Problems with Trespassers

[Midniteoyl]

No he was not a problem he was upset. His wife left him after his second tour in Afghanistan with the Marines. He had post traumatic stress disorder. He let his emotions get in the way off common sense.

This is what a lot of people do when land disputes and other personal matters are involved. Talking about ( or doing it) wooping butt and shooting people will not fix anything. Most just talk anyway, if they were in the same situation it'd be different. I hope no one really wants to pull a gun and start shooting. Staying calm and being rational is the only way to fix a problem. By all means protect yourself if it cannot be avoided, but not putting yourself in the position to be provoked to get into it with them is easiest.
Me and one of my neighbors went all the way to court with our property line and we are still on speaking terms. We would have killed each other if I had not been able to defuse him (by not getting mad at him and talking sense to him). He always brought his four employees with him when he came and was usually half drunk and mad. I would not fall into his trap. I almost did several times though. I'd just offer him a beer and his attitude would change after a little bit of chatter. I had two out of four property owners one side disagreeing with me on our line. I had to force one part of the fence up, the other I took to court and won.

Don't let your emotions get in the way is the point I'm trying to make.
This was the best advice my lawyer gave me.

Sorry for your friend. I'm a disabled vet myself and know plenty of PTSD guys.. But, doesnt change things.

Agree that there is 'talk' and there is 'walk'. Some only do one, some both.

Of course controlling your emotions - and fears - is the way to go. I told my story so will let it stand at that..

 

[kiotiken]

Let your surveyor mark the line and then plow the entire field. Disk it next spring and then have a farmer give it a good spreading of fresh manure. Turning over the soil will make it uncomfortable for them to use with an ATV and impossible with a chopper and the manure should be a good deterrent for next year. By the time the manure is gone, they'll have moved on and your field should be in great shape for your use.

 

[Timm250]

Well, that's understandable.

You should have a few contacts in the area, then. Did you get back with the attorneys?

No. We have taken the pictures to the Sheriff's Dept. & they are going to take them to the County Attorney & request trespassing charges to be filed after this last incident with them riding the chopper in the field.

 

[EE_Bota]

EE Bota ....I need to confess....I am positive that if some thug on a 4 wheeler bumped my wife I would not be able to restrain myself...that is an assault with a deadly weapon...Let's not dance around it...

I hope that if I have a gun in my hand, restraint is in my tool set. If that very same thing happens to you as what happened to the OP, you are in charge of achieving the very best outcome possible. If your outcome exceeds that of the OP, I shall offer you my congratulations for your achievement too. And if people are second guessing you a lot, I will recount your real achievements.

When I go to our farm I am armed and I can assure you or anyone else the worse nightmare you could ever have would be to threaten my family...

I have not told of my nightmares, nor have I announced my capabilities. So lets leave you and I out of it. I don't fear you will harm me, nor do you fear I will harm you.

When I go to our farm I am armed and I can assure you or anyone else the worse nightmare you could ever have would be to threaten my family...and in this case his wife's life was in jeopardy...he could have even accidentally hit the throttle and she might have been dead..that was an imminent threat of deadly force against his wife....No cops around and on help for at least 20 minutes or so....Nahh....not me...they would have paid a price for that move...Call me all the names you want ..

He seems to want ideas about how to do his best going forward. I don't see the need to go into the past when any suggestion we make about that WILL lead to a worse outcome than he achieved.

The bold part: Who is calling you names? I don't want to call you names.

These situations are TOUGH. The OP won the day. He was a man. I may have shot them, or messed them up, out of anger or fear. What would MY writeup have looked like? I'd get attaboys for shooting them while the law and the entire community would be trying to ruin me.

Imminent is not 15 minutes ago. I didn't gather that the OP was watching the ATV incident. I gathered that he was told of the incident. I'll read it again.

Edit: Having reread the original post, the gentleman could not shoot over the ATV incident because he was not there to do so. The lady, she could have shot them, but there were several of them, and I'd be surprised if one or more of them were not armed. And the living get to tell the tale, though forensics can dispute. Forensics in his county will probably be less helpful even than the LEO's were to him.

 

[idaho2]

Let your surveyor mark the line and then plow the entire field. Disk it next spring and then have a farmer give it a good spreading of fresh manure. Turning over the soil will make it uncomfortable for them to use with an ATV and impossible with a chopper and the manure should be a good deterrent for next year. By the time the manure is gone, they'll have moved on and your field should be in great shape for your use.

