Trespass??? Who, us???

We thought you weren't home when we trespassed, so we hopped over your gate, and climbed on your roof, breaking your child's toy in the process.

We thought your roof was an easement.

We wouldn't commit a 3rd Degree Felony.

If we used the pole on the side easement, we'd have to trim back the vines like we're suppose to.  It was easier to walk across your roof, and compromise the integrity of your shingles.

Update: The two FPL union employees, Identified by FPL as "John" and his partner, now claim they arrived on scene at 9 AM, instead of the actual 9:54 AM.  They now claim that the customer, after saying "Hi, how's it going?" held them (false imprisonment). The truth seems to be that since these UNION employees had already said they were there at 9, but didn't actually arrive until almost a full hour later, were caught on their own lie, and had to do their "job" as quickly as possible, EVEN IF IT MEANT TRESPASSING ON POSTED PROPERTY WITH 3 DOGS, HOPPING OVER A CHAIN LINK FENCE WITH BARBED WIRE ON TOP.  They had to cover their UNION tails.  No FPL employee in his right mind is going to go onto Posted property containing three dogs, one of which is a 110 pound Doberman, unless they had already told their boss or dispatcher that they were already there!  They further compounded their lie by stating they knocked on the front door of the customer's residence, and they exchanged pleasantries when the resident came out of his house. But the pair later admitted that the homeowner made a citizens arrest, contradicting their previous statement of the topic of conversation. A voice stress test is needed for these two.

A Florida Power and Light utility customer, who had suffered a heart attack and was confined to a living room couch, was awakened when two FP&L employees put a ladder up in front of his picture window, climbed on his roof, and did their deed.  Knowing the gate was chained, he photographed the unannounced trespassers / agents acting on behalf of Florida Power and Light ( FPL ) exit his property over the locked gate.  As a final gesture, the men grabbed the top of the ladder they used to break into the property, and pulled from the top.  The base of the ladder came flying off the ground in front of the customer, who had a camera in one had, and stuck out the other to prevent the ladder from striking him in the face.  The kind hearted FPL employees, John and his partner, then jerked the ladder away, injuring the customer's arm, an action known in legal terms as battery.

Unfortunately for the utility's legal department, Florida State Statutes DO NOT give utility companies
access to their customer's property, except for the cutting and trimming of trees 

Florida State Statute

810.12  Unauthorized entry on land; prima facie evidence of trespass.--

(1)  The unauthorized entry by any person into or upon any enclosed and posted land shall be prima facie evidence of the intention of such person to commit an act of trespass.

(2)  The act of entry upon enclosed and posted land without permission of the owner of said land by any worker, servant, employee, or agent while actually engaged in the performance of his or her work or duties incident to such employment and while under the supervision or direction, or through the procurement, of any other person acting as supervisor, foreman, employer, or principal, or in any other capacity, shall be prima facie evidence of the causing, and of the procurement, of such act by the supervisor, foreman, employer, principal, or other person.

(3)  The act committed by any person or persons of taking, transporting, operating, or driving, or the act of permitting or consenting to the taking or transporting of, any machine, tool, motor vehicle, or draft animal into or upon any enclosed and posted land without the permission of the owner of said land by any person who is not the owner of such machine, tool, vehicle, or animal, but with the knowledge or consent of the owner of such machine, tool, vehicle, or animal, or of the person then having the right to possession thereof, shall be prima facie evidence of the intent of such owner of such machine, tool, vehicle, or animal, or of the person then entitled to the possession thereof, to cause or procure an act of trespass.

(4)  As used herein, the term "owner of said land" shall include the beneficial owner, lessee, occupant, or other person having any interest in said land under and by virtue of which that person is entitled to possession thereof, and shall also include the agents or authorized employees of such owner.

(5)  However, this section shall not apply to any official or employee of the state or a county, municipality, or other governmental agency now authorized by law to enter upon lands or to registered engineers and surveyors and mappers authorized to enter lands pursuant to ss. 471.027 and 472.029. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the trimming or cutting of trees or timber by municipal or private public utilities, or their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, when such trimming is required for the establishment or maintenance of the service furnished by any such utility. trimming or cutting of trees or timber by municipal or private public utilities, or their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, when such trimming is required for the establishment or maintenance of the service furnished by any such utility.

(6)  The unlawful dumping by any person of any litter in violation of s. 403.413(4) is prima facie evidence of the intention of such person to commit an act of trespass. If any waste that is dumped in violation of s. 403.413(4) is discovered to contain any article, including, but not limited to, a letter, bill, publication, or other writing that displays the name of a person thereon, addressed to such person or in any other manner indicating that the article last belonged to such person, that discovery raises a mere inference that the person so identified has violated this section. If the court finds that the discovery of the location of the article is corroborated by the existence of an independent fact or circumstance which, standing alone, would constitute evidence sufficient to prove a violation of s. 403.413(4), such person is rebuttably presumed to have violated that section.

