State v. Skelton

DANIEL E. SCOTT, Judge.

Pat Skelton (“defendant”) appeals his bench-trial misdemeanor conviction of violating § 229.150, 1 which prohibits the willful or knowing obstruction of “any public road ... by fencing across or upon the right-of-way of the same.... ” Defendant admits he fenced across and obstructed the St. Francis Levee Road. The issue is whether that is a “public road.”

Public roads may be established in three ways: (1) under § 228.190, (2) by prescription, or (3) by implied or common law dedication. Chapman v. Lavy, 20 S.W.3d 610, 613 (Mo.App.2000). Under § 228.190, “all roads that…