Part 5. Trespass, Tampering, and Criminal Mischief

(1) A person commits criminal mischief when he or she knowingly damages the real or personal property of one or more other persons, including property owned by the person jointly with another person or property owned by the person in which another person has a possessory or proprietary interest, in the course of a single criminal episode.
(2) and (3) Repealed.
(4) Criminal mischief is:
(a) A class 3 misdemeanor when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is less than three hundred dollars;
(b) A class 2 misdemeanor when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is three hundred dollars or more but less than seven hundred fifty dollars;
(c) A class 1 misdemeanor when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is seven hundred fifty dollars or more but less than one thousand dollars;
(d) A class 6 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one thousand dollars or more but less than five thousand dollars;
(e) A class 5 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is five thousand dollars or more but less than twenty thousand dollars;
(f) A class 4 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is twenty thousand dollars or more but less than one hundred thousand dollars;
(g) A class 3 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one hundred thousand dollars or more but less than one million dollars; and
(h) A class 2 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one million dollars or more.

A person commits the crime of first degree criminal trespass if such person knowingly and unlawfully enters or remains in a dwelling of another or if such person enters any motor vehicle with intent to commit a crime therein. First degree criminal trespass is a class 5 felony.

(1) A person commits the crime of second degree criminal trespass if such person:
(a) Unlawfully enters or remains in or upon the premises of another which are enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders or are fenced; or
(b) Knowingly and unlawfully enters or remains in or upon the common areas of a hotel, motel, condominium, or apartment building; or
(c) Knowingly and unlawfully enters or remains in a motor vehicle of another.
(2) Second degree criminal trespass is a class 3 misdemeanor, but:
(a) It is a class 2 misdemeanor if the premises have been classified by the county assessor for the county in which the land is situated as agricultural land pursuant to section 39-1-102 (1.6), C.R.S.; and
(b) It is a class 4 felony if the person trespasses on premises so classified as agricultural land with the intent to commit a felony thereon.
(3) Whenever a person is convicted of, pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, receives a deferred judgment or sentence for, or is adjudicated a juvenile delinquent for, a violation of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section, the offender’s driver’s license shall be revoked as provided in section 42-2-125, C.R.S.

(1) A person commits the crime of second degree criminal trespass if such person:
(a) Unlawfully enters or remains in or upon the premises of another which are enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders or are fenced; or
(b) Knowingly and unlawfully enters or remains in or upon the common areas of a hotel, motel, condominium, or apartment building; or
(c) Knowingly and unlawfully enters or remains in a motor vehicle of another.
(2) Second degree criminal trespass is a class 3 misdemeanor, but:
(a) It is a class 2 misdemeanor if the premises have been classified by the county assessor for the county in which the land is situated as agricultural land pursuant to section 39-1-102 (1.6), C.R.S.; and
(b) It is a class 4 felony if the person trespasses on premises so classified as agricultural land with the intent to commit a felony thereon.
(3) Repealed.

(1) A person commits the crime of third degree criminal trespass if such person unlawfully enters or remains in or upon premises of another.
(2) Third degree criminal trespass is a class 1 petty offense, but:
(a) It is a class 3 misdemeanor if the premises have been classified by the county assessor for the county in which the land is situated as agricultural land pursuant to section 39-1-102 (1.6), C.R.S.; and
(b) It is a class 5 felony if the person trespasses on premises so classified as agricultural land with the intent to commit a felony thereon.

As used in sections 18-4-503 and 18-4-504, “premises” means real property, buildings, and other improvements thereon, and the stream banks and beds of any nonnavigable fresh water streams flowing through such real property.

Except as provided in sections 18-4-506.3 and 18-4-506.5, a person commits the crime of first degree criminal tampering if, with intent to cause interruption or impairment of a service rendered to the public by a utility or by an institution providing health or safety protection, he tampers with property of a utility or institution. First degree criminal tampering is a class 1 misdemeanor.

Except as provided in sections 18-4-506.3 and 18-4-506.5, a person commits the crime of second degree criminal tampering if he tampers with property of another with intent to cause injury, inconvenience, or annoyance to that person or to another or if he knowingly makes an unauthorized connection with property of a utility. Second degree criminal tampering is a class 2 misdemeanor.

(1) Any person who in any manner knowingly destroys, breaks, removes, or otherwise tampers with or attempts to destroy, break, remove, or otherwise tamper with any equipment associated with oil or gas gathering operations commits a class 2 misdemeanor.
(2) Any person who in any manner, without the consent of the owner or operator, knowingly alters, obstructs, interrupts, or interferes with or attempts to alter, obstruct, interrupt, or interfere with the action of any equipment used or associated with oil or gas gathering operations commits a class 2 misdemeanor.

