Trespassing in Sarasota County, Florida

442 cases (2025) · Sarasota County courts

In 2025, Sarasota County handled 443 trespassing cases with a guilty verdict in 78.6%, higher than typical plea and conviction rates for this charge across the state. Adjudication was withheld in 10.8%, close to the statewide average of 11.3%, and dismissals occurred in only 2.3% of cases—1.5 percentage points below Florida's 3.8% statewide dismissal rate. Pre-trial diversion was used in just 2.5% of cases, below the statewide average of 3.1%, suggesting the State Attorney pursues most trespassing charges through prosecution rather than diversion programs.

Of convicted defendants, 23.7% received jail sentences, with an average sentence of 70 days and a median of 30 days. Probation averaged 377.6 days. Fines averaged $1,159. Nearly all defendants relied on public counsel, reflecting the economic profile of trespassing defendants in this county.

Citing these figures? Attribution line and monthly data pack.

442
Total Cases (2025)
78.7%
Guilty Rate
10.9%
Withheld Rate
2.3%
Dismissal Rate
vs 4.0% statewide, 2025
2.3 months
Avg Sentence (confined)

Not every Trespassing charge in Sarasota County makes it in front of a judge. Of 751 prosecutor decisions on Trespassing charges (2023-2025), the State Attorney declined to file, dropped, or dismissed 4.4% — below the 17.8% statewide rate. These decisions happen early in a case, before trial.

Filed for prosecution
85.0% (638)
Declined to file
0.0% (0)
Dropped after filing
4.4% (33)
Administratively dismissed
0.0% (0)
Pre-trial diversion
10.7% (80)

Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement, State Attorney case data (2023-2025). Rates are per charge, not per defendant — a dropped charge often reflects a plea agreement on another charge in the same case, not the case going away. Percentages are of charges receiving a prosecution decision; transfers between courts are excluded. Court outcome data on this page is a separate dataset covering cases that reached disposition. Statewide charging patterns: The Florida Prosecution Report.

I Outcomes

Exhibit · Case outcomes (2025)

Guilty
78.7% (348)
Withheld
10.9% (48)
Diversion
2.5% (11)
Dismissed
2.3% (10)
Acquitted
0.2% (1)

Largest outcomeGuilty — 78.7% of 442 cases.

Source: FDLE Criminal Justice Data Transparency · 442 cases · 2025 — FloridaCourtFile.com

II Sentencing

Exhibit · Sentencing when convicted (2025)

2.3 months
Avg Sentence (confined)
1.0 months
Median Sentence
1 year
Avg Probation
$1,159
Avg Fine
0.7%
Prison Rate
23.8%
Jail Rate

Confinement-type detail below is computed across all available years (2023-2025).

Confinement Type Count Avg Sentence (confined)
County Jail 319 1.6 months
State Prison Facility 11 2.6 years
Confined to Other Diversionary Facility 1 3 days

Demographic data reflects systemic patterns in the criminal justice system and should not be used to draw conclusions about any racial or ethnic group. Disparities may reflect differences in policing, prosecution, and socioeconomic factors rather than actual crime rates.

Race Cases Guilty Rate Dismissal Rate
White 348 80.2% 2.6%
Black 80 77.5% 1.2%
3.4%
Under 21
9.1%
21-29
22.0%
30-39
25.7%
40-49
17.5%
50-59
22.3%
60+

Exhibit · Disposition trends

Year Cases Guilty Rate Dismissal Rate Avg Sentence (confined)
2023 590 69.2% 15.4% 3.2 months
2024 573 74.7% 7.9% 2.1 months
2025 442 78.7% 2.3% 2.3 months

Quarterly detail

9.9%
17.2%
16.3%
19.0%
18.7%
5.7%
5.5%
0.0%
0.9%
3.6%
4.9%
0.0%
Q1’23 Q2’23 Q3’23 Q4’23 Q1’24 Q2’24 Q3’24 Q4’24 Q1’25 Q2’25 Q3’25 Q4’25

Quarterly figures recompute from monthly disposition counts; quarters with fewer than 30 cases are suppressed.

Level Degree Cases
Misdemeanor First Degree 1,324
Misdemeanor Second Degree 231
Felony Third Degree 50
Charge Cases Guilty Rate Dismissal Rate
Traffic Offense 3,234 51.5% 2.9%
Drug Possession 2,389 76.3% 1.1%
Other 1,055 78.2% 2.4%
Larceny / Theft 1,016 64.9% 2.6%
DUI 710 96.8% 0.7%
Sex Offense 561 78.3% 0.2%
Battery 666 59.3% 0.9%
Resisting Officer 590 74.4% 1.4%

Cite this page

FloridaCourtFile.com (2026). Trespassing in Sarasota County, Florida (2025). Based on 442 public court records; last updated September 2026. https://www.floridacourtfile.com/charges/trespassing/sarasota

About this data: Statistics are derived from FDLE Criminal Justice Data Transparency records for Sarasota County. "Guilty" includes all cases where the defendant was found guilty. "Adjudication withheld" is a Florida-specific disposition where guilt is found but the court withholds formal adjudication under FL Statute 948.01. "Dismissed" includes all cases dismissed by the court or prosecution.

Source: FDLE Criminal Justice Data Transparency · 442 cases (2025) · Data last updated September 2026 — FloridaCourtFile.com