A person commits burglary when he or she enters a building with the intent to commit a crime within. Many states laws identify the types of structures that count as buildings for burglary offenses such as schools, stores, houseboats, trailer homes, and even campsites or tents. For residential burglary, the building must be a house, apartment or any building in which a person lives. The victim has to prove that the defendant entered the building without permission. If you were charged with burglary, Angels Bail Bonds would be glad to help you for posting bail and avoid prison time.

A burglary conviction comes with many possible penalties, and it’s typically charged as a felony offense:

  1. Jail: Burglary convictions charged as a felony offense can result in 20 or more years in prison and a misdemeanor burglary charge can lead to a sentence of up to a year in jail.
  2. Fines: A penalty for burglary can be $100,000 or more for a felony conviction, and for misdemeanors, fines are usually less tan $1000. A felony offense due to burglary is considered as a first-degree crime and second-degree for misdemeanor charges.
  3. Restitution: When the court tells you to pay for compensations, you have to pay the victim to compensate them for their losses allowing them to replaced or repair the damaged property.

These are some factors that can define burglary as a felony os misdemeanor offense:

  • Use of force: Any forced entry, it doesn´t matter how minimal is enough to satisfy this requirement. It is enough for the defendant to open a door knob or lift an unlocked window to be considered as burglary.

First-degree burglary

A person who commits this crime by entering or remaining unlawfully in a building with the intent to commit a crime.

  • The person is armed with explosives, a dangerous instrument or a deadly weapon
  • The person intentionally inflicts or attempts to inflict bodily injury on someone while trying to commit the offense.
  • This offense is a class B felony, one to 20 years in prison and a $15,000 fine

Second-degree burglary

A person commits this crime by:

  • Threatening of using or representing by words that he or she possess a pistol, rifle, gun, machine gun or another type of firearm.
  • This offense is a class C felony, one to ten years in jail and a fine of $10,000

Third-degree burglary

  • A person commits this offense by just entering or remaining illegally in a building with the intent to commit a crime there.
  • This offense is a class D felony, one to five years and a $5,000 fine

The penalties for burglary charges are very serious. A burglary conviction can lead to an arrest and the possibility of spending time in prison. It will depend on the type of structure involved for burglary to be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor. If you have been accused of burglary and you are looking to pay a bail to avoid jail time, the right thing to do is calling a bail bond agent for guidance and assessment. This video could help you understand the California penal code due to burglary offenses.

