According to California law, Penal Code 459, burglary is entering a residential, commercial, or any other structure intending to commit petty theft, grand theft, or felony. You do not have to accomplish this act through violence, threat, force, or destruction. You only need to accomplish it by showing an intention to commit a felony or any offense that can be convicted as a felony. Burglary is a serious crime that attracts severe repercussions, including hefty fines, a tainted reputation, and jail or prison time. If you face burglary charges, you do not have to plead guilty before understanding the law and your options. You need to seek the services of a defense attorney to help you seek a fair sentence.
Elements Of Burglary
If the prosecutor accuses you of burglary, Penal Code 459 PC requires that he/she prove the following elements for you to face the charges:
- You entered a structure, locked vehicle, a building, or room within a building.
- You intended to commit theft or a felony when you entered that structure, vehicle, room, or building.
- The property you intended to steal or that you stole exceeded $950.
- The structure you entered was not a commercial building.
- The structure you entered was a commercial building, but you entered outside working hours.
Under Penal Code 459 PC, a building could be a wire chicken coop, a loading dock enclosed by a chain link fence, popcorn stands on wheels, or telephone booths. You are considered to have entered the building if part of your body or an object you are using penetrates the building’s outer boundary. This could include an attached second-floor boundary or a window screen. You do not need to commit a felony or theft to be guilty of burglary. Additionally, the burglary law could apply to a vehicle if there is proof of forced entry into a locked car.
Categories Of Burglary
Typically, burglary offenses fall into two major categories:
- First-degree burglary.
- Second-degree burglary.
First Degree Burglary
If you unlawfully enter another person's recreational car, rented room, apartment, or home to steal or commit a felony once inside, you could be guilty under PC 460, a felony first-degree residential burglary. Under the law, entering someone else's home by force is regarded as entering a residence. Therefore, you could be guilty of first-degree burglary even if you do not commit a felony while inside. You will have committed the offense the moment you enter the residence with the intent to commit a felony or theft.
You could have entered a home with the intention to commit rape, but you did not find your target person. In this situation, because you entered the home with the intention of committing a felony like rape under PC 261, you are guilty of PC 460 even though you did not accomplish the intended offense.
An Inhabited Dwelling Place Under Burglary Law
Under burglary law, a structure only qualifies as an inhabited dwelling place if a person lives there, even if it is temporary. A dwelling structure is inhabited if a person sleeps or has assets in the structure. The victim does not need to be physically home for you to face first-degree residential burglary charges. Most courts consider the following as inhabited dwelling places:
- Houseboats.
- Trailer homes.
- A vessel if a person lives in it.
- Recreational cars.
- Occupied motel rooms.
- Shared laundry rooms or home offices.
- Attached are structures like garages.
- A room inside a home or a guest house.
- Condominiums, townhomes, or apartments.
- Houses.
Additionally, you could break into someone else's home with the intent to steal a piece of expensive jewelry, but dogs make you change your mind and leave. In this case, even though you did not steal, you are guilty of first-degree burglary since you broke into the residence with the intention of stealing.
Penalties For Violating Penal Code 460
The penalties for first-degree burglary usually depend on the facts of your charges. However, prosecutors often prosecute a violation of PC 460 as a felony. Some of the penalties you could face include:
- Felony or formal probation.
- A fine that does not exceed $10,000.
- A jail term of two years, four years, or six years in a state prison.
First-degree burglary is also considered a strike under the Three Strikes Law. It would be a severe and violent offense if somebody was at home when you entered. In this case, you could face more severe home invasion charges and serve 85% of the sentence.
First-degree burglary is usually regarded as a moral turpitude offense. In addition, you could face negative immigration repercussions if you are a non-citizen, including being inadmissible or deportation.
Second-Degree Burglary
Second-degree burglary constitutes all other aspects of the offense, including burglary in a commercial building and any structure that is not residential. Second-degree burglary attracts less punishment than first-degree burglary. Prosecutors always prosecute second-degree burglary as a wobbler. It is at the prosecutor's discretion whether to charge you with a misdemeanor or a felony. The possible penalties you could face for a misdemeanor second-degree burglary include:
- A fine that does not exceed $1,000.
