promulgated
Law. He wanted a judge to make determinations according to this Law. And he
wanted an executive to carry out these determinations. He hoped to
gain these three advantages by entering into the social contract. But he did
not give up all
his rights in making this agreement: 'Though men when they enter into
society give up [the absolute] executive power they had in the state of
nature into the hands of society, to be so far disposed of by the
legislative as the good of society shall require, yet it being only with an
intention in everyone the better to preserve for himself, his liberty and
property; (for no rational creature can be supposed to change his condition
with an intention to be worse) the power of the society or legislative can
never be supposed to extend farther than the common good; but
is obliged to secure everyone's property....
' " http://www.gdn.edu/PT_Faculty/j_richards/lectures/Hist1122Locke.PDF
Adams stated: "The moment the idea is admitted into society that
property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force
of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If
'Thou shalt not covet' and 'Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of
Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can
be civilized or made free." (A Defense of the American Constitutions,
1787)http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=3481
In the backward places, (like Rensselaer County, New York where
the former DA who resigned was reputedly an ATV-rider http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/dear_fellow_property.htm ),
the very government officials who are sworn to respect, uphold,
and enforce the Laws securing private property (e.g., land) may
instead combine with and abet the trespassers, creating situations
"like something out of 'Deliverance'" where landowners "can't
get any justice" and are instead treated like "criminals
instead of victims" for simply lawfully defending their property where
the police have failed to protect it. http://www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2721020&BRD=1170&PAG=461&dept_id=7022&rfi=8
legal remedies for landowners in such extreme situations may include:
1) the Forcible Defense of Premises (See: The Rights of NY
Landowners to Use Force, at www.billstclair.com/ferran)
including the use of "defensive erections" such as "Severe
Tire Damage" tire-spikes and/or 2) the invocation of the Federal
Ku Klux Klan Act (42 USC sections 1983, 1985 and 1986) against the deviant public
officials (See Part 1 and Postscript at www.billstclair.com/ferran)
and/or 3) quasi-political campaigns to force the resignation, re-education, or
un-election of the deviant public officials (see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/politics/message/9052 and http://www.motorcycle-info.com/atv/four_wheeler_atv/four_wheeler_atv_msg17885/four_wheeler_atv_msg17885.shtml )
ATV-riders will sometimes exploit the notoriety of local ATV-gangs, and
the ineffeciveness of the local Police, by playing the game of
"Good-ATV/Bad-ATV", for example, by warning a landowner that
if he does not allow the "Good"-ATVs to use (continue using) and
"patroling" his land, the Bad-ATVs will come (back). This is
a subtle form of extortion, which has also been exploited on a
larger scale by major state ATV associations to induce the voting public to
cede public lands and other concessions to the local ATV-Lobby that credibly
warns the public of continuing/increasing criminal conduct (e.g., trespass,
vandalism, vindictiveness, resistance to arrest) on the part of ATV-riders
if their political demands are not complied with.
ATV-riders
counsel each other: "Remember
the Bigger our NUMBERS the louder our VOICE" http://parishville_atv_club.tripod.com
the NUMBERS of ATV-riders who do NOT RESPECT that private LAND
(Terrain) is their neighbors' private "PROPERTY," then The ATV-Trespass
Problem has the potential to escalate into a Civil War on the
scale of the historical conflict between Farmers and Free-Range Cattlemen in
the Old West, except that because private land rights have been settled and
fixed by Law, the conflict would be properly characterized as an
American Socialist Revolution.
basic premise of the New York ATV-lobby, and of their politicians in
office, that ATV-crimes should not be resisted and dealt with in the
same manner as crime in general, but should instead be REWARDED by
public funding, and by concessions from private land-owners, is
offensive to many landowners, taxpayers and to many observers. As
Albany, NY, Political Columnist Fred LeBrun stated about the New York
ATV-lobby : "We will not give in to Terrorists." "Too often
in the past, local law enforcement hasn't taken the violations of property
rights committed by ATVs and snowmobiles seriously enough. That's got to change,
and fast. No way should we be blackmailed into providing an ATV trail system
for a crowd that wants to beat us up to do it." Albany Times Union,
January 12, 2003"
http://www.swoam.com/SWOAMForum/0000003f.htm
should form and join associations, and political coalitions, local and
national, and coordinate with existing associations to form a
"common defense" against ATV-terrorists and the Socialist
(Thieving ) Land-Reforms they will demand. Useful Links and
Contacts may include: www.billstclair.com/ferran Property
Rights Foundation of America http://prfamerica.org
http://www.eco.freedom.org/el/ http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/Property_Rights/?il=1 http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org www.landrights.com
Association of Reversionary Property Owners
http://home.earthlink.net/~dick156/)
Philipps, grassroots coordinator, Natural Trails and Waters Coalition,
wrote: "I work for a group called the Natural Trails and Waters
Coalition(NTWC). As a part of my job, I work directly with folks that have
private properties that are being trespassed by ATVs and dirtbikes. I
have spoken with people from all across the country that have been
terrorized by these vehicles. In fact, this last week [March 2003] several of these individuals
accompanied NTWC staff to Washington DC to meet with influential members on
the Hill to address this problem. I would be very interested to hear any
follow up stories or information from your readers/members on this issue. lisa@naturaltrails.org "
http://www.swoam.com/SWOAMForum/00000020.htm
note concerning ATVs: http://www.naturaltrails.org/VroomReport/4-2-02.html
if a landowner chooses to passively surrender his valuable
property to the first invaders to arrive on ATVs (instead of defending his
lawful possession and the value thereof), more ATVs than he can tollerate will
likely follow, and the landowner may still later find himself threatened,
vandalized, or even sued by such trespassers even when the intruders themselves
have created and assumed the risk of injuring themselves on the premises by
defying "No Trespassing" signs and other warnings.
"The problem is ATV abuse of landowner's rights.... [T]he
growing misuse of ATVs ... is the outdoor recreation issue of the
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html?article=5937
isn't the guy who rides an ATV around his yard and uses it to haul a few
trees or work around the farm, it's the yahoo mentality out there that you
can rip and roar with these things and the more you tear up someone's
property the more fun it is. ... [T]he problem is enforcement."
http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSLaw0107/15_off-cp.html
York's RULES FOR OPERATION OF ATVs are prescribed in the Vehicle and Traffic
Law, including section 2403, which prescribes that "No person shall
operate an ATV on the private
property of another without the consent of the owner or lessee
thereof." http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=128&a=82
The NY Rules (above) and brochures distributed by the NY DOT
"To operate an ATV on private land, you must have permission of
the land owner or lessee. If you receive permission, make sure you know the
boundaries of the property, and respect any special restrictions or requests
of the land owner."
http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/broch/c29.htm
The laws of New York state, though sufficient on their face, have
failed to curtail ATV trespass, and ATV-riding trespassers are increasing in
numbers, and increasing in defiance and belligerence against
land-owners. Stopping ATV trespassers on private land is generally not
a priority of the police. The People of the state of NY simply could
not afford to pay for the amount of Police time that would be necessary to
control the ATV trespass problem. Not even to protect the endangered
Karner Blue Butterfly has the police presence in the Pine Bush been
increased. Albany's Common Council President, Helen Desfosses,
explained: "In addition to Albanys important efforts to get more police
onto the streets, .... citizen involvement is crucial to crime
prevention." (http://www.albanycouncilpres.com/Articles/albany-future.shtml)
It is obvious to many that if the ATV problem is to be
effectively controlled, citizen-enforcement of the law must be undertaken by
those nearest to the problem (on private property) who recognize their civic
duty, and who are informed of the privileges and risks of citizen's arrest.
The risks of personal confrontations with defiant trespassing offenders are
grave. The risks to pedestrian landowners attempting to stop masked ATV-offenders
is is even greater. Many Police Officers and landowners have been
run-over by ATVs while trying to stop or apprehend ATV offenders. Even
the youngest ATV riders are fully aware that ATVs can be used as Weapons:
"Teen Arrested For Running Over Deputy: A 16-year-old
accused of running over a Davidson County deputy with an all-terrain vehicle
was arrested. Investigators said that Deputy Chris Stillwell was attempting
to stop the teenager when he was struck by the vehicle. The teen was
reportedly the driver of the ATV. There is no word on the condition of the
deputy. The teen is in the Davidson County Jail under a $75,000 bond."