(1) Any person who connects any pipe, tube, stopcock, wire, cord, socket, motor, or other instrument or contrivance with any main, service pipe, or other medium conducting or supplying gas, water, or electricity to any building without the knowledge and consent of the person supplying such gas, water, or electricity commits a class 2 misdemeanor.
(2) Any person who in any manner alters, obstructs, or interferes with the action of any meter provided for measuring or registering the quantity of gas, water, or electricity passing through said meter without the knowledge and consent of the person owning said meter commits a class 2 misdemeanor.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to any licensed electrical or plumbing contractor while performing usual and ordinary services in accordance with recognized customs and standards.

Every person who defaces or destroys any written instrument evidencing a property right, whether vested or contingent, with the intent to defraud commits a class 1 misdemeanor.

(1) Any person who knowingly cuts, fells, alters, or removes any certain boundary tree knowing such is a boundary tree, monument, or other allowed landmark, to the damage of any person, or any person who intentionally defaces, removes, pulls down, injures, or destroys any location stake, side post, corner post, landmark, or monument, or any other legal land boundary monument in this state, designating or intending to designate the location, boundary, or name of any mining claim, lode, or vein of mineral, or the name of the discoverer or date of discovery thereof, commits a class 2 misdemeanor.
(2) Any person who knowingly removes or knowingly causes to be removed any public land survey monument, as defined by section 38-53-103 (18), C.R.S., or control corner, as defined in section 38-53-103 (6), C.R.S., or a restoration of any such monument or who knowingly removes or knowingly causes to be removed any bearing tree knowing such is a bearing tree or other accessory, as defined by section 38-53-103 (1), C.R.S., even if said person has title to the land on which said monument or accessory is located, commits a class 2 misdemeanor unless, prior to such removal, said person has caused a Colorado professional land surveyor to establish at least two witness corners or reference marks for each such monument or accessory removed and has filed or caused to be filed a monument record pursuant to article 53 of title 38, C.R.S.

(1)
(a) Any person who destroys, defaces, removes, or damages any historical monument commits the crime of defacing property.
(b) Any person who defaces or causes, aids in, or permits the defacing of public or private property without the consent of the owner by any method of defacement, including but not limited to painting, drawing, writing, or otherwise marring the surface of the property by use of paint, spray paint, ink, or any other substance or object, commits the crime of defacing property.
(c)
(I) Any person who, with regard to a cave that is public property or the property of another, knowingly performs any of the following acts without the consent of the owner commits the crime of defacing property:
(A) Breaking or damaging any lock, fastening, door, or structure designed to enclose or protect any such cave;
(B) Defacing, damaging, or breaking from any part of such cave any cave resource; or
(C) Removing from such cave any cave resource.
(II) For purposes of this section:
(A) “Cave” means any naturally occurring void, cavity, recess, lava tube, or system of interconnected passages that occurs beneath the surface of the earth or within a cliff or ledge, including any cave resource therein, but not including any mine, tunnel, aqueduct, or other artificial excavation, and that is large enough to permit an individual to enter, regardless of whether the entrance is naturally formed or has been artificially created or enlarged. “Cave” includes any natural pit, sinkhole, or other feature that is an extension of the entrance.
(B) “Cave resource” includes any material or substance occurring naturally in caves, such as animal life, plant life, paleontological deposits, sediments, minerals, speleogens, and speleothems.
(B.5) “Juvenile” shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 19-1-103 (68), C.R.S.
(C) “Speleogen” means relief features on the walls, ceiling, or floor of any cave that are part of the surrounding rock, including, but not limited to, anastomoses, scallops, meander niches, petromorphs, and rock pendants in solution caves and similar features unique to volcanic caves.
(D) “Speleothem” means any natural mineral formation or deposit occurring in a cave, including, but not limited to, any stalactite, stalagmite, helictite, cave flower, flowstone, concretion, drapery, rimstone, or formation of clay or mud.
(2) (a) (I) Defacing property is a class 2 misdemeanor; except that:
(A) A second or subsequent conviction for the offense of defacing property is a class 1 misdemeanor and the court shall impose a mandatory minimum fine of seven hundred fifty dollars upon conviction; and
(B) If a person violates paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section twice or more within a period of six months, the damages caused by two or more of the violations may be aggregated and charged in a single count, in which event the violations so aggregated and charged shall constitute a single offense, and, if the aggregate damages are five hundred dollars or more, it is a class 1 misdemeanor and the court shall impose a mandatory minimum fine of seven hundred fifty dollars upon conviction.
(II) In sentencing a person who violates this section, the court has discretion to impose alternatives in sentencing as described in part 1 of article 1.3 of this title, including but not limited to restorative justice practices, as defined in section 18-1-901 (3)(o.5), or in the case of a juvenile offender, to impose restorative justice, as defined in section 19-1-103 (94.1), C.R.S.
(III) The court may suspend all or part of the mandatory minimum fine associated with a conviction under this section upon the offender’s successful completion of any sentence alternative imposed by the court pursuant to subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (a).
(IV) Fifty percent of the fines collected pursuant to this paragraph (a) shall be credited to the highway users tax fund, created in section 43-4-201, C.R.S., and allocated and expended as specified in section 43-4-205 (5.5)(a), C.R.S., and fifty percent of the fines collected pursuant to this paragraph (a) shall be credited to the juvenile diversion cash fund created in section 19-2-303.5, C.R.S.; except that the fines collected pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section shall be credited to the Colorado travel and tourism promotion fund created in section 24-49.7-106, C.R.S.
(b) Any person convicted of defacing property pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (1) of this section shall be ordered by the court to personally make repairs to any property damaged, or properties similarly damaged, if possible. If the property cannot be repaired, the court shall order a person convicted of defacing property to replace or compensate the owner for the damaged property but may, in the case of a violation of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, limit such compensation to two thousand five hundred dollars.
(c) Repealed.