- A jail term that does not exceed one year in a county jail.
- Summary or misdemeanor probation.
If the prosecutor charges you with felony second-degree burglary, you could face the following penalties:
- A fine that does not exceed $10,000.
- A jail term of sixteen months, two years, or three years in a county jail.
- Felony probation.
How Burglary Differs From Shoplifting
Under Penal Code 459.5, you could be guilty of shoplifting if you do the following:
- Illegally entered a commercial building.
- Enter the building during working hours.
- With the intent to steal property amounting to $950 or less.
Generally, shoplifting is a subset of burglary, where you enter a commercial building intending to steal property amounting to $950 or less. The voter initiative Proposition 47 redefined the offense of shoplifting. Proposition 47 reduced the punishment for several minor crimes. Before the enactment of Prop 47 in 2014, most people found guilty of shoplifting were charged with second-degree burglary under PC 459.
Currently, if the prosecutor charges you with PC 459.5 shoplifting, you can only be charged with a misdemeanor unless the following is true:
- You have a prior charge for one of the serious offenses, including sex crimes against minors, murder, and rape.
- You are ordered to register as a sex offender for a previous sex crime charge.
If any of the above is true and you face shoplifting charges, you could face similar penalties as an offender who commits a second-degree burglary as outlined under PC 459.
Whether Your Prior Burglary Charge Be Reduced To Shoplifting
Your prior burglary charge can be reduced to shoplifting if you think you qualify for Prop 47. In this case, you must consult your criminal defense attorney, who understands Prop 47 and Penal Code 459.
Burglary Of a Safe Or Vault
You could violate PC 464 if you enter a building intending to commit an offense while inside, then use explosives or a torch to blow open a safe, vault, or any other secure place. If the prosecutor charges you with violating Penal Code 464, he/she is required to prove these elements:
- You entered a building.
- While inside the building, you tried opening a vault, safe, or secure place.
- You accomplished the crime using explosives or a torch.
- When you entered the building, you had a specific intent to commit this or other offenses.
For you to face charges under this law, it does not matter whether you entered during the day or night or whether the building was inhabited or uninhabited. On the other hand, you will not be guilty under this law if you only attempted to open the vault or safe without entering the building.
Prosecutors usually charge the violation of PC 464 as a felony. The possible penalties you could face include the following:
- A fine that does not exceed $10,000.
- A jail term that does not exceed seven years in a state prison.
The judge can also award you formal or felony probation instead of prison time.
The defenses you could present to challenge PC 464 charges include the following:
- You had no explosive or torch.
- There was no safe or vault.
- You had no intent to commit theft or other offense.
Possession of Burglary Tools
It is a crime under Penal Code 466 for anyone to possess burglary tools to break into a watercraft, vehicle, structure, or dwelling. Penal Code 466 requires the prosecutor to prove these elements for you to face charges under this statute:
- You possessed a burglary tool.
- You intended to use the tool to commit burglary under Penal Code 459 PC.
The objects that are regarded as tools under the law include:
- Spark plug chips.
- Master keys.
- Picklocks.
- Tension bars.
- Slide hammers.
- Vise grip pliers.
- Key bits.
A violation of PC 466 is usually charged as a misdemeanor. The penalties you could face include the following:
- A fine that does not exceed $1,000.
- A jail term that does not exceed six months in a county jail as opposed to a state prison.
A possession charge does not affect your gun rights. In some cases, however, a possession charge could cause you to lose your right to possess or own a gun, especially for offenses that are prosecuted as felonies.
A charge under Penal Code 466 does not affect your immigration status. However, some offenses could lead to deportation or being marked as inadmissible for a non-citizen, especially if you commit an aggravated felony.
Your criminal defense attorney can help you create defenses that you can use to contest your PC 466 charges. Some of the defenses that could be used include the following:
- The police obtained burglary tools through illegal search and seizure.
- You did not have burglary tools.
- No intent to commit an offense.
