Author Topic: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po  (Read 11517 times)

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Offline Megster

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Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« on: March 01, 2011, 07:32:58 AM »
I'm not sure where this happened but it's somewhere local (and by local I mean places that are either on our to-do lists or within driving distance, lol).  I follow these guys on facebook.

http://www.abandoneddreams2011.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Abandoned-Dreams-Exploration/351447509813#!/pages/Abandoned-Dreams-Exploration/351447509813?sk=info

also another explorer I follow on facebook mentioned other explorers getting nabbed by silent alarms recently.

On a slightly-related-but-not-topic: there are police scanner apps for smart phones?  Awesome.

So stay out of jail & stay safe!
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Offline Kabli

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2011, 02:29:48 PM »
Interesting. If any one does get nabbed, I know a really good defense attorney. :wacko:
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Offline CarbonCavi

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2011, 11:45:04 AM »
meg does any of the places mentioned have to do with a place that sounds similar to borvic grape gospital?? ;)
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Offline Megster

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2011, 12:01:29 PM »
lmao no they were in MA

though I think they may also go there quite often :)

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Offline Ademan

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2011, 12:37:26 PM »
We do go there often.

Hi, I'm Ryan Ademan. The explorer that was arrested in the earlier post.

 It was technically our fault too. We weren't nearly as unsloppy as we should have been about it.
We parked in our usual spot, about an eighth of a mile off campus, and made the usual troop to the hospital. It snowed the night before, and they hadn't plowed yet, so we took the woods to the back of the building. Once back there I figured footprints wouldn't matter, cause they never did, so we walked the driveway until we found one of our entrances. that hadn't been recently sealed.
Made it inside, and explored for a few hours with no problems. A plow driver did come through and clear the snow, but even after he left, we encountered no problems, so we thought we were gold.
We left via our normal route, made it back to the car, packed our stuff in the car, and got in. As soon as the driver put the car in reverse, he put it back in park. I asked what he was doing and he said to look behind us. There were two cruisers with lights on blocking us in. None of us even saw them pull in.
5 were arrested. 4 charged with trespassing. I got trespassing plus B&E with intent to commit a felony, because I tried to tell the cops I was the only one who went in. I'm still not really sure what the alleged felony is though. We made it out of everything with court fines, probation, and community service. Could have been worse.
On the brighter side of things though, the cops all loved the Abandoned Dreams site and my photography, stating they "could see why we do what we do, but they had a job to do".
Most we can figure is the plow guy saw our footprints, called it in, and they were waiting for us on the side of the building we'd parked at. Either that, or they need raises for being super ninja cops.

Sorry for jumping in here on this when I don't know anyone on this site, but I noticed a bunch of traffic coming to my site from here, so I wanted to see what was going on. Thought I'd lay down exactly what happened.

Anyways, this is where we were arrested. It's known on the internet more by it's nickname "CandyCorn Hospital"
http://abandoneddreams2011.blogspot.com/2011/02/dudeguys-first-and-last-trip.html

Offline donnabhain

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2011, 04:12:47 PM »
I know it's hard because it's only natural to want to explain yourself, but you don't have to tell the cops anything! Don't admit to anything, make them do their job - don't do it for them. It's easy to be 'sloppy' when you've been somewhere a few times before without a problem.

I assume the cops saw you exit the building and walk back to the car, make them prove it in court! If they didn't see you exit then they have to find another way to prove you were trespassing. Other photos on your website, even from past explorations at the same location shouldn't be enough to "assume" you were comitting a crime. If you're still wondering how they knew you were there I'd say you got screwed in court! I can see a fine for admitting to trespassing, but probation and community service seems a bit harsh.

If this was at night that might be your "felony", as I think in MA b&e at night is a felony. I'm not a lawyer though, just learned enough to say "i do not consent to a search" and keep my mouth shut otherwise.

p.s. internet nicknames for location is lame :) Just my own pet peeve.

Offline Megster

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #6 on: March 06, 2011, 11:55:08 AM »
Hi Ryan!  Thanks for telling us the story.  I agree, you probably did give up too much info (but did they read you your rights before you gave up the info?) but what's done is done, right?  Hope you post more often around here, we're always looking for new insights & info from different people. 
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Offline Ademan

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2011, 06:40:45 PM »
I only gave them the information because every other person with me had more to lose than I did. Jobs, college, military...

It was a shot in the dark, and I knew I was gonna get fucked, but I figured it was worth a try. I know how to deal with cops and questionings. I'm also an active marijuana activist too, so I have to deal with that more often than i care to. 

