Superior man arrested for trespassing on his own land

Superior man arrested for trespassing on his own land

www.duluthnewstribune.com

Jeremy Engelking will appear in Douglas County court this afternoon to face a trespassing charge. But here’s the kicker: The Superior man allegedly trespassed on his own property.

Engelking, 27, aimed to hunt deer Wednesday morning when he noticed a pipeline crew on his land. He hopped on his ATV and told workers they had no right to be on his property because he had received no compensation from Enbridge Energy Partners L.P. for an easement.

Engelking said workers told him he was in an unsafe place and asked him to come to an equipment staging area, where he continued to argue his cas

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:

Has anyone seen this yet? Thought I better post it!
Since Survival Acres newsletter provided me the link,
I will let him sum it up as it seems he always does it so well.

This stupidity has got to stop. The stupid cops are way, way out
of line. Revnue agents for the State. A careful read to this article
will reveal yet another place you're not going to want to live.
Anywhere a corporate empire "demands" any sort of access. The Revenue
Agents will always side with the monied interests -- your rights do
not count.
Lots more at www.survivalacres.com

www.duluthnewstribune.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

This should shock and outrage me.

However, I think I'm worn down by them by now.

I'm not surprised anymore. I'm half expecting someone to get arrested for watching tv in his own home or something. That's the world we live in these days.

This angers me to no end! Man we need to fix our government yesterday! I'm so tired of their evil usurping ways! They need to be reminded, harshly of who is in charge because they have it backwards right now. They should fear the people, not the other way around!

Originally posted by Redwookieaz
They should fear the people, not the other way around!

Until the day comes that we can fire back (literally) w/o consequence, then they will continue to fire at us w/o consequence.

Yeah, this is crazy. I am reminded of the guy who was recently arrested for indecent exposure after some woman peaked in to his window on his property and saw him naked.... Can you believe that? The guy is naked in his own house minding his own business and some woman comes along and calls the cops....

What ever happened to common sense?

I have to say it... Common sense is dead. The world is full of idiots and I hate it. I absolutely hate it.

Is it possible to slap all humans on earth at once in order to knock some sense back into everybody? If not, I fear we are screwed to no ends.

reply to post by gimme_some_truth


I believe there is a whole lot more to this story.

It's not just a case of stupidity, it's a case of ongoing conflict between the landowner and the oil company wanting to put the pipe through his land.

It could be that the oil company is lining the local constabulary's pockets...


Oh and is it just me, or does the source link now takes us to a log in page?

[edit on 4/12/09 by Chadwickus]

Eminent Domain-

is the inherent power of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent. The property is taken either for government use or by delegation to third parties who will devote it to public or civic use or, in some cases, economic development. The most common uses of property taken by eminent domain are for public utilities, highways, and railroads.

Unfortunately the law is not on the landowner's side. However, w/o eminent domain, could you imagine the logistics of trying to get anywhere. With eminent domain, roads can be built in a straight line instead of meandering all over creation.

[edit on 4-12-2009 by Aggie Man]

The other side of the coin of course being that had he been injured in the area they were working, the company would have since been known as Engelking Energy.

Further, the energy company tried to resolve the matter a number of times.

Douglas County Circuit Court Judge George Glonek granted a temporary injunction but lifted it the following day, saying the company’s plans for the pipeline were appropriate and efforts had been made to pay the Engelkings.

Now, as for officers arresting him -- that's just ridiculous. Although I do not buy that Engelking was "trying to leave the area" when the officer arrived.

More than likely the guy was screaming his head off and had no intention of sitting by while they dug up his land. I don't blame him in the least, however.

The real issue here is the lack of rights that homeowners have today. We really only rent the land so long as no government agency wants it or wants to change it.

The worst part is that the vast majority of us never owned the rights to our own land anyway. We get a deed to the "land" but most of the mineral and air rights were funnelled off decades ago. In a great many places, it is illegal to dig on your own land without permission.

There are water, sewer, and other utility easements. There are mineral rights sold off years ago. There are deed restrictions and building codes and permitting procedures. The air above is controlled by building codes and a little higher it belongs to the FAA and the Federal Government!

The water belongs to the state and the community and your neighbors, but not to you! You can't divert its flow, even to protect your own property from flooding! You can't collect the rainwater, you can't dig the well, you can't dispose of the waste water! Not without permits and permission and hefty fees and licensing that can be revoked or increased as needed.

We are reaching a tipping point, where, no matter which way you turn you step on somebody's toes.

The little man in his own home trying to do the right thing is like a secret incredible hulk trapped in the middle of a busy disco dancefloor! We try to be polite and step this way or that, we try to ask permission and say excuse me, but the day is quickly arriving when we will have to stand up and start tossing bodies about until we can find the front door!!

No Chad, I dont think its you, that page comes up on me also!
Here is the original number of the article:
article/id/153801

They must be on to us!

You are right, it is over an ongoing disagreement.


[edit on 4-12-2009 by dodadoom]

Remember the thread questioning whether the military would turn on the citizens?

Who needs the military?

Disgusting.

Originally posted by Chadwickus
Oh and is it just me, or does the source link now takes us to a log in page?

When the OP started this thread, I went to the source and it worked just fine; however, now it seems that they require a password to look at it.

Wow, that page worked just 5 minutes ago! I read the entire article, posted my reply here, read some of the others, and not it no longer works?

You guys are correct, it was an ongoing disagreement, but a valid one. The original easement was very narrow in scope and stipulated that the landowner be paid for any additional easement rights. The oil company has tried to pay him $15,000, but the landowner has refused, because the amount isn't fair (in his opinion) and the petroleum being transported is different than the original agreement. A judge granted an injunction against the pipeline, but lifted it just 1 day later! (Pay off?)