Yahoo News, October 11, 2001 (No longer posted on web)
ThePiedmontChannel.com VIRGINIA
WARDEN ATTACKED BY JUVENILE ATV
DRIVER (JULY
http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:QzPPev3o8-EJ:www1.roanoke.com/outdoors/billcochran/field/ ATV murder&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
15-year-old juvenile will be tried as an adult for charges that stemmed from
an incident in which he struck Lieutenant Ron Henry, a game warden ...
with an ATV." Charges Made in Case of Game Warden Struck and Injured by ATV (6/27/03) http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=128-06272003 "On
July 29, police officer Chad Marks was struck by an ATV while on patrol. [T]here has been damage caused by ATV's to village property, including trees
with shallow root systems and creeks and waterways that the ATV's run
through." http://www.the-daily-record.com/past_issues/08_aug/010820dr1.html
"Man on ATV shot after running over officer" (in
http://www.polkonline.com/stories/070600/sta_man-shot.shtml
(AP 7/06/2000)
(Landowner run over by 4-wheeler)
http://www.thesunlink.com/news/2000/april/0405code.html
19-year-old man led security on an ATV chase ...on private property.)
http://www.poconorecord.com/1999/local/exd42284.htm
(Blown engine ends ATV chase)
http://www.pacentral.com/lsentinel/news_01302.htm
lengthy pursuit was necessary before the subject finally stopped. He only
did so because his ATV became hung up while crossing a log. The rifle, which
started out in a sling, was in the ATV operator's lap at the time of the
stop." http://dnr.state.il.us/Law3/report/2002/Jan2002.htm
fact that ATV-trespassers often wear masks (on helmets) concealing their
faces can embolden many of them to behave as very brazen
criminals when confronted by landowners.
Audubon Magazine reported:
"The 500 combat missions flown by Colonel George Buchner over
Vietnam didn't prepare him .... Buchner found trespassing ATV
operators popping wheelies in his private trout stream. When he demanded
their names, one rider dismounted and attacked him, breaking his nose. When
he fenced his posted stream and property, ORV operators cut the wire and
pulled the stakes. When he reinforced the stakes with cement, they knocked
them down. [H]e received death threats, his streetlights were shot out, his
mailbox smashed, his driveway seeded with broken glass, the eight-strand
fence on his Christmas tree farm cut in 88 places, and his wife run over.
"Robin was screaming," he said, "and the guy calmly cranked
up his machine and finished running over her. He had come through
multiple barriers, multiple posted signs, three fences, and a gate. She had
a hematoma extending the length of her leg." In July 1996 Buchner
confronted two trespassing ATV operators, one of whom knocked him down.
"Basically, [ATV]s ran me out of Michigan," Buchner told me from
his Arizona home."
http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0003.html
Dec. 26, 2002, the Albany, NY Times Union, in at article titled,
"Putting the brakes on ATVs" reported:
operators are riding rampant through privately-owned fields and yards
[and forestland in Rensselaer County, New York]. "More and more
residents are upset because of disruptions
or damage to their property,"
Swartz said. "It's clear something needs to be done to protect property
owners." Some reports have indicated that more than 50
riders at a time,
in some instances, have come from out of town to take advantage of the wide,
open spaces, he said. Few, if any, have permission to traverse the routes
that they do. The frustration is shared by residents and police as the
number of ATVs has increased in recent years, he said. ... And
while most vehicles are registered, the inherent problem occurs when they
are ridden on private property, Merola added: "You're not going to
catch them unless you're chasing them on an ATV yourself." Incoming legislator Keith Hammond said ATV riders ... "These
people ride your property like they own it." ...
"ATVs are great for recreational purposes when properly and safely
used," he said. "And the vast majority of riders are respectful
and courteous. However, there is a small minority of riders that have
little respect for other people's property."
full-face masks (e.g., helmets and visors) which ATV-riders wear, and which
they often refuse to remove when confronted by landowners, tend to embolden
them to disrespect landowner's rights, and even to threaten and harm
landowners and to commit crimes against landowners in retaliation. As
the Georgia Supreme Court observed:
know that '[p]ublic disguise is a particularly effective means of committing
crimes of violence and intimidation. From the beginning of time the
mask or hood has been the criminal's dress. It conceals evidence, hinders
apprehension and calms the criminal's inward cowardly fear.' M. Abram &
A. Miller, "How to Stop Violence! Intimidation! In Your Community"
(August 15, 1949). A nameless, faceless figure strikes terror in the human
heart. But, remove the mask, and the nightmarish form is reduced to
its true dimensions. The face betrays not only identity, but also human
frailty. State
398 S.E.2d 547, 550 (Ga. 1990). http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/docs\spring96\23050.htm
York state statutes provide ample power to landowners to exclude, stop, and
remove ATV trespassers, and to volunteers to defend public and private
property from damage, and to make arrests:
"6. A person may, pursuant to the ensuing
provisions of this article, use physical force upon another person in
defense of himself or a third person, or in defense of
premises, or in order to prevent larceny of
or criminal mischief to property, or in order to
effect an arrest or prevent an escape from custody. Whenever
a person is authorized by any such provision to use deadly physical force in
any given circumstance, nothing contained in any other such provision
may be deemed to negate or qualify such authorization." NY Penal
Law s 35.10(6)
January 3, 2003, Albany Times Union political columnist Fred LaBrun
stated that in Rensselaer County, New York, "these instruments
from hell" are running amok and "cops make an all-too-infrequent
stop of some yahoo churning up the landscape on somebody else's private
property. ... There have been a number of testy
confrontations recently in the rural parts of the county between ATV riders
operating illegally and property owners. Something very bad is going
to happen if this persists. Private property is, after all, private
property. Owners get edgy about that." http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=88794&category=REGION&newsdate=1/3/2003
the yahoos among them that make life difficult for all of us. Those people
should lose their right to continue terrorizing us. ... Riders
need to show they've got the maturity to deserve something other than the
yahoo label. Or they need to turn in the keys to their toys." http://www.easterntrail.org/lib/atvart2.html It
would be ideal to have an Olde-Fashioned Forfeit-to-Landowner (or,
Forfeit-to-Capturer) statute on the books in each state. This would deter ATV-trespass and encourage law-enforcement. BARRIERS
TO PREVENT OR TERMINATE ATV-TRESPASS
NY Common Law provides alternatives to personal confrontations. The
highest Court of New York has declared that landowners have a common law
privilege (a "property right") to "destroy" the
"instrument of trespass" (e.g., vehicle) used by "defiant
trespassers." People v. Kane, 142 N.Y. 366, 37 N.E. 104 and 131 N.Y.
111 ("The ownership and possession of property confer a certain right
to defend that possession, [including] a defense of it which results in an
assault and battery, and that which results in the destruction of the means
used to invade and interfere with that possession.") In Reed v.
Esplanade Gardens. Inc., 91 Misc.2d 991, 993 (1977), the court noted the
general principle that when dealing with the chattel (e.g., vehicle
tires) of a trespasser on the true owner's land the law is that "[I]n
such circumstances THE LANDOWNER IS PRIVILEGED TO deal with the personal
[property of another] in a manner which would otherwise be a trespass [to
chattels, including DETENTION or DAMAGE] or a conversion [e.g., the complete
destruction, distress, or disposal] IF THE ACT IS reasonably NECESSARY TO
PROTECT THE ACTOR'S INTEREST [e.g., necessary to "prevent or
terminate" a trespass upon his premises]. However, "the
actor may be liable if he uses unreasonable [i.e., un-necessary] force which
causes harm to the chattel [unnecessarily]." Reed. Accordingly, a
NY land-owner is privileged to damage an ATV as "necessary" to
terminate a trespass, or to effect an arrest. Further,
once an ATV is discovered, and is captured trespassing on private property
in defiance of conspicuous "No Trespassing" signs, the New York land-owner may be privileged
to impound and detain the vehicle until his damages are paid, pursuant to
the common-law remedy of "trespass damage feasant" (also
known as "distress damage feasant"). http://www.cs.tcd.ie/Proinnsias.OCillin/lawcourse/tort/trespass.htm http://69.1911encyclopedia.org/T/TR/TRESPASS.htm ; Sindle v. NYCTA, 33 N.Y.2d 293, 307 N.E.2d 245 (1973). The New York landowner may also condition the release of the ATV upon
payment of an additional fixed "Reasonable Redemption Fee" (e.g.,
$100, plus per diem) to compensate the landowner for the trouble
or expense of impounding, safeguarding, storing and/or releasing,
the vehicle, if Notice of the fixed Redemption Fee has been Conspicuously
Posted along the roadway (e.g. driveway or other ATV "trail"). Fieldston Prop. Owners Assn. v. City of New York, 16 NY2d 267, 269; Forest
Hills Corp v. Kowler, 80 AD2d 630; Forrest Hills Corp. v. Baroth, 147 Misc.
