Three teenagers followed one of their teachers home, climbed over the fence with the intent to spray paint the teacher's house, and did not leave when told. What form of trespass did they commit?

• A. Entering land
• B. Trespass to residence
• C. Criminal mischief
• D. Burglary

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is trespass to land versus trespass to a residence. They followed the teacher to the property and climbed over the fence onto the teacher’s land with the intent to spray paint the house, and they stayed there after being told to leave. Trespass to land covers entering or remaining on someone’s property without permission, even if the act is aimed at the house itself. They crossed the boundary into the land around the home and stayed there, which fits trespass to land.

Trespass to residence would require entering or remaining inside the actual dwelling, which didn’t happen here. Burglary involves breaking into a building with intent to commit a crime inside, which also isn’t shown by simply entering the land and planning to paint the house. Criminal mischief could describe the vandalism aspect (spray painting), but the question asks about the form of trespass, and the trespass in this scenario is on the land itself.