(1)
(a) Any person who destroys, defaces, removes, or damages any historical monument commits the crime of defacing property.
(b) Any person who defaces or causes, aids in, or permits the defacing of public or private property without the consent of the owner by any method of defacement, including but not limited to painting, drawing, writing, or otherwise marring the surface of the property by use of paint, spray paint, ink, or any other substance or object, commits the crime of defacing property.
(c)
(I) Any person who, with regard to a cave that is public property or the property of another, knowingly performs any of the following acts without the consent of the owner commits the crime of defacing property:
(A) Breaking or damaging any lock, fastening, door, or structure designed to enclose or protect any such cave;
(B) Defacing, damaging, or breaking from any part of such cave any cave resource; or
(C) Removing from such cave any cave resource.
(II) For purposes of this section:
(A) “Cave” means any naturally occurring void, cavity, recess, lava tube, or system of interconnected passages that occurs beneath the surface of the earth or within a cliff or ledge, including any cave resource therein, but not including any mine, tunnel, aqueduct, or other artificial excavation, and that is large enough to permit an individual to enter, regardless of whether the entrance is naturally formed or has been artificially created or enlarged. “Cave” includes any natural pit, sinkhole, or other feature that is an extension of the entrance.
(B) “Cave resource” includes any material or substance occurring naturally in caves, such as animal life, plant life, paleontological deposits, sediments, minerals, speleogens, and speleothems.
(B.5) “Juvenile” has the same meaning as set forth in section 19-2.5-102.
(C) “Speleogen” means relief features on the walls, ceiling, or floor of any cave that are part of the surrounding rock, including, but not limited to, anastomoses, scallops, meander niches, petromorphs, and rock pendants in solution caves and similar features unique to volcanic caves.
(D) “Speleothem” means any natural mineral formation or deposit occurring in a cave, including, but not limited to, any stalactite, stalagmite, helictite, cave flower, flowstone, concretion, drapery, rimstone, or formation of clay or mud.
(2)(a)(I) Defacing property is a class 2 misdemeanor; except that:
(A) A second or subsequent conviction for the offense of defacing property is a class 1 misdemeanor and the court shall impose a mandatory minimum fine of seven hundred fifty dollars upon conviction; and
(B) If a person violates paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section twice or more within a period of six months, the damages caused by two or more of the violations may be aggregated and charged in a single count, in which event the violations so aggregated and charged shall constitute a single offense, and, if the aggregate damages are five hundred dollars or more, it is a class 1 misdemeanor and the court shall impose a mandatory minimum fine of seven hundred fifty dollars upon conviction.
(II) In sentencing a person who violates this section, the court has discretion to impose alternatives in sentencing as described in part 1 of article 1.3 of this title 18, including but not limited to restorative justice practices, as defined in section 18-1-901 (3)(o.5), or in the case of a juvenile offender, to impose restorative justice, as defined in section 19-2.5-102.
(III) The court may suspend all or part of the mandatory minimum fine associated with a conviction under this section upon the offender’s successful completion of any sentence alternative imposed by the court pursuant to subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (a).
(IV) Fifty percent of the fines collected pursuant to this paragraph (a) shall be credited to the highway users tax fund, created in section 43-4-201, C.R.S., and allocated and expended as specified in section 43-4-205 (5.5)(a), C.R.S., and fifty percent of the fines collected pursuant to this paragraph (a) shall be credited to the juvenile diversion cash fund created in section 19-2-303.5, C.R.S.; except that the fines collected pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section shall be credited to the Colorado travel and tourism promotion fund created in section 24-49.7-106, C.R.S.
(b) Any person convicted of defacing property pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (1) of this section shall be ordered by the court to personally make repairs to any property damaged, or properties similarly damaged, if possible. If the property cannot be repaired, the court shall order a person convicted of defacing property to replace or compensate the owner for the damaged property but may, in the case of a violation of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, limit such compensation to two thousand five hundred dollars.
(c) Repealed.