2d 404.
NY Penal Law Sec. 35.05 provides: "Unless otherwise limited by the
ensuing provisions of this article defining justifiable use of physical
force, conduct which would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable
and not criminal when:1. Such
conduct is ... authorized by law...."
statutes specifically authorize the use of non-deadly "force ... in
defense of premises" (i.e., land). It is lawful for landowners in NY
(and other common law states) to defend their land from trespass-by-vehicles
by deploying roadspikes, nails-in-boards, caltrops, etc. as is customarily
done at private parking lots in New York and many other states. Road
spikes, caltrops, spiked fences, etc. deployed at a perimeter are generally
considered to be "non-lethal" force: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/policy/UseOfForceWeaponsDir.htm http://www.zarc.com/english/non-lethal_weapons/nlt-usaf.html
www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/3452/nonleth.htm (After
"Yet another death", farmers/landowners deploy nails-in-boards to
fight ATV trespass) http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=004B4h As noted, peaceful landowners in the US are stopping trespassing
ATVs in the basically the same way that Police, parking lot owners, and
drive-in movie theaters stop other types of vehicles, by lawfully placing
NAILS (road spikes) in their paths. In this manner, the risks inherent
in personal confrontations (between landowners and violent
ATV-trespassers) can be reduced. Farmers seemingly have perfected the technique:
"I would start by posting the property 'Danger!!-- Private
Property -- Keep Out!!' (big red letters are nice...) for a week or two, and
then I would proceed to sink some nice holes in the ground on either side of
the roads & drive. Fill 'em with concrete and set a hasp into it. Get a
nice big board, like a 2x12 cut to span between the two hasps. Drive some
nice ten-pennies into them thickly, and then put screw eyes at either end.
Chain the boards to the hasps with padlocks. After they've lost a few tires,
they may rethink their route. You can easily unlock one end and drag it at a
right angle out of the way when you want to get thru for field work, then
lock it back up at night. -- Julie Froelich, December 06, 2000."
http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=004B4h
Commercially manufactured Road Spikes like Antech Co's Guardian (http://www.antech.com/Guardian/TC/IG CB.html)
or DeltaScientific's SabreTooth and Doorking's Model 1610 traffic spikes
(which can do much more tire damage than simple round nails) are currently
employed at gates of the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge
campgounds and at the Great Swamp Watershed in NJ (http://www.greatswamp.org/gsmappg1.htm),
and at numerous parking lots, airports, and drive-in theaters and numerous
other private properties around the country.
See: DeltaScientific's SabreTooth http://www.deltascientific.com/gallery13A1_2.htm
("The Sabre Tooth will puncture all pneumatic tires including steel
belted radial and large truck tires.")
extremely effective one-direction unmanned traffic control by puncturing the
tires of errant vehicles." (http://www.antech.com/Guardian/TC/IG CB.html)
PMG's "roadspike" product is marketed for "perimeter
control" for security purposes:
"The Traffic Controller ... can be used as a free entrance or
exit in your parking facility ... and includes 20 steel cut blade
teeth." http://www.texassecuritygates.com/traffic.htm
Comercially manufactured caltrops (called "PORTABLE
ROADBLOCKS") are recommended for "use with extreme caution and
discretion" to "protect private property." http://www.spymall.com/catalog/gadgets-index.htm
"The 4-wheelers are trespassing and causing damage and death to
pets. Here in NC the police are slow to respond (often 2 hours later) they
say its a low priority issue. I asked about the boards with nails. On your
"privately" owned and "posted" land you can lay boards
down and if they have nails in them well it is on your land. (officially).
Unofficially if the trespassers get hurt most will sue. And with our
"liberal" courts the landowner is about 75% sure to loose. Wish
the odds were better."
Spiked fences are common in NY cities: "Mechanical
devices and animals may be used for the protection of property.... Barbed
wire, fence spikes, and broken glass are reasonable since they serve to
exclude.... Spring guns and traps on the other hand are dangerous
weapons.... Vicious dogs, with protensities to kill or seriously injure, are
generally treated like mechanical devices except that a posted warning in
such cases has [in New York state] served as a defense." Rights
Incident to Possession of Land, sec. 28.18 Forcible Resistance Against
Intruders (KF575 M367). Pursant
to New York's Recreational Use Statute, an owner of premises, even if not
"posted", "owes NO DUTY to keep the premises SAFE for entry
or use by others" pursuing listed activies. The statute also
states that an owner has "NO DUTY to give warning of any hazardous
condition or use of or structure or activity on such premises." GOL s
9-103 "Under
a Recreational Use Statute, recreational users are treated in the same
manner as trespassers and thus the landowner owes them no duty of
care." http://www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/124/
"Landowners
are not bound to issue warnings, inspect their property or repair dangerous
conditions for trespassers. However, landowners do not have the right to
intentionally injure trespassers, except
to protect themselves or their
http://cnrit.tamu.edu/cgrm/whatzhot/liabel.htm
California court construing language in a landowner immunity statute similar
to language in NY GOL s 9-103, concluded that a justified use of physical
force against a trespasser was a lawful intentional "use of" land
and therefore not a "willful" act depriving the landowner of
statutory immunity. Similarly, the NY High Court declared that the
placement of a cable stretched across a road to stop trespassing vehicles is
a lawful condition or use of land, even if the landowner's effort to give
notice of the hazard later proved insufficient to prevent a decapitation
injury. But a wilful or malicious failure to give notice of the
hazardous condition or use of property could give rise to liability. Sega v State, 60 NY2d 183. "A Youngsville
[NC] father believes his son's death was the result of another man's attempt
to keep four-wheel drivers off his property. Joshua Woodruff, 22, 203 William Pearce Way, died Sunday at
WakeMed in Raleigh from internal injuries he suffered after driving a
four-wheeler into a steel cable. ... Woodruff's father, James
Woodruff, said that when his son and a few other of his friends driving
four-wheelers entered the path, there was no cable on the road. "When
they were on their way back home, the cable was up and 'Josh' didn't see
it." Lt. Nelson Ross of the sheriff's department said Woodruff
must have been going pretty fast, but he could not give an exact speed he
was traveling. The cable was about two-and-one-half feet off the ground. ... Woodruff was not supposed to be driving a four-wheeler on the property,
according to Ross. ... Arnold
had put up no-trespassing signs at two entrances on the property.
Arnold told deputies that he put a steel cable along the road to stop trucks
from coming in and dumping trash on his land. Ross said Arnold has a
long history of problems with people dumping trash and riding all terrain
vehicles on his land without his permission. He put up signs, fences,
and a eventually the cable to prevent their activity, but was still
unsuccessful. Ross said Arnold has reported several trespassing
incidents to the sheriff's department in the past three years. "They
even tore one of his fences down," Ross said. Roy Frazier, owner
of Frazier's Store at the N.C. 96 and 98 intersection, said many of his
farming friends have complained about people riding four-wheelers across
their property and dumping trash. "That's what is happening all around
here," he said. Frazier said there are cables up everywhere,
leaving few places for children to ride their three- and four-wheelers.
North Carolina law prohibits driving vehicles on private property without
permission from the property owner. Ross
said Arnold did not do anything illegal by placing the steel cable in the
road to protect his property. Ross also said no one will probably be charged
in the case. "It appears to be just an unfortunate accident," he
said. ... James Woodruff said he hopes the incident
will protect someone else's child in the future. "But my son is
gone." " http://www.wakeweekly.com/archives/2002/Mar21-1.html (March 21, 2002)
some states an unpainted (e.g., gray) cable could be regarded as a
"trap" imposing civil and criminal liability upon a landowner
unless augmented by bright ribbons etc. "A
trap is a hazard that is known to the landowner or person in charge, but
concealed to others. If
a trespasser is injured by a trap, the landowner is open to liability for
the injury, even though the trespasser violated he law by trespassing. The following have been held unlawful traps for which the landowner can be
held responsible: (1) setting a spring gun, (2) creating obstacles on a
public roadway, (3) installing a cable gate across a private road known to
be used by he public. To reduce he liability risks for #3, the road should
be posted as private access. If a cable or chain is used to close a road, it
should be flagged with brightly colored flags or other materials." http://www.cwmuutahwildlife.org/trespass.htm
and http://www.wakeweekly.com/archives/2002/Mar21-1.html
NY High Court has also held that: "where landowners fence or post
"No Trespassing" signs on their private property or, by some other
means, indicate unmistakably that entry is not permitted, the
expectation that their privacy rights will be respected and that
they will be free from unwanted intrusions is
landowners will post conspicuous "NO TRESPASSING" or
"POSTED" signs, and/or signs specifically warning trespassers of
hazards, risks of property damage, and/or that physical force (i.e.,
the infliction of some physical injury and pain) may be used to exclude,
expel or to arrest them. In Palumbo v. State, 487 So.2d (Fla.App.