Offline Megster

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2011, 06:54:54 AM »
So wait, the part I missed was that you weren't even parked on the property?  They had no right to arrest you then, unless I missed something else.
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Offline Ademan

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #9 on: March 07, 2011, 03:05:05 PM »
No, We were parked down the street a bit. The cops "watched us walk off the property". That's supposedly why they pulled in behind us in the first place. My jacket was covered in dust and paint chips when hey pulled me out to question me. It was more than obvious that I was in there, so instead of all of us going down, I told them everyone else was too afraid to go n with me. The got trespass, I got B&E.
Many explorers have actually been nabbed here. The police/fire/EMT use the campus for live weapon training, live fire training(setting buildings on fire), rope technique training, medical training, and emergency training situations.

It happens. It's a risk we all take. We knew they watched the building, but i'd gone so many times before, I just got sloppy. My own fault.

Offline Megster

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #10 on: March 07, 2011, 05:53:39 PM »
Ohhhhh unless they have video of you exiting the property they had no right to arrest any of you.  I got caught once with a friend, just like you: when we got back to my car.  That cop didn't arrest us because he told us that no matter what we told him (we fessed up too right away), he didn't physically catch us on the property and couldn't do anything to us.  (At that time we had nothing to lose, I was 19, friend was 16, etcccc, of course now would be a much different story).  Someone else had called the cops and ratted us out.  The cop told us if he had caught us behind the posted signs he would have arrested us and fined us $65 each and but he didn't and he was real nice about it.

I think what happened to you really sucked.  Is b&e a felony?  Too bad you can't really fight it now.  Cops have limited power and it seems they really threw the book at you for what it was.  :-/
  
« Last Edit: March 07, 2011, 05:57:08 PM by Megster »
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Offline donnabhain

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #11 on: March 12, 2011, 08:57:07 AM »
They might have had "more to lose" than you (your freedom is worthless?) but if you weren't on the property and they didn't see you enter/exit any building, even if your coat is covered in dust and paint chips that could have come from anywhere you have nothing to lose by telling them to pound sand. Waste of time to worry about it afterwards though.

The only time I got in trouble for UE I was inside the building with a friend who was 15 at the time. They thought they saw both of us go in but I swore to 'em it was just me so they wouldn't go looking for him and so I wouldn't get some bs contributing to the deliquincy of a minor type crap. I wound up telling the judge I just didn't see any sign and he let me go with nothing at all, even though I had to climb over a fence and went in a door with a big "no trespassing" sign on it.

Always remember a few simple slogans "I do not consent to a search", "I have nothing to say" and "deny, deny, deny".

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Offline zman

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2011, 06:54:23 AM »
Good advice from my 9th grade social studies teacher - "Keep mouth shut - get lawyer".

Offline Megster

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2011, 07:54:43 AM »
"I didn't see the signs" --standard line for me.  I even park in a direction where I usually won't even pass signs if they exist.  (There's one place I go, it's wallpapered with signs except on sides that have no road frontage...so I enter from the side or the back and park my car in a straight line from there, adjoining roads, random parking lot, etc)  Means more walking (1/4 mile through woods, not far but still a pain compared to taking the road)

Also, what probably got us out of being arrested at Norwich State when security chased us at 45-55mph around the grounds "we're LOST and we were speeding because we didn't know why anyone was chasing us" LOLOLOLOL. No police present and we allowed them to escort us back to the road, since we really didn't know how to get out of there after that chase anyway.

Still, in your case, they did overstep their bounds. 

I also don't explore in large groups, no bigger than 4.  Hell 3 is usually my max and 4 is for those super cool/easy places the cops don't bother with.  I notice after 3 people some people start whining and want to leave almost as soon as we get there, especially if it took us 3 hours to arrive and just got dark etc which means we usually don't get to spend as much time at a place as we should.  Or they want to stop at every store along the way or they're always hungry....just takes forever to get somewhere. LOL
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Offline Ademan

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Re: Explorers getting nabbed by the po-po
« Reply #14 on: March 14, 2011, 05:33:12 PM »
Shit happens. People get arrested. It's part of the hobby. In the past now. Not the worse ruling I've had for trespassing. I'm, unfortunately, a known trespasser to the states of MA and RI, thanks to multiple articles written both by us(i work for a local paper), and about us.

No point in crying over spilled milk. What's done is done. I broke the law, and now I'll give them some money, spend a few hours bettering a community, and do it all over again next time i get bored.