Sam And Colby Wild Ride: Understanding the Trespassing Issue
The short version is that Sam and Colby are a paranormal investigation duo who run a YouTube channel with several million subscribers. Their content involves visiting allegedly haunted or dangerous locations around the world, often filming overnight in places that require permission or clearance to enter legally. They were detained at some point while attempting to film at a location where they did not have authorization. The exact details vary depending on which incident you read about, but the core issue is straightforward: they entered restricted or private property without permission, were confronted by authorities, and were held briefly before being released. In many cases this meant a citation or a short jail stay depending on how local law enforcement classified the offense. What people often miss when they watch these videos is how serious trespassing charges can get in certain jurisdictions. I worked years coordinating production logistics for location shoots and the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony often comes down to three things: the type of property involved, whether any signage or barriers were deliberately circumvented, and whether anyone on set had documentation on hand at the time of the encounter.
Property type matters more than most creators realize. A private backyard and a government facility like a military base or restricted cemetery carry very different legal exposures. I learned this the hard way when a production I was working with scheduled a shoot at an abandoned psychiatric facility in rural Tennessee. We had gotten verbal permission from the property owner, who claimed he owned the land. We drove out there, set up our gear, and within twenty minutes a county sheriff's deputy pulled into the lot. Turns out the land was owned by the state and classified as a historical site with no public access. The verbal permission was worthless in court. We all ended up facing trespassing charges, though the crew leader took the fall and the rest of us got dismissed after providing documentation showing we acted in good faith. That still cost us about four days and roughly three thousand dollars in legal fees before it was resolved. Deliberately bypassing barriers or signage is the fastest way to turn a civil matter into a criminal one. If a location has a fence, a locked gate, or warning signs and your crew climbs over or picks a lock to get inside, that changes the legal classification in nearly every state. It moves you from simple trespass into something like aggravated trespass or criminal trespass in the first degree depending on local statutes. I have seen production teams avoid this exact problem by simply arriving earlier, contacting the property management office directly, and requesting access through proper channels even when it meant losing a few hours of golden light or a perfect weather window. The alternative is far more expensive than missing one sunset shot. The third factor is documentation on site. Having a printed permit or at minimum an email confirmation on your phone during filming makes a noticeable difference when authorities confront you. Officers cannot always verify documents on the spot but the presence of paperwork usually shifts the conversation from immediate arrest to a citation or a request to leave. Absent any documentation, the default assumption tends to be hostile trespass. In my experience this alone reduced unwanted encounters by at least half on locations where permits were obtainable.
Sam and Colby appear to have operated under a different set of assumptions. Their content style favors spontaneous or overnight entries into places that are clearly restricted or rumored to be off limits. Some of those places have security. Some do not. When security is present and the crew enters without authorization, the outcome is predictable. It is also why their subsequent videos sometimes acknowledge the incident while others push forward into similar territory without the same consequences because the legal risk is location dependent rather than content dependent. If you are considering similar filming approaches, here is the practical checklist that actually works in the field rather than the theoretical advice most channels give:
Get the Full Details
How To Navigate Restricted Location Filming Without Ending Up In Jail
Secure Written Permission Before Arrival
Email or letter permission from the legal property owner or authorized managing entity. Save a PDF copy on your phone and print a hard copy. Verbal agreements are unenforceable in most trespass situations unless the owner is standing right there with you when the encounter happens. Public parks are different from private land. Private land is different from government facilities. Government facilities can include military bases, federal buildings, national cemeteries, and historical sites that are closed to the public. A quick search of county recorder databases or state property maps takes about ten minutes and prevents the worst outcomes. If there is a fence, do not climb it. If there is a locked door, do not enter it. If there is a sign, treat it as a hard boundary unless you have documented authorization that explicitly overrides it. Crews that take shortcuts here tend to end up with criminal records rather than content.
Not just for yourself but for every crew member who enters the property. One person without proof can complicate the entire group's situation during an encounter. Show your documents. Do not argue on scene. Politely ask for a contact number or case reference so you can follow up through proper legal channels afterward. Most misdemeanor trespass incidents resolve quickly when the crew demonstrates good faith and lacks intent to violate the law knowingly. There is no download link for this because it is not a product. It is a set of procedures that reduce legal risk when entering restricted locations. If you ignore them, the risk scales with the type of property and the jurisdiction. I have seen entire projects collapse over a single unpermitted entry because the location turned out to be state controlled rather than privately owned. It happens more often than most people in this space want to admit.