Any person who knowingly mars, destroys, or removes any posted notice authorized by law commits a class 1 petty offense.

(1) Any person who deposits, throws, or leaves any litter on any public or private property or in any waters commits littering.
(2) It shall be an affirmative defense that:
(a) Such property is an area designated by law for the disposal of such material and the person is authorized by the proper public authority to so use the property; or
(b) The litter is placed in a receptacle or container installed on such property for that purpose; or
(c) Such person is the owner or tenant in lawful possession of such property, or he has first obtained written consent of the owner or tenant in lawful possession, or the act is done under the personal direction of said owner or tenant.
(3)
(a) The term “litter” as used in this section means all rubbish, waste material, refuse, garbage, trash, debris, or other foreign substances, solid or liquid, of every form, size, kind, and description.
(b) The phrase “public or private property” as used in this section includes, but is not limited to, the right-of-way of any road or highway, any body of water or watercourse, including frozen areas or the shores or beaches thereof, any park, playground, or building, any refuge, conservation, or recreation area, and any residential, farm, or ranch properties or timberlands.
(4)
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4)(b)(I) of this section and sections 33-15-108 (2) and 42-4-1406, littering is a class 2 petty offense punishable, upon conviction, by a mandatory fine of not less than twenty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars upon a first conviction, by a mandatory fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars upon a second conviction, and by a mandatory fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars upon a third or subsequent conviction.
(b)
(I) On and after January 1, 2020, the mandatory fines specified in subsection (4)(a) of this section are adjusted annually by the annual percentage change in the United States department of labor’s bureau of labor statistics consumer price index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all items paid by all urban consumers, or its applicable successor index. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the clerk of the court shall transmit the amount of the fine attributable to the adjustment specified in this subsection (4)(b)(I) to the state treasurer, who shall credit it to the front range waste diversion cash fund created in section 25-16.5-111 (4).
(II) This subsection (4)(b) is repealed, effective September 1, 2029.
(5) It is in the discretion of the court, upon the conviction of any person and the imposition of a fine under this section, to suspend any or all of the fine in excess of the mandatory minimum fine upon the condition that the convicted person gather and remove from specified public property or specified private property, with prior permission of the owner or tenant in lawful possession thereof, any litter found thereon, or upon the condition that the convicted person pick up litter at a time prescribed by and a place within the jurisdiction of the court for not less than eight hours upon a first conviction or for not less than sixteen hours upon a second or subsequent conviction.
(6) Whenever litter is thrown, deposited, dropped, or dumped from any motor vehicle in violation of this section, the operator of said motor vehicle is presumed to have caused or permitted the litter to be so thrown, deposited, dropped, or dumped therefrom.
(7) In addition to those law enforcement officers and agencies of this state and the political subdivisions thereof authorized to enforce this section, the officers of the Colorado state patrol and the district wildlife managers and other commissioned officers of the division of parks and wildlife are expressly authorized, empowered, and directed to enforce the provisions of this section.

(1) Any person who abandons any motor vehicle upon a street, highway, right-of-way, or any other public property, or upon any private property without the express consent of the owner or person in lawful charge of that private property commits abandonment of a motor vehicle.
(2) To “abandon” means to leave a thing with the intention not to retain possession of or assert ownership over it. The intent need not coincide with the act of leaving.
(3) It is prima facie evidence of the necessary intent that:
(a) The motor vehicle has been left for more than seven days unattended and unmoved; or
(b) License plates or other identifying marks have been removed from the motor vehicle; or
(c) The motor vehicle has been damaged or is deteriorated so extensively that it has value only for junk or salvage; or
(d) The owner has been notified by a law enforcement agency to remove the motor vehicle, and it has not been removed within three days after notification.
(4) Abandonment of a motor vehicle is a class 3 misdemeanor.

(1) Any person who deposits on the land or in the building or vehicle of another, without his consent, any stink bomb or device, irritant, or offensive-smelling substance with the intent to interfere with another’s use or enjoyment of the land, building, or vehicle commits a class 3 misdemeanor.
(2) It shall be an affirmative defense that a peace officer in the performance of his duties reasonably used a noxious substance.