Defenses to Burglary Charges
The defenses you could present to challenge your burglary charges include the following:
You Were Intoxicated
You could use intoxication as a defense to your burglary charges because it interferes with your ability to form the required specific intent. However, it must be that another person drugged you. Voluntary intoxication is, however, not a valid defense.
Police Misconduct
At times, law enforcers are eager to handle a case. Usually, this leads them to engage in acts that violate their rights. The unlawful acts they could commit include:
- Coercing you to confess.
- Violating your Fourth Amendment right against illegal searches.
- Asking leading questions of witnesses during a line-up.
- Fabricating or planting evidence.
Your attorney could file a Pitchess motion if police misconduct is a possibility. If the court grants your petition, you could see if other people have previously made similar complaints about the police. The judge could drop the charges against you if you prove that the police engaged in a pattern of misconduct.
Factual Innocence
It is common for the police to arrest innocent people by mistake. Proving that you did not engage in burglary is often the best strategy to contest your PC 459 charges. The police could arrest you by mistake because of the following:
- Someone else is accusing you falsely to pursue revenge on you.
- When accused falsely by a person with mental problems.
- Misleading evidence — For example, your fingerprints being found at the crime scene when you had only visited there innocently and with valid reasons.
Because of the above reasons, you need to seek the services of a criminal defense attorney immediately after the police arrest and charge you with burglary. A skilled attorney can identify weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case even if the evidence appears convincing. A competent attorney can also persuade the prosecutor to dismiss or reduce the charges against you.
You Had The Victim’s Consent
You could claim that your entry was legal since you had the owner’s permission to enter the building or structure. This defense is usually valid in certain circumstances. For example, the owner could have previously permitted you to enter the building and never revoked the consent. Even if you erroneously believed that you had consent to enter the building, the belief in the owner's consent could be sufficient to challenge the case, assuming that the belief was reasonable.
You are a Victim of Entrapment
You could allege someone else convinced you to commit burglary when you otherwise would not have. Entrapment can be hard to prove but can be a valid defense to your burglary charges if you provide sufficient evidence.
You Had No Intent
The burden of proof lies with the prosecutor to show that you intended to commit a felony or theft when you entered a building or structure. The court could drop the charges against you if the prosecutor fails to prove your intent to commit the crime. Someone, for example, could have dragged you into the building, and you only decided to take something while inside. In this case, your attorney could use the drugging reason to contest your charges.
Alibi
If the police did not arrest you at the crime scene, you could use an alibi as a defense to challenge your burglary charges. You can avoid a conviction if you can present witnesses or other evidence to prove that you were somewhere else, far from the crime scene.
Plea Negotiations
At times, a complete defense is not possible. Therefore, you could seek the services of a seasoned attorney with a strong reputation with the court and the prosecutors. The attorney could help you negotiate a plea in which you plead ‘’nolo contendere’’ to a charge that attracts a lesser punishment. For example, the prosecutor could accuse you of illegally breaking and entering the building, and he/she does not have evidence that you had a deadly weapon at the time. In this case, you could plead guilty to second-degree burglary instead of being convicted of first-degree burglary.
The Building Was Abandoned
You could allege that the building was abandoned and unoccupied. While the prosecutor could try to prove that someone still owned the building, you could claim that the building was not maintained. You could also allege that the owner abandoned it decades ago and does not pay the applicable taxes.
Open to Public Access
Illegal entry into a building or structure is one of the elements of burglary. This means you entered a building without the owner’s consent. However, a burglary conviction is not valid if it is in a public building like a store or hospital. Similarly, if you mistakenly believed that you had permission to enter the building, this also disqualifies the element of intent, thus dropping the burglary charges.
Find a Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
The laws surrounding the crime of burglary can be hard to understand. If you face first or second-degree burglary charges, you should consult an attorney who understands the courthouse, judges, and prosecutors. However, you do not have to figure out how to fight burglary charges alone. The penalties for committing burglary are incredibly severe, even if you did not steal anything upon entering a building or structure. Our criminal defense attorneys at Leah Legal can help you understand burglary charges and the potential penalties and navigate the justice system in Van Nuys, CA. Contact us at 818-484-1100 to speak to one of our attorneys.