1986), the plaintiff was injured when he entered a lake containing
alligators. He alleged that he did not see the alligators and did not read
the posted warning signs. In the opinion of the court, it was
irrelevant whether plaintiff had actually read the signs. As long as he was
given a reasonable opportunity under the circumstances to read the warning
message, he would be charged with the knowledge that "would be obvious
to him upon the ordinary use of his senses."
The National Forest Service has been constructing "tank
traps" to exclude trespassing motorized vehicles (e.g., ATVs) from the
lands at Targhee. "[E]arth berms..., backed by pits." "The
traps were [installed] to restrict [vehicular] access to public lands in the
national forests." "The dangers posed by the traps were made
clear [when a man] testified ... he was at the front of a small group of
snowmobiles when his vehicle was violently thrust up into the air. He came
to rest in a pit with a broken back." http://www.heartland.org/environment/may99/traps.htm
The berms were installed after "gates" proved ineffective
to prevent ATV "trespass."
http://66.109.128.22/wildrock/wd4116/wd162/Gate-Crashing-Report.pdf
http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/curlew/Targhee/travel_plan/code15.html
property owners are finding off-road vehicle damage to be an escalating
problem financially, ecologically and emotionally. On March 24, 2002
the Portland Press Herald documented the story of Harlan Brown whose
experience parallels the problems other landowners are having with off-road
vehicle trespass. Brown has been posting signs, and has gone as far as
installing heat and motion sensors on his property to aid him in preventing
further damage to his property from off-road vehicle abuse. Corporate
landowners like International Paper and Portland Natural Gas Transmission
System are trying to mitigate ATV and other off-road vehicle damage and
trespass on their corporate properties as well. Some of steps these
corporations have taken to mitigate damage including hiring security
officials, installing large boulders and putting up barricades." http://www.naturaltrails.org/VroomReport/4-2-02.html (Off-Road
Vehicle Trespass - a National Issue)
Brown has installed heat- and motion-sensor cameras in the woods to catch
ATV riders on his property so he can press criminal trespass charges. He'd
already put up "No ATV" signs and blocked paths that ATV riders
had cut through his woods. He even stretched a steel cable with ribbons
between two sturdy oaks, but somebody cut down one of the trees." http://www.seacoastonline.com/2002news/3_26maine.htm
Film Cameras can now be purchased for under $100 dollars. In New York,
deploying "motion-activated cameras" to identify and prosecute
unknown ATV-trespassers is generally a waste of time and money unless you
can get pictures of the unmasked FACES of the ATV-offenders. This is
because ATV-offenders in New York generally do not display readable
registration "plates" required by Law to be displayed and will
swap helmets, clothing, and even ATVs with relatives or
members of their ATV-gang from time to time for the specific
purpose of avoiding being easily identified and prosecuted based
upon the external appearance of their equipment. New York
State Police generally treat even close-up pictures of masked
ATV-offenders and their ATVs as being "useless" for prosecution purposes.
But, ATV-offenders will sometimes remove their helmets and face-masks
when they have to stop to destroy and remove substantial barricades or
barriers placed to impede their trespass, such as many small trees,
boulders, or brush placed across the trail. Be careful to
disable or cover the "flash" on such cameras, or the ATV-offenders
will easily find them and steal or damage them.
who rely upon cables or chains to prevent vehicular trespass can
"armor" their anchor trees by pounding dozens of steel common
nails into each tree (later cutting the nail-heads off to prevent
their extraction and to minimize bark damage as the tree grows) to
deter chain-saw damage. This will not kill the trees, but will
prevent them from being cut-down. Alternatively, the tree-owner can nail
(with barn nails or lag bolts) several heavy steel 6-foot tall 2inch-wide
pipe-hanger type straps vertically over the bark of the trees down to
their roots. This is a more visible deterrent to
chain-saw attacks upon the trees, but as the tree grows, the vertical straps
may cause scarring of the bark many years down the road (but this is still
better than having strangers cut down the whole tree).
Harper, of the Portland Natural Gas Transmission System, says his company is
spending $100,000 a year and more to repair ATV damage along its pipeline
right-of-way in southern Maine. He has put up fences and signs. "They
usually last less than two days," he says with a touch of bitterness.
"Wooden gates are chainsawed. Metal gates are torched. We've hired
private security firms. We brought in heavy equipment to build boulder
barricades. Without exception ATVers have gone over, around, or through
them." " http://www.easterntrail.org/lib/atvart5.html
company repaired the damage, put up signs and hired a retired policeman to
provide security. It imported dump truck loads of large boulders and built
substantial barricades to protect Branch Brook. In December 2000, the
company added riprap and completely rebuilt the streambanks. Six months
later, Harper said, "it looked like we never did anything." http://www.seacoastonline.com/2002news/3_26maine.htm (Landowners
take aim at irresponsible ATV riders ) The ATV Trespass problem is serious and pervasive throughout the US:
March of 2003, Maine's Governor acknowledged "That ATV trespass and
property damage are out of control and costing fishermen, hunters,
snowmobile, and other outdoorsmen loss of access to private land"
http://www.easterntrail.org/lib/ATVconf.pdf
alleges neighbors cut an ATV trail)
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/Main.asp?SectionID=25&SubSectionID=354&ArticleID=55309
Off-roader's Observation:
"I wish [ATV riders] would realize that they are the reason so
many of the trails and private lands are being closed. [A] large majority of
the ATV crowd has no respect for the land that they ride." http://www.psychowheeling.com/custom4.html
responsible ATV-rider advises other ATV-riders that: "You're
protecting yourself by turning in the bad guy. If you don't, then people
think we're all bad guys. [T]he few bad apples need to be
educated, made to join clubs where they'll be taught how to ride
responsibly." http://www.easterntrail.org/lib/atvart3.html
like Roger Roy, of ATV Maine, are welcome on the trails they ride because
the club has obtained permission. He said responsible ATV riders ride only
on marked trails and keep an eye out for riders abusing the land. Other solutions that came out at the meeting were to raise fines for
violators, require riders to use bigger license plates and provide more
money for enforcement. But the sentiment voiced over and over again was that
ATV riders need to unite with other recreational riders, create clubs and
prove to landowners that they can respect the [boundaries of land-owner
designated] trails." http://www.easterntrail.org/lib/atvart4.html
the largest constituency organized to open up parks and wilderness areas to
roads and development is no longer Wise Use loggers and resource industry
employees but suburban owners of motorized dirt bikes, ATVs, snowmobiles,
and personal watercraft. While millions of Americans are having a love
affair with fast, loud off-road vehicles, their owners are creating major
user conflicts with tens of millions of other outdoor recreationists who
enter wilderness areas believing they've left the noise and pollution of the
freeway behind." http://www.progressive.org/june03/helv0603.html
a [Arizona] State Land Department official is promising to close the
property if ATV (all-terrain vehicle) and dirt bike owners don't act more
responsibly. ... "The noise and dust are really
bad," said Steve Bidwell, a resident of Carefree Shadows. "Kids
cactus. They just don't seem to care." "In some places it's
just heartbreaking." Off-roaders have gone off state trust land onto
Scottsdale property and destroyed native tree seedlings that had been
nurtured for two years for transplant into the preserve." "It's not only illegal, but they're destroying the very thing they're
supposed to be out there enjoying," Carla said. "We have asked the
State Land Department to start closing these areas to motorized
vehicles." Off-road operators need a recreational permit to be on
state trust land and are required to stay on established paths. Geeck
said only about one in 10 have the permit, and many mistakenly think cutting
new trails is part of the off-road experience." ... The
problem, Geeck said, is there are many more violators than law enforcement
personnel available to catch them. " http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/scottsdale/articles/0722sr-offroad22Z8.html ATVs stir dust, controversy, The Arizona Republic (July 22, 2003) (or try
(http://sierraactivist.org/article.php?sid=5836 )
is a perfect example of the myth that legal places to ride will prevent
illegal riding. [M]any riders still choose to hack, trample and damage
property they do not own, without permission, instead of going up the road
to the legal place. They just don't want to pay their fair share for their
own enjoyment! And if it is impossible or impractical to enforce the laws,
than the sales of dirt bikes and quads [to landless people] should be banned
in the state. " http://sierraactivist.org/article.php?sid=5836 "If
they were generally responsible, ATV riders would have wider access to
trails .... There would be fewer barriers and "no-trespassing"
signs. But that's a big "if" at this point." http://www.easterntrail.org/lib/atvart2.html
rider bragged to friends about setting farmer's barn on fire.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29962-2002Feb5.html
Strawberry crop is burned by retaliating ATV trespassers:
"'Over 99.9 percent of the snowmobile people are great. They
generally police themselves. ATV users -that's a different story.' ...