History.--s. 4, ch. 76-46; s. 123, ch. 94-119; s. 3, ch. 94-263; s. 1235, ch. 97-102.

In their haste to get away, the man on top knocked over the ladder on the other side of the fence
(on the ground, sideways, near the front tire), and had to jump from the top, damaging the barbed 
wire on top, and bending the hinges on the gate, so that it tilts to the left, scrapes the ground, and cannot be opened more than a few feet.  FPL refuses to repair the customer's property that their employees damaged.

810.115  Breaking or injuring fences.-- (Florida State Statute)

(1)  Whoever willfully and maliciously breaks down, mars, injures, defaces, cuts, or otherwise creates or causes to be created an opening, gap, interruption, or break in any fence, or any part thereof, belonging to or enclosing land not his or her own, or whoever causes to be broken down, marred, injured, defaced, or cut any fence belonging to or enclosing land not his or her own, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(2)  If the offender breaks or injures a fence as provided in subsection (1) and the fence or any part thereof is used to contain animals at the time of the offense, the offender commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

(3)  The court may require full compensation to the owner of the fence for any and all damages or losses resulting directly or indirectly from the act or commission pursuant to s. 775.089.

History.--s. 1, ch. 78-256; s. 35, ch. 88-381; s. 189, ch. 91-224; s. 5, ch. 93-37; s. 1234, ch. 97-102; s. 1, ch. 2003-50.

So we broke the barbed wire, and bent the hinges on the gate, and the home owner made a citizen's arrest.
We'll just make a quick exit.  We have a great legal department to get us out of this mess.

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FLORIDA STATE STATUTE

810.08  Trespass in structure or conveyance.--

(1)  Whoever, without being authorized, licensed, or invited, willfully enters or remains in any structure or conveyance, or, having been authorized, licensed, or invited, is warned by the owner or lessee of the premises, or by a person authorized by the owner or lessee, to depart and refuses to do so, commits the offense of trespass in a structure or conveyance.

(2)(a)  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, trespass in a structure or conveyance is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(b)  If there is a human being in the structure or conveyance at the time the offender trespassed, attempted to trespass, or was in the structure or conveyance, the trespass in a structure or conveyance is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(c)  If the offender is armed with a firearm or other dangerous weapon, or arms himself or herself with such while in the structure or conveyance, the trespass in a structure or conveyance is a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. Any owner or person authorized by the owner may, for prosecution purposes, take into custody and detain, in a reasonable manner, for a reasonable length of time, any person when he or she reasonably believes that a violation of this paragraph has been or is being committed, and he or she reasonably believes that the person to be taken into custody and detained has committed or is committing such violation. In the event a person is taken into custody, a law enforcement officer shall be called as soon as is practicable after the person has been taken into custody. The taking into custody and detention by such person, if done in compliance with the requirements of this paragraph, shall not render such person criminally or civilly liable for false arrest, false imprisonment, or unlawful detention.

(3)  As used in this section, the term "person authorized" means any owner or lessee, or his or her agent, or any law enforcement officer whose department has received written authorization from the owner or lessee, or his or her agent, to communicate an order to depart the property in the case of a threat to public safety or welfare.

History.--s. 34, ch. 74-383; s. 22, ch. 75-298; s. 2, ch. 76-46; s. 1, ch. 77-132; s. 33, ch. 88-381; s. 185, ch. 91-224; s. 1233, ch. 97-102; s. 4, ch. 2000-369.

Some FPL workers need to diet.

Ladder Safety 101 should be taught to these UNION employees. By trespassing onto private
property with poor BASIC Safety Training, as evidenced in the above picture, these FPL employees
also put the home owner at risk, and their strong-arm tactics leaves the company open for law suits.

Poor Safety Practices are reflected in the FPL Power Grid.  The heavy metal drop cover that fell
from the pole could have killed an adult or a child playing in their back yard.  The poor ground speaks
 for itself.  The hollow pole in the bottom picture is a potential Safety Hazard to traffic on the adjacent street.

October 28, 2003, 09:56:16 AM, FPL truck #8317    (exact time from digit pix: 

In 1999, the 9th Circuit ruled:

Any government agent can be held to know that their office does not give them an unrestricted right to enter peoples' homes at will.
[It is] settled constitutional law that...police could not enter a dwelling without a warrant even under statutory authority when probable cause existed. The principle that government officials cannot coerce entry into peoples' houses without a search warrant...is so well established that any reasonable officer would know it.
Appellants' claim that "a search warrant is not required for home investigatory visits by social workers" is simply not the law.
Nowhere is the proactive force of the 4th Amendment more powerful than it is when the sanctity of the home is involved...therefore, we have been adamant in our demand that absent exigent circumstances a warrant will be required before a person's home is invaded by the authorities."

(Calabretta v. Floyd 189 F.3d 808 (9th Cir. 1999)).

Submitted by a Florida Power & Light customer, who just happened to be home.