BATON ROUGE BURGLARY LAWYER

Burglary is a serious charge. Because the odds for injury and loss of life are high when you are dealing with a burglary situation, the state prosecutes these crimes aggressively. Accordingly, a strong defense must be built in order to protect your rights and gain the most favorable outcome possible. 

WHAT IS BURGLARY?

Burglary is an often misunderstood area of law. When most people think of burglary, they think of a man in all black sneaking into a house to steal. However, the legal definition of burglary is much more broad.

Burglary is the unauthorized entry into a building or structure with the intent to commit a theft or felony therein. 

In the earlier example, it does not matter if the man sneaks into the house and does not actually steal anything, all that it takes is that he had the intent to steal something at the moment that he entered the house. A burglary may still occur even if there is no theft or even an intent to thieve. If the man is breaking into the house to commit a different felony, such as assault or robbery, they can be found guilty of burglary. 

PENALTIES

Simple burglary is the unauthorized entry of any structure with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein. It is punishable by imprisonment for up to 12 years.

Simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling is the same as simple burglary, but the building is used as a home or place of living by a person. It is punishable by imprisonment for not less than 1 year and not more than 12 years. 

Aggravated burglary is the same as simple burglary, but the person is armed with a dangerous weapon or commits a battery during the course of the burglary. It is punishable by imprisonment for not less than 1 year and not more than 30 years.

COMMON DEFENSES

• Actual innocence
• Had permission to enter the premises
• No intent to commit a felony at time of entry
• Accused was coerced into the burglary
• The area entered into was not a building or structure

IF YOU ARE FACING A BURGLARY CHARGE

Burglary is a serious charges and requires dedicated legal representation. It is important to contact a skilled criminal defense attorney quickly so they may start preparing a vigorous defense. I will carefully review the prosecution's evidence, pinpoint any weaknesses, and conduct an investigation into the facts. Using that information, I will formulate a solid defense theory for your case and aggressively pursue it in order to obtain the best possible outcome.