'I've called several wardens in the past to report ATV-abuse problems
and the response time was at least five hours.'"
outdoors.mainetoday.com/hunting/011128underwoo.shtml
(Snowmobilers
say ATVs are tearing up and closing trails)
http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/snowmobiling/011206atv.shtml
120-member snowmobile club that is losing trail access [said]: "We'd
like to see them form their own organization so they can get their own trail
system and stay off our trails," Don Roux, trailmaster for Sno-Goers,
said of ATV users. "And," he said, "we'd like to see
more enforcement." http://www.easterntrail.org/lib/atvart4.html
Harrisons didn't want ATVs on their land, but agreed to allow snowmobiles. 'ATVs have a tendency to dig and I think they do more damage.'" http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/snowmobiling/030209sledclubs.shtml
the idiots with the ATVs who think 'hey the trails are closed to
snowmobiles, but I can get through with my ATV though.' These people too are
causing landowner conflicts. You could have 10,000 snowmobiles go across a
farmer's field in the winter and you can't even tell in the summer, but all
it takes is one ATV or a 4wd truck to damage the property in muddy
conditions and the farmer gets pissed, refuses to allow use of his land for
the trail and the club is scrambling for alternates."
http://www.snowmobilefanatics.com/snofan/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4232&whichpage=2
http://webusers.warwick.net/~u1001223/Articale1/Article1.htm
(ATVs INVADING)
http://www.courier-tribune.com/nws/atv22.html
(ATV rodeo wrecked lawn. "They've got no respect for people's
property now.")
http://www.pocahontastimes.com/news0426.html#7thstory
(Town overrun by ATVs)
(ATVs turning town into 'war zone')
http://www.timesleaderonline.com/local/archives4/loc_apr00.html
(EFFECTS of ATV'S on hiking TRAILS)
http://www.go.ednet.ns.ca/~larry/ATVs/atvrally.htm
(Nature pays the price as ATVs hit Minnesota's woods)
http://www.startribune.com/stories/531/1633242.html
(ATV Trespass damage in VT municipal forest)
http://www.cybertopia.net/reporter/headlines/2851atv.html
(Hunting Lands closed and spoiled because "a deer can
figure out that an ATV means danger" and landowners reject ATV-use
by hunters.)
Hunting Mag, (www.huntingmag.com)
Mar./Apr. 2002. p18.
(trails ruined by disrespectful ATV riders)
http://www.easterntrail.org/news/atvart.html
on ATV smashes new citrus groves (January
http://www.polkonline.com/stories/012803/loc_ATVvandal.shtml
CITIZENS ARRESTING ATV TRESPASSERS IN NY:
Citizen's Arrest in NY is authorized and regulated by NY Criminal
Procedure Law Article 140 and the use of force and even deadly force for the
purpose of effecting such an arrest and maintaining the safety of the
citizen performing it, is authorized by Penal Law section 35.30(4) and
35.10(6). See statutes at: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=82&a=12
New York Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) sec. 140.30 (1) provides:
"Subject to the provisions of subdivision two, any person may
arrest another person ... for any offense when the latter has in fact
committed such offense in his presence."
In NY, private citizens have the "same authority" to
make arrests of factually "Guilty" offenders as do police
officers. Police have a legal duty to make arrests. Private Citizens have a
civic and moral duty to make arrests. It is however extremely
important to completely understand every limitation and all the regulations
and duties applicable to arrests by private citizens as prescribed in
Criminal Procedure Law Article 140. http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=25&a=22
It is very important that one undertaking a Citizen's Arrest also
have a thorough knowledge of the Laws which define arrestable offenses,
since private citizens may only arrest factually "guilty"
offenders, and may not arrest merely upon reasonable belief nor probable
See NY RULES FOR OPERATION OF ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/nycodes/law128/art82.html
A violation of these Rules is an "offense" for purposes of
authorizing a private citizen to arrest an ATV operator without a warrant.
See, VTL sec 155 & PL 10.00(2)
"For purposes of arrest without a warrant, pursuant to article
one hundred forty of the criminal procedure law, a traffic infraction shall
be deemed an offense." VTL sec 155
http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=128&a=3
" 'Offense' means conduct for which a sentence to a term of
law, local law or ordinance of a political subdivision of this
state....." PL 10.00 The term "offense" therefore means any
felony, misdemeanor, violation, or traffic infraction, unless otherwise
specified in the law defining the offense. Penal Law sec 10.00 (1-6). http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=82&a=5
ATV riders who will ride on any "new trail" they hear
about without even knowing the owner will usually resist arrest, and try to
flee (or run over the landowner): http://www.atvtime.com/steelriders/Features/Others/DoWhat.html
educational system is failing. Our schools are producing students who
are - to quote from the conclusion of a 858 page report recently
published by a distinguished blue ribbon Presidential Task Force on
Educational Quality- "stupid." The drop in our national IQ
has caused many problems, including ... in the field of crime. [W]e
are producing incompetent criminals...." Dave Barry, (as
appropriately published in the Troy Record) July 15, 2001.
extremely backwards places like Rensselaer County, New York, where public
education (paid for at landowners' expense) systematically fails to
instruct the young about peoples' rights, liabilties and
responsiblilities under the Law, many ATV-riders will resist
arrests attempted even by Police Officers: "Unregistered
ATV: 3:21 p.m., Brian Wescott, 17 [years old], 480 Second Street,
[Troy, New York] allegedly became irate and uncooperative during a
traffic [ATV-infraction] stop and struggled with police. He was also
charged with no insurance, obstruction of government administration, and
resisting arrest." Troy Record, Police Blotter May 8, 2001 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=1781261&BRD=1170&PAG=461&dept_id=7021&rfi=8
What happens in NY when the ATV operator who is engaged in an
arrestable offense (e.g., NY VTL s 2403(3)) or is fleeing from the scene
resists a lawful citizen's arrest? Penal Law, sec. 35.30, titled "Justification; use of
physical force in making an arrest or in preventing an escape",
provides: "4. A private person acting on his own account
may use physical force, other than deadly physical force, upon another
person when and to the extent that he reasonably believes such to be
necessary to effect an arrest or to prevent the escape from custody of a
person whom he reasonably believes to have committed an offense [in his
presence] and who in fact has committed such offense; and [after giving due
notice of the grounds for the arrest] he may use deadly physical force for
such purpose when he reasonably believes such to be necessary to:(a) Defend
himself or a third person from what he reasonably believes to be the use or
imminent use of deadly physical force."
right of a law enforcement officer [or a private citizen] to make an arrest
necessarily carries with it the right to use some degree of physical
coercion or threat thereof to effect it." Frazell v. Flanigan, 102 F.3d
877 (1996), quoting Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396 (1989).
When arresting offenders riding ATVs, it is important to be aware
that the ATV can be used as a dangerous instrument against the person making
In NY, forcible "conduct" such as "Menacing" (PL
120.14), "which would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable
and not criminal" when committed "in defense of himself or a third
criminal mischief to property, or inorder to effect an arrest or prevent an
escape from custody." Penal Law 35.10(6). Penal Law s 120.14, titled "Menacing" prescribes:
"A person is guilty of menacing in the second degree when
[without justification]:1. He or she intentionally places or attempts to
place another person in reasonable fear of physical injury, serious physical
injury or death by displaying a deadly weapon, dangerous instrument or what
http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=82&a=27
However, many states, including NY, while not authorizing the USE of
Deadly Force in defense of possession of land (i.e., premises), nevertheless
do provide that an occupant may use necessary non-deadly force (including
"threatening" to use deadly force, i.e., "menacing").
For example, Arizona's statutes explicitly authorize landowners to
"threaten to use deadly physical force" in defense of land.
Arizona Revised Statutes 13-407.
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/00407.htm
Jersey statutes "permit[] an individual to display or brandish a
firearm or other weapon when the need for self-protection [or protection of
another] is reasonably perceived and he merely intends to create an
apprehension in the aggressor that he will use deadly force if
necessary." State v. Harmon, 203
N.J. Super. 216, 223 (App. Div. 1985), rev'd on other grounds, 104
N.J. 189 (1986). [ "A threat to cause death or serious bodily
harm, by the production of a weapon or otherwise, so long as the actor's
purpose is limited to creating an apprehension that he will use deadly force
if necessary, does not constitute deadly force." http://www.njlaws.com/self-defense.htm ]
Similarly, New York statutes provide that a person "may USE any degree
of physical force, other than deadly physical force, which he reasonably
believes to be necessary for" the listed purposes e.g., defense of
premises, persons, to arrest.