Pursuant to section 13-25-130, C.R.S., photographs, video tapes, or films of property over which a person is alleged to have exerted unauthorized control or otherwise to have obtained unlawfully are competent evidence if the photographs, video tapes, or films are admissible into evidence under the rules of law governing the admissibility of photographs, video tapes, or films into evidence.

(1) Effective July 1, 1992, no person shall be in violation of the trespass laws of this part 5 if the requirements of this section are met. The provisions of this section provide an exception to the trespass laws only and do not affect or supersede the provisions and requirements of articles 1 to 7 of title 38, C.R.S., concerning condemnation proceedings, notwithstanding any laws to the contrary.
(2) Any person who is licensed as a professional land surveyor pursuant to section 12-120-313, or who is under the direct supervision of such a person as an employee, agent, or representative, may enter public or private land to investigate and utilize boundary evidence and to perform boundary surveys if the notice requirement in this subsection (2) is met. The notice of the pending survey shall contain the identity of the party for whom the survey is being performed and the purpose for which the survey will be performed, the employer of the surveyor, the identity of the surveyor, the dates the land will be entered, the time, location, and timetable for such entry, the estimated completion date, the estimated number of entries that will be required, and a statement requesting the landowner to provide the surveyor with the name of each person who occupies the land as a tenant or lessee, whether on a permanent or a temporary basis. Nothing in this subsection (2) shall be deemed to confer liability upon a landowner who fails or refuses to provide such requested statement. At least fourteen days before the desired date of entry, the professional land surveyor shall cause such notice to be given to the landowner by certified mail, return receipt requested, and by regular mail. Any landowner may waive the requirement that notice be given by certified mail, return receipt requested, and by regular mail. The waivers described in this subsection (2) may be given orally or in writing.
(3) If a landowner does not acknowledge receipt of the notice within fourteen days of such receipt, the professional land surveyor or other persons described in subsection (2) of this section shall have the right to enter the land pursuant to the specifications given in the notice. If a landowner acknowledges receipt of the notice within fourteen days of receipt, such landowner has the right to modify the time and other provisions of the surveyor’s access, as long as such modifications do not unreasonably restrict completion of the survey.
(4) All persons described in subsection (2) of this section who enter land pursuant to and for a purpose described in this section shall carry upon their person at all times during entry and stay upon the land sufficient identification to identify themselves and their employer or principal, and shall present such identification upon request.
(5) Persons described in subsection (2) of this section shall be liable for actual damages caused during entry and stay upon a landowner’s land. No professional land surveyor or person under such surveyor’s direct supervision shall have a civil cause of action against a landowner or lessee for personal injury or property damage incurred while on the land for purposes consistent with those described in subsection (2) of this section, except when such damages and injury were willfully or deliberately caused by the landowner.

(1) A person who, while within a motion picture theater, knowingly operates an audiovisual recording function of a device for the purpose of recording a motion picture, while a motion picture is being exhibited, without the consent of the owner or lessee of the motion picture theater, commits the offense of criminal operation of a device in a motion picture theater.
(2) Criminal operation of a device in a motion picture theater is a class 1 misdemeanor.
(3) If a person operates or appears to operate an audiovisual recording function for the purpose of recording a motion picture in a motion picture theater, the owner or lessee of a facility in which a motion picture is being exhibited, or the authorized agent or employee of the owner of lessee, or any peace or police officer, acting in good faith and upon probable cause based upon reasonable grounds therefor, may detain and question such person, in a reasonable manner for the purpose of ascertaining whether the person is guilty of criminal operation of a device in motion picture theater. Such questioning of a person by the owner or lessee of a motion picture theater, or the authorized agent or employee of the owner or lessee, or peace or police officer does not render the owner or lessee of a motion picture theater, or the authorized agent or employee of the owner or lessee, or peace or police officer civilly or criminally liable for slander, false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, or unlawful detention.
(4) This section does not prevent a lawfully authorized investigative, law enforcement, or intelligence-gathering employee or agent of the state or federal government, while operating within the scope of lawfully authorized investigative, protective, law enforcement, or intelligence-gathering activities, from operating an audiovisual recording function of a device in a motion picture theater.
(5) Nothing in this section prevents prosecution under any other provision of law providing for greater penalty.
(6) As used in this section:
(a) “Audiovisual recording function” means the capability of a device to record or transmit a motion picture or any part thereof by means of any technology now known or hereafter developed.
(b) “Motion picture theater” means a movie theater, screening room, or other venue when used primarily for the exhibition of motion pictures.