In re Jason Allen D.

A city’s public-housing complex had sidewalk areas that were specifically designated as no-trespass areas, including an area outside a building where Brandon Morris lived with his family. The city’s police officers were encouraged to enforce this restriction. One evening, an officer observed Jason Allen D. (defendant) standing on the sidewalk outside Morris’s building. Jason was Morris’s cousin. The officer asked Jason only whether he lived at the complex. Jason responded that he did not, and the officer did not ask any follow-up questions. The officer confirmed with his dispatch that Jason had not previously been warned about trespassing in that area and issued Jason a written notice that he was not allowed on the property. Almost a year later, another officer was directed to arrest someone who was trespassing at the complex. The officer arrived and arrested Jason, who was not on the complex property at the time of the arrest. Jason was transported to the police station and released to his parents. A few hours later, the same officer was informed that Jason had returned to the complex. When the officer arrived at the complex, he observed Jason standing on the sidewalk with a group of individuals. The officer did not know Jason’s relationship with these individuals, and he did not ask. The officer arrested Jason, and Jason was formally charged with criminal trespass. At trial, undisputed evidence established that lease provisions allowed the complex’s tenants to have visitors and that Jason had been visiting his cousin at the time of his arrest. Jason also testified that during his prior interactions with the officers, they had told him only that he could not return to the property unless he was visiting a resident there. Based on this, Jason had sincerely believed he was allowed to be on the property to visit his cousin. The prosecution argued that the city had a right to restrict access to its property, and it had notified Jason that he was not allowed there. The trial court convicted Jason of criminal trespass, and he appealed to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.