NY Penal Law sec 10, Definition (11) provides: ""Deadly
physical force" means physical force which, under the circumstances in
which it is used, is readily capable of causing death or other serious
physical injury."
http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=82&a=5
Menacing with an unloaded gun, or with a dangerous instrument, and
even firing a warning shot AWAY FROM the trespasser, and safely
"threatening to use" deadly force, etc. are not a "USE"
of Deadly Physical Force. Therefore each such act would be lawful in NY when
such a use of non-deadly force is necessary and lawful under article 35 of
the NY Penal Law. See:
People v. Davis, 72 N.Y. 2d 32, 530 N.Y.S.2d (1988).
PEOPLE v. CHRYSLER, 85 N.Y.2d 413, 649 N.E.2d 1162, 626 N.Y.S.2d 18
(1995) ((http://www.law.cornell.edu/ny/ctap/085_0413.htm)
NY Case in point:
"A Canajoharie, New York, car thief's efforts were put in park
after a potential victim pressed a shotgun to the criminal's throat. Daniel
J. Stetin foiled the crime after awaking for work and discovering his car
already running outside. He grabbed a shotgun and went to investigate, while
his wife grabbed the telephone and dialed 911. Confronted by an armed and
angry Stetin, the crook rested quietly on the ground and waited for police
to arrive. (The Sunday Gazette, Schenectady, NY, 5/21/95)"
There was no apparent USE of "deadly physical force" here
(unless the shotgun had a hair-trigger and/or the safety was OFF), only a
lawful and apparently necessary and sufficient "threat" to use
such deadly force. Note: If the man who owned the car stood in front
of it, and if the thief had attempted to escape by driving over the car's
owner, the car's owner would have had the right to prevent that escape
involving vehicular assault, by using deadly physical force (i.e.,
shooting). This is because the law, in support of citizens who place
themselves in positions of peril to arrest guilty offenders, provides that
the private citizen "may use deadly physical force for such
purpose [to effect an arrest or prevent an escape] when he reasonably
believes such to be necessary to:(a) Defend himself or a third person from
what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of deadly physical
force." There is no duty to retreat while performing a lawful citizen's
arrest. PL 35.10(6); 35.30(4).
http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSLaw0107/24_atv-par.html
(ATV posse traps man, rescues girl) The
case of the "ATV-Posse" that apprehended an criminal riding
an ATV (at: http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSLaw0107/24_atv-par.html) illustrates
that law-abiding ATV-riders are well-equipped to apprehend and arrest
ATV-offenders who use ATVs to commit crime. ATV-riders
are beginning to realize that "It's up to [ATV] people to organize
and go out there and either pick up after these guys or police them to some
extent," he said. "It's go time." http://www.easterntrail.org/lib/atvart4.html
For other interesting articles about purported citizen's arrests
see: http://www.prairielaw.com/articles/article.asp?channelId=8&articleId=1329
a Citizen's Arrest: Norm
Thomson owns a 124-acre plot in South Kitsap, Washington. Although it's
private property, not everyone respects that. ... He decided to do
might want to observe the 'no trespassing' signs ...- that is, if one
doesn't want to be hogtied and delivered to the sheriff's office in the back
of a truck.")
Land-owners Defend Private Property in the Second Mexican-American
War: "Tensions
along the Southwest border have escalated into something like guerrilla war
between U.S. ranchers and Mexican citizens. Some ranchers have [been] making
citizen's arrests of illegal aliens crossing their lands. ... "Cochise
County Sheriff Larry Dever asked them to stay within the law when making
citizens' arrests. He said private citizens arresting trespassers on their
property can use any means 'up to and including the threat of deadly force,
but not the use of deadly force.' " Republican congressman Jim Kolbe of
Tucson wrote an impassioned letter to President Clinton, describing his
constituents as virtual prisoners in their own communities. "They
cannot take a simple evening stroll," Kolbe told Clinton. "Some
cannot go for a walk unarmed. Many rural residents are afraid to leave
their homes unattended for fear that they will be robbed. As a result,
a husband and wife cannot even go out for a simple dinner." http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0024/ridgeway.php
See also, The "Rights of NY Landowners to Use Force (Display
Guns) to Stop, Expel and Arrest Defiant Trespassers" at: www.billstclair.com/ferran
Related Correspondence ___________________
Larry Dever:
Trespass in AZ, like ATVs Trespass in NY
the Reply of Arizona Sheriff Larry Dever (below)]
As a NY Landowner who must repeatedly confront and arrest gangs
of ATV-trespassers riding ATVs on POSTED private land in Rensselaer County,
NY (See "The ATV-Trespass Problem" at http://billstclair.com/ferran )
I have complete empathy and understanding for the situation of the Arizona
Landowners who must confront and arrest swarms of trespassing illegal
immigrants. Similar to the Arizona Landowners' experience combating
the AZCLU's socialist views and contempt for their property rights, I
have found the NYCLU to be utterly indifferent to invasions of the property
rights of NY landowners. The Trespass Problem in Arizona is
similar to the ATV and Hunter trespass problem in certain parts of upstate
NY, and both sets of landowners are dissatisfied with the protection
provided by the local constables, and have realized the need to resort to
self-defense of premises and citizens' arrest. The
following article recently appeared in the Albany, NY paper (Times Union),
discussing the problem of ATV-trespass in the Rensselaer County, NY,
where my family owns 600 acres.
the brakes on ATVs Troy--
Proposed Rensselaer County law would fine owners of all-terrain vehicles for
improper use By
MORGAN BOLTON (mbolton@timesunion.com),
Staff writer First published: Thursday, December 26, 2002 "A
fresh blanket of snow on miles-long stretches of open fields and power lines
is all it takes to warm the hearts and rev the motors of the state's 250,000
all-terrain vehicle owners. And while many of those operators are
licensed and otherwise comply with the law -- and the good graces of private
property owners -- a growing number don't, said lawmaker Ed Swartz. The Schodack Republican is proposing legislation to implement a county fine
for improper use of an ATV and for operating an unregistered vehicle. Increasing registration fees could help fund enforcement efforts, he said. Swartz said he has been researching the potential legislation for about four
months after receiving a number of complaints from residents in his rural
district who claim ATV operators
are riding rampant through privately-owned fields and yards. Many of those concerns have come from fellow Schodackians, he acknowledged. "More and more residents are upset because of disruptions
or damage to their property," Swartz said.
"It's clear something needs to be done to protect property
riders at a time, in some instances, have come from out
of town to take advantage of the wide, open spaces, he said. Few, if any,
have permission to traverse the routes that they do. The frustration
is shared by residents and police as the number of ATVs has increased in
recent years, he said. Carefully regulating usage may be the only way to
protect everyone's rights, he said. New York state has more than 75
organized ATV clubs, but many users prefer to ride on their own. Owners are required to register their equipment with the Division of Motor
Vehicles, paying a $15 annual fee, Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola
said. And while most vehicles are registered, the inherent problem
occurs when they are ridden on private property, Merola added: "You're
not going to catch them unless you're chasing them on an ATV yourself." Incoming legislator Keith Hammond said ATV riders from North Greenbush and
East Greenbush regularly maneuver their machines through a huge gravel pit
near his 100-acre Poestenkill farm and then indiscriminately cross property
lines. "I have some thought about this," he said, of Swartz'
proposition, which he said he also backed a number of years ago. "These
people ride your property like they own it." Poestenkill has already implemented an ATV registration process that
requires riders to not only buy licenses, but carry written permission at
all times while on private property. "If they don't have it they
can't be there," said Hammond. Swartz said he has asked the
Legislature's lawyers to review his ideas. He also said he knows it first
may require action from the state before the county can implement any
independent policies. "ATVs are great for recreational purposes
when properly and safely used," he said. "And the vast majority of
riders are respectful and courteous. However, there is a small minority of
riders that have little respect
for other people's property." On
January 1, 2002, the Albany Times Union noted again that Renssealer County
Landowners "want action on ATV drivers using private property without
obtaining permission. Elected officials are grasping for solutions after landowners
with guns ran off trespassing all terrain vehicles twice in the last 18
months." TU 01/01/2002
York and Arizona Landowners have essentially the same legal rights under
state laws to use force (e.g., guns) in defense of their premises. See, e.g., "Rights
of NY Landowners to Use Force (Display Guns) to Stop, Expel and Arrest
Defiant Trespassers (or Terrorists) at http://billstclair.com/ferran .
on January 3, 2003, Albany TU columnist Fred LeBrun stated that in
Rensselaer County, "these instruments from hell" are running amok
and "cops make an all-too-infrequent stop of some yahoo churning up the
landscape on somebody else's private property. ... There
have been a number of testy confrontations recently in the rural parts of
the county between ATV riders operating illegally and property owners. Something very bad is going to happen if this persists. Private property is,
after all, private property. Owners get edgy about that."