I like this one and leave the furrow open on the last pass and get as close as you can to the fence. Also plow the head land and leave the furrow as a barrier. Then finish the field for planting next spring. Besides it's good "weed control" to plow and creates green manure for replenishing the soil.

idaho2

 

[KYErik]

I agree with your fencing plan- it is a great idea. As others have suggested, get a bunch of friends and family out and try to do it all in one day- preferably a day when you feel the other folks won't be around.

Best case scenario is to schedule the surveyor for that morning and have him remark the ends of the field and call/tell the police what you will be doing that day. Take lots of pics of the fence going up.

If the surveyor cannot come out that morning and you are absolutely sure of where the prop line is, put up the fence (1 ft on your side of the line) and then have the surveyor come back and remark the boundary. If the surveyor won't sign anything stating that the fence is on your side of the line, take a bunch of pics of him actually physically marking the corners showing where they are in relation to the fence.

Once the fence is up and verified to be in the right place, you will likely have a better legal case if the fence is damaged or trash is thrown over the fence.

One more thing- use wood posts. The T-posts are easy to remove and are fairly valuable if resold.

You might also consider a temporary gate across your driveway to keep them from pulling in and harassing you.

I always thought that it would be a good fundraiser for people to be able to donate $40 per day to have a recently retired police cruiser parked in their driveway. Maybe some retired police officers could run the program and the proceeds could go to big brothers/sisters or to a boys and girls ranch. It would be similar to paying for a Hollywood prop- there would be no real or implied promise for police protection. Perhaps an old radar gun could be installed and turned on so radar detectors go off as ppl drive by (completing the illusion).

 

[CurlyDave]

Timm:

While there has been a lot of advice given, I think there is one avenue left unexplored, which is the original real estate transaction where you bought the parcel.

I think you have a very good case that the seller of the property failed to disclose a material defect with the land, namely that his relatives would be very upset with the sale and may try to take some kind of action against you. Talk to a lawyer about this.

It may turn out that you can bring significant financial pressure against the seller, who clearly knows the remaining owners of the other 3 parcels. He, in turn, can put some pressure on his co-heirs. This may do a lot more good than all the law enforcement in the world.

At least consult with a real estate lawyer. Don't bother with the agent who represented you in the purchase. Real estate agents all know each other, and your agent will be reluctant to do anything jeopardizing their relationship with the selling agent. But a couple hundred $ to the right lawyer may produce amazing results.

As much as it may go against your grain, I would try to work out a deal, using the seller as a point of contact, where you might use your machinery to improve trails/parking on their remaining 3 parcels in exchange for them helping with the fence you want. Might prevent a lot of cut/damaged fences over the years...

 

[brin]

:thumbsup: CurlyDave....You just gave him the best advice of all....What a great example of critical thinking...I am sorry my mind was not quick enough to think of it....He has absolute leverage with the relative ( I did not know it was a relative ) that sold the land to him....Even if these folks are Neanderthals they will understand financial pressure...Your advice is golden....

It just occurred to me...what if all 4 of the beneficiaries of the will actually planned this ? Since the OP has posted that he has lived there for a very long time...Maybe they planned to sell tract #4 to him....then harass him until he was ready to sell...then they would make an offer substantially less than he paid....and maybe even be able to buy his home place....even if that is not the case ...it could be alleged that is what they may have planned and that would be fraud or deceptive practice I would think.

 

[EE_Bota]

The land was part of an estate that was surveyed & divided into 4 tracts & each heir took one tract. I bought the tract that joins our house property. The couple that we bought the land from are not related to the other 3 heirs.

And the 4th heirs got called up and cussed-out, he says later.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Timm:

While there has been a lot of advice given, I think there is one avenue left unexplored, which is the original real estate transaction where you bought the parcel.

I think you have a very good case that the seller of the property failed to disclose a material defect with the land, namely that his relatives would be very upset with the sale and may try to take some kind of action against you. Talk to a lawyer about this.

It may turn out that you can bring significant financial pressure against the seller, who clearly knows the remaining owners of the other 3 parcels. He, in turn, can put some pressure on his co-heirs. This may do a lot more good than all the law enforcement in the world.

At least consult with a real estate lawyer. Don't bother with the agent who represented you in the purchase. Real estate agents all know each other, and your agent will be reluctant to do anything jeopardizing their relationship with the selling agent. But a couple hundred $ to the right lawyer may produce amazing results.

As much as it may go against your grain, I would try to work out a deal, using the seller as a point of contact, where you might use your machinery to improve trails/parking on their remaining 3 parcels in exchange for them helping with the fence you want. Might prevent a lot of cut/damaged fences over the years...

Agree... several and myself have basically said the same - The seller wanted out.