The thing wrong with this is that the Pipiline company did not take proper legal action. They should have filed a suit to modify the original easement. They could have proven that it was necessary and gotten a judgement taking the necessary land.

Engelking could have played resonably and taken the money & modified the agreement. If they could arrive at an agreement as to the restrictions etc. then it should have been hassled out in court.

The arrest etc. never should have happened. Just more governmental tyranny.

For those of you that can't link to the page for whatever reason, here is what Jerry Engilking, posted in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

jeremy E. Superior, WI 12/04/2009 6:07 PM After reading comments I want say thank you and I want to clearify some things: Enbridge has not made 1 formal offer to me about the easement. The area where my 4-wheeler was parked and where I was located and arrested was the area a Precision Pipeline employee told me to go for "saftey reasons". As a condition of the check offered by Enbridge they wanted for us to completely change the current restrictions and wording on the easement. I have the additional paperwork. The easement says Enbridge is required to pay money for each additional pipeline put on our property. It also states that the amount is to be paid is before they lay the pipe. The easement states if a payment is not mutually agreed upon what actions are required for the negotiations to move forward. Enbridge has known my parents were not happy with their offer for more than 2 years so they have had more than ample time to take legal action. They also did not pay for the pipeline installed in 2002 because they were requesting additional terms to the easement. As for the firearm. Yes I had one. I was getting done deer hunting (unit 1m in WI allows that), I was dressed in blaze orange and my gun was fully cased on the front of my 4-wheeler the entire time and never touched. If my gun was an issue at no time during the 30 minute conversation with Precision or Enbridge employees before the Sheriff's department arrived was anything said to me about it. If it was an issue I'm sure the sheriffs department would not have just walked the 400 yards right out to me. They would have taken a more careful approach. **during court today douglas county also issued me a disorderly conduct ticket in addition to the tresspassing charge. Under the charge is written: "while in a public place, did engage in otherwise disorderly conduct". The ticket was written and signed today by the douglas county district attorney's office

Strange & worrying times we are living in!

[edit on 4/12/2009 by Argyll]

I have downloaded the web page of the article on it since I still had the tab open. So here's the article:

Superior man arrested for trespassing on his own land
The latest chapter in a saga over an easement for a pipeline ended with Jeremy Engelking going to jail.
----
Jeremy Engelking will appear in Douglas County court this afternoon to face a trespassing charge. But here’s the kicker: The Superior man allegedly trespassed on his own property.

Engelking, 27, aimed to hunt deer Wednesday morning when he noticed a pipeline crew on his land. He hopped on his ATV and told workers they had no right to be on his property because he had received no compensation from Enbridge Energy Partners L.P. for an easement.

Engelking said workers told him he was in an unsafe place and asked him to come to an equipment staging area, where he continued to argue his case.

But just as he was turning to leave, Engelking said an officer from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department arrived on the scene and approached with a Taser drawn.

“He ordered me to 'get down on the ground now!' And he said that I was being arrested for trespassing,” Engelking said.

When Engelking protested, pointing out that he was on his own property, he said Sgt. Robert Smith told him: “It doesn’t matter. You’re going to jail. You can tell it to a judge tomorrow.”

Engelking offered no resistance, but Smith placed him in handcuffs then transported him to the Douglas County Jail. After posting a $200 bail bond, Engelking was released that afternoon. He also had to pay about another $100 to recover his impounded ATV.

The incident report says Engelking parked his ATV in front of pipeline equipment, stopping workers. Engelking said it wasn’t his intention to physically block work.

Lorraine Grymala, a community affairs manager for Enbridge, said access to work sites is restricted in the interest of safety.

"We can't have people in the right of way without an escort and the proper gear," she said. "People could get hurt."

Engelking’s arrest Wednesday is the latest episode in a long disagreement he and his father, Jerry Engelking, have had with Enbridge, dating to the company’s last pipeline expansion in 2002.

Jerry Engelking, who owns 200 acres next to his son, said he refused to sign off on changes proposed to the original 1949 easement across his property because he felt the revisions put too many restrictions on how he could use his property. That original easement said future pipes laid along the same route would require payments in advance.

According to court documents, Enbridge sent a $15,000 check to Jerry Engelking and also tried to hand-deliver payments, but Engelking refused to accept them.

Engelking said that to claim the money he would have had to broaden the scope of the existing easement across his property, so he turned the checks down. When the latest pipeline project came along, the Engelkings again refused to modify the original 1949 right-of-way agreement.

The family sought a restraining order against Enbridge on Sept. 24, arguing the company intended to use the pipeline for transporting petroleum products other than those originally allowed, protesting that they had not been paid and citing damage to property.

Douglas County Circuit Court Judge George Glonek granted a temporary injunction but lifted it the following day, saying the company’s plans for the pipeline were appropriate and efforts had been made to pay the Engelkings.

Jerry Engelking said the fight’s not finished yet.

Officers reported no similar incidents along the path of the Enbridge pipeline construction in Douglas County, said Lt. Gerald Moe of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department.

Grymala said that Enbridge has worked with about 1,500 landowners as part of the pipeline project.

“We recognize construction is an inconvenience to people; people want access to their land,” she said. “We strive to be respectful of that, to have a good working relationship.”

Tags: news, su

[edit on 12/5/2009 by willow1d]

Make my day law.

They passed it in Colorado for a reason.

He should have shot them.

Did anybody else click on this thread because they thought it said "Superman arrested for trespassing on his own land"?

No, just me?

The only thing this guy did wrong was talking to them first instead of shooting them.
I pity any one who steps on my property without permission I carry legally and with my military training I tell all who might be listening I shoot first and ask questions later.
And until more Americans start doing the same they will continue to walk all over us.