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=88794&category=REGION&newsdate=1/3/2003
Albany TU already reported, in November of 2002, that: "A teenager
[seated on a parked ATV] was shot in the ankle by a [landowner] deer hunter
as they scuffled during an argument that was sparked by the boy allegedly
trespassing on private land, police said." [The ATV-rider had
refused to leave the land, threatened and punched the 69-year old landowner
who was holding a deer rifle, causing the older man to fall down and causing
the rifle to accidentally discharge, striking the trespasser in the ankle. The local police falsely arrested and charged the landowner for
"recklessly endangering" the trespasser, as if the landowner was
supposed to expect to be punched and knocked down while holding a
rifle, and to protect the trespasser from that risk.]
local District Attorney, who reputedly rides ATVs, has announced plans
to practically abolish private property rights in the County in order to make
private land completely "safe" for ATV-trespassers. See http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/dear_fellow_property.htm Meanwhile,
the same things are happening in Arizona:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2002/Dec-23-Mon-2002/opinion/20323952.html
Copyright � Las Vegas Review-Journal EDITORIAL:
citizens perform service in rounding up illegal border crossers
number of activist groups, including the Arizona Civil Liberties Union and
the Border Action Network, are asking Arizona Gov.-elect Janet Napolitano to
step in and stop private property owners along the Mexican border from
engaging in "vigilantism." At
least three such property rights groups are now patrolling the
Arizona-Mexico border, endeavoring to round up smugglers and other illegal
alien invaders, whereupon they turn them over to local and federal police.
The property owners targeted in this protest are not known to have committed
any illegal violence. This
is apparently too much for Pamela K. Sutherland, legal director of the
Arizona CLU, to bear. "We
are a government of law," Ms. Sutherland asserts. "The vigilantism
and lawlessness they represent cannot be tolerated and we won't let their
behavior go unchecked." Jennifer
Allen, co-director of the Tucson-based Border Action Network adds that the
illegal aliens "have civil rights and human rights that take precedence
over defending the country." Let's
stop and consider this assertion for a moment. Which is the more vital human
right -- the one most deserving of defense? The right to work hard, save
your earnings, and buy a piece of land, whereupon you then "own"
that piece of real estate as your "private property" ... or the
right to bypass proper legal procedures in order to enter someone else's
country, then further to trespass on someone else's private property in the
country you've entered illegally, camping there without his or her
permission? Here's
a hint: The first principle -- private property rights -- was the one on
which this nation was based, and which helped make it the most peaceful,
free and wealth-generating society the world has ever known. The
solution is for the land owners to merely call the police or the INS, the
activists say. But police and the INS admit that they're spread too thin,
left to resemble small children trying to catch moths with teaspoons. And on
the rare occasion when they do apprehend illegal border crossers, what is
their recourse? To dump them back across the border and watch them try again
tomorrow night, of course. In
fact, the property rights groups are performing a valuable public service --
and as long as they do not engage in any illegal activity while protecting
their own lands, they should be encouraged to continue their patrols.
to the Arizona Landowners' experience combating the AZCLU's socialist
views and contempt for their property rights, I have found the NYCLU to be
utterly indifferent to invasions of the property rights of NY landowners. The (former) Rensselaer County District Attorney, who reputedly rides
ATVs, seemed to be instigating offenses against land-owners in Rensselaer
County by maintaining prosecution policies that protected only ATV-riders
and other trespassers, at the expense of the land-owners who's tax dollars
pay his salary. The DA advertised on his website that he wants to
make private property in Rensselaer County perfectly "safe" for
ATV-trespassers, including whole "families" of law-breakers. Note: Adolf Hitler took the same approach to acquiring and concentrating his
we [National Socialists] need if we are to have a real People's State is a
land reform.... And land [Grund und Boden], we must insist, cannot be
private property. Further, there must be a reform in our law. Our present
law regards only the rights of the individual. It does not regard the
protection of the race, the protection of the community of the people. ... A
law which is so far removed from the conception of the community of the
people is in need of reform." - Adolf Hitler, MUNICH, SPEECH OF APRIL
http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/dear_fellow_property.htm
choose to assist landowners to preserve their legal rights under the
Law and in the Courts of Public Opinion. There is no need to change
the Law in New York or Arizona, only a need to promote respect for it, and
to enforce it. Some landowners are far ahead of the curve in this
R. Ferran BSEE scl JD mcl
http://billstclair.com/ferran
Larry To:
Ferran Sent:
Wednesday, January 08, 2003 10:00 AM
RE: Illegals Trespass in AZ, like ATVs Trespass in NY
very much appreciate your perspective and comparisons regarding the
trespass issue. You are absolutely correct and I can assure you my defense
of privacy and property rights of the citizens of Cochise County is beyond
reproach. Sadly, a recent portrayal by an uninformed, moronic and myopic
individual suggests otherwise. He knows not of what he speaks. Good luck
with your legal and lawful pursuit of assuring the freedoms we cherish
Larry A. Dever
Related Article compiled by Mark R. Ferran _________________________
InfilTraitor Challenges Civilian Defense of US Borders (see
tactics of using contrived "Human Rights" arguments to facilitate
the criminal invasion and the take-over of the United States are not
new. Back in 2000, Professor "Navarro and his Mexican allies from
across the border [were] using so-called human rights as a smoke screen to
cover the invasion of the United States by Mexico. This is not a rally for
peace, it is a rally for a piece of the United States of America."
http://www.americanpatrol.com/RALLIES/SpencerSpeechBorder000729.html
Armando Navarro, the man responsible for the anti-American, Anti-Property
Rights assembly described in the article below identifies himself as a
Leader of "the Chicano movement ... of an Aztlan" [i.e., Retaking
control over the seven states of the Southwestern United States].
is a "Mexican nationalist." He is advocating the overthrow
of the government of the United States of America and the
"liberation" of "Aztlan". Navarro
claims that "the Mexicans ... were victims of an imperialism by which
Mexico lost all but of half of its territory... [He predicts that] In
50 years, in 2050, the Latin population growth in the United States will
reach 100 million, converting itself into 25% of the US population. In
states like California, Texas and Nuevoo Mexico, in following 20 or 30 years
the Latinos will constitute the majority (50%) of the population. ... Think that the Latin vote has the potential of "tipping the
balance" of US elections, specially the presidential elections. ... Imagine the possibility that Mexico recovers the lost
territories, or that a new Republic Of Aztlan is established; Imagine
that what happens is similar to the separatist movements in the province of
Quebec happens an and in Puerto Rico."
http://www.aztlan.net/navarro.htm
1993, the National Voter Registration Act, alias the Motor-Voter Law, has
been a primary vehicle for massive voter fraud in the United States. Non-citizens are accounting for an increasing percentage of voters in
federal elections. I take offense that the Congress seems perfectly
content to watch as illegal aliens are actually deciding the outcomes of
close elections. .... This law forces our state motor
vehicle departments to ask all applicants for driver's licenses if they
would like to register to vote at the same time. However, thanks to
the Civil Rights agencies, motor vehicle department workers ae not allowed
to ask if an applicant is a citizen because this would violate their
"civil rights." As a result, millions of illegal aliens and
non-citizens are getting BOTH driver's licenses and voter registration
http://usbc.org/
Apparently, "National
Leader Dr. Armando Navarro" is an ambitious man who wants to be
the First President of the "Republic Of Aztlan" to be
established in the Southwestern US states. Navarro has already
demonstrated a willingness to lobby Congress for American Foreign Policies
that put the interests of border-violators ahead of the security of the
law-abiding American Population: Navarro lobbied Congress against
the War in Iraq because: "a war may enhance strict
immigration policies that are already making life hard for the Latino
community. "I think there will be an increase in the border
control,' said Emilio Amaya, executive director of the San Bernardino
Community Service Center. "That affects our community,' he said,
"because we are the ones that cross the border.'" http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208%7E12588%7E904303,00.html
is no question that illegal immigration is quite harmful to America and it
must end soon if we wish to preserve the special character of our unique
"melting pot" that has kept all races, colors and national origins
united. ... America's illegal immigration
problem was just one more symptom of a political system that is slowly being
taken over by men and women of low character who lack both the ability and
the desire to solve America's problems. [T]his is exactly what
happened in Cuba. Politics became so dirty and so corrupt that honest men
and women refused to participate in the political process or run for office.
And in the vacuum, dangerous people like Fidel Castro were able to steal the
http://www.usbc.org/info/newslet/chrmn2.htm
Navarro, inspiring and identifying with the "Zapatista"
Rebels, is not morally opposed to the use of Military
(Guerilla) violence to accomplish his Mexican Nationalist ambitions: http://www.aztlan.net/zapamarch.htm
Continues [in Mexico]: Today
descendents of the Maya, and other indigenous groups throughout the Americas
are still fighting ... The most famous of these groups is the "Zapatistas"
in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, who have taken their name after
one of the Mexican revolution's leaders, Emiliano Zapata. Zapata, in his
time, fought against the federal government ...." http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/teachers/violencetext.html
NAVARRO - SEDITIONIST
http://ccir.net/REFERENCE/ArmandoNavarro.html
told Hispanic Americans: "When
you look at the demographic studies when you listened to Dr. Bautista
yesterday, we are clearly going to be the majority in the Southwest in the
next fifty - sixty years and especially here in California, by the year 2015
we're going to be more than fifty percent of the population. Ladies
and gentlemen, what this means is a transfer of power, it means control, it
means whose going to influence. And it is the young people, the people who
are now moving to develop an agenda for the twenty first century. They are
really going to be in a position to really make the promise of what the
Chicano movement was all about in terms of self-determination, in terms of
empowerment, and even in the terms of the idea of an Atzlan!"
http://www.americanpatrol.com/RECONQUISTA/NAVARO.html
Armando Navarro's Biography and email address:
http://ethnicstudies.ucr.edu/people/navarro/navarro.html
Reconquistas "consistently questions the validity of our
existing border with Mexico," Sutherland wrote." It also makes it
very clear that with the continuing influx of Latinos into the Southwest
along with their high birthrate, these so-called 'natives' will realize
their power to control Aztlan once again. ... Latinos
are now realizing that the power to control Aztlan may once again be in
http://www.americanpatrol.com/MECHA/AZTLAN.html
the furtherance of the Reconquest of the American Southwest, Navarro's
Humanitarian Front organization, the "National
Alliance for Human Rights is calling on the University of California Board
of Regents to name a Latino chancellor for UC Riverside when it replaces
Raymond Orbach. ... The alliance wants a Latino
named to the post because the state's Latino population is approaching 35
percent. ... It's a strategically critical moment in the
decision-making process, said Navarro, because, in addition to the possible
chancellor post, a position is slated to open March 1 on the Board of
Regents when Chairman Sue Johnson's term expires." http://www.nctimes.net/news/2002/20020222/55925.html This kind of take-over of American educational institutions would
naturally give the Mexican Nationalists more control over the minds of many
young people who will be taught "tolleration" of the violation of
American Immigration Laws, and to submit to the correction of the
supposed injustices of History. This would simply extend the efforts
of local Mexican Nationalists to establish "schools" for the
indoctrination of Latino children to rebel against Anglo-American
authority over them: http://centrocso.org/fightthepower.html
Affilliating
with Navarro's Humanitarian Front organization, "In its early
years,[http://www.centrocso.org] organized around immigrant rights and
against police brutality. CSO also conducted leadership training and
worked to increase voter participation. ... Its success in this
period can be measured by the ability to incorporate new members and prepare
new leaders to fight for the democratic rights of all poor, working [Latinos
in America]. ... CSO opposed Propositions 184, 187, 209
national borders all over the world have come about as the result of war. Mexicans obviously have no thought of [immediately] invading the Southwest
with troops, so their hope is reconquista by migration, both legal and
Legal Defense & Education Fund, "California is going to be a
Hispanic state and anyone who doesn't like it should leave." Vicente
Fox presented Mexico's Congress with a five-year development plan to
eliminate the U.S.-Mexican border. He said he plans to serve "the
100 million Mexicans who now live in Mexico and the more than 18 million who
live abroad," and to "strengthen our ability to protect and defend
the rights of all Mexicans abroad." ... On ABC's Nightline
on June 7, he boasted: "We are betting that the Mexican-American
population in the United States ... will think Mexico first." Fox's plan calls for building a larger consular presence in the United
States, and this is already in operation. In U.S. areas with large
Hispanic (including illegal) populations, the Mexican consul donates to the
local public schools the same textbooks that are used in every elementary
school in Mexico, grades 1 through 6. The books, written in Spanish
and including all academic subjects, teach that America "stole"
the southwest from Mexico and that Mexico is entitled to take it back. The
Mexican government considers these textbooks a symbol of Mexican national
pride, guarantees a set to every Mexican child, and makes it a crime for
anyone to sell them. The only reason we learned about this Mexican
plan is that one school in Santa Ana, California, decided to sell the books
at a book fair and the local Hispanics kicked up a fuss about it. The school
apologized to the Hispanics for selling the books, but should have
apologized to the students for accepting the books in the first place. The
question we should ask our Mexican immigrant friends is, are you
assimilating or invading? "
http://www.ourcivilisation.com/usa/invade.htm
Hispanic American living in California speaks up against "Mexican
Subversion":
must realize when representatives of the Mexican Consul,
La Raza, or MEChA demand �social
benefits� or �rights�
for illegal aliens in the U.S. that this is an attack on America�s
sovereignty by enemy agents of Mexico. They claim to be fighting for all
Hispanics or Latinos, but they are not. They represent only one ethnic group
or nationality, Mexican or Chicano. Simply put, they are socialist Mexican
nationalists, or representatives of the �National Socialist Party of
Mexico�, Mexican Nazis, and they are the enemy of all Americans."
http://www.vdare.com/letters/tl_041103.htm
OF AMERICA BY ILLEGAL ALIENS:
http://www.poliedu.net/PCVol5Is017SeeseBorderIllegals.shtml
"AZTLAN":
A WARPED VISION OF HISTORY & DISLOYALTY TO THE U.S.A. : LATINO
SEPARATISM IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST http://www.poliedu.net/PCVol5Is002WardAztlan.shtml
From: Joe Liberty <joseph@patriotsaints.com>
Subject: Civilian Border Patrols Challenged
PHOENIX - A delegation representing human rights groups
from across the country plans to confront civilian border watchdog
organizations today over what the civil rights advocates call the use of
excessive force to stop illegal immigrants.
The tactics employed by the watchdog groups are
"illegal, unjust and violent," said Armando Navarro, who heads the
National Alliance for Human Rights and the delegation that traveled to
Arizona from California on Thursday.
The civilian watchdog groups, which include American
Border Patrol, Civil Homeland Defense and Ranch Rescue, began appearing in
Arizona in recent years as the state has become the preferred crossing point
for thousands of illegal immigrants.
The current delegation includes representatives of groups
from California, Texas, New Mexico, Illinois and Mexico.
Border crossers began shifting to Arizona in large
numbers as immigration officials cracked down on entry points in Texas and
California. Some of the civilian groups have rounded up illegal immigrants
while others report border crossers to U.S. authorities.
Chris Simcox, founder of Civil Homeland Defense, a
volunteer group that patrols the border, said he had not heard from the
delegation but would be glad to meet with them.
Simcox called the characterization of his group as a
violent militia "slanderous."
Glenn Spencer, head of the Sierra Vista-based American
Border Patrol, said his group isn't a militia. He also said he hadn't heard
from the rights delegation.
"I'm standing on a ramp in Fort Stockton, Texas,
right now refueling my airplane to visit a rancher who has huge problems
with illegal immigrants," Spencer said. "(The delegation has)
never made any attempt to contact us, so we of course have no plans to meet
Navarro called it "convenient" that Spencer was
out of town. He said the delegation will travel to Sierra Vista today to try
to meet with other members of the patrol.
"If he has any semblance of an organization, we're
going to be looking for them," Navarro said. "They say, 'Join the
hunt.' Well, the hunt is on them now. We are the hunters of the
Navarro, a political scientist from the University of
California-Riverside, said he hopes to establish a larger network of human
rights groups to work against the civilian patrols.
Ruben Beltran, Mexican general consul in Phoenix, said he
doesn't want vigilantes enforcing immigration laws.
http://www.abqjournal.com/paperboy/text/news/40975news05-23-03.htm
groups began appearing in Arizona in response to complaints from residents
who said they were being overrun by immigrants."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0524border24.html