Burglary is a serious criminal offense under California law that can carry significant consequences, including jail or prison time, substantial fines, probation, and a permanent criminal record. Depending on the facts of the case, burglary may be charged as either first-degree or second-degree burglary, with each offense carrying different levels of punishment. It is important…
Theft and burglary cases in Riverside County are won and lost on witness testimony. Most theft cases involve no physical evidence connecting the defendant to the offense beyond what a person — an alleged victim, an eyewitness, an investigating officer, or sometimes a co-defendant — says happened. Where the testimony is strong and the cross-examination…
A felony burglary charge in Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee, or anywhere in Southwest Riverside County carries some of the harshest sentencing consequences in California’s property-crime code: state prison terms, mandatory strike consequences for residential burglary under the Three Strikes Law, sentencing enhancements that can add years, and immigration consequences for non-citizens. But the question of when…
Burglary is a “specific intent” crime under California law — and that legal classification is the single most important fact about how a burglary case is tried. The prosecution does not just have to prove that the defendant entered a structure. The prosecution has to prove that the defendant entered with a specific mental state…
Burglary and robbery are frequently treated as interchangeable in everyday conversation, but California law treats them as categorically different offenses — with different elements, different penalty structures, and different sentencing consequences. The single most important difference is rarely discussed in published summaries: all robbery is a strike under California’s Three Strikes law, and first-degree burglary…
When most people use the phrase “breaking and entering,” they are describing what California law actually calls burglary — and the choice of terminology matters more than it appears. California has no offense called “breaking and entering.” The common-law breaking element was eliminated from California’s burglary statute generations ago. Penal Code § 459 reaches any…
Police are trying to find out if a Los Angeles man accused of a recent Murrieta attempted burglary may have committed similar crimes. According to a recent report in The Press Enterprise, the man is accused of kicking in the door of a home on the afternoon of February 18. The homeowner took a photo…
Robbery shows up frequently in the news, under a variety of circumstances. One example is a recent robbery spree involving a fast food venue and a convenience store in Southern California, with a suspect still at large. Another involves the recent arrest of a former dentist suspected of robbing several banks. However, although robbery crops…
Two Riverside County-area men were arrested recently on suspicion of robbery. The men, a 38-year-old Riverside resident and a 25-year-old Fontana resident, are accused of orchestrating a chain of 15 thefts and attempted thefts from ATMs across a three-county area over the past six months. On Friday, Sept. 26, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged the…
Under California law, burglary can encompass many different crimes. In order to be charged with burglary, law enforcement officials need to suspect that you went into a room or building (or broke into a locked car) with the intention of committing either theft or any felony. Law enforcement officials don’t even have to prove that…
This past Election Day, California voters passed a new law, Proposition 47, which will make some important changes to how drug possession and certain other crimes will be penalized by the criminal justice system. What are some of the changes that the law introduces? Due to Proposition 47, nonviolent drug possession for personal use will…
Burglary is a common crime in California. Between 2001 and 2006, there were over 200,000 burglaries each year in the state. And yet it’s often misunderstood, with people not being sure what constitutes burglary and possibly confusing it with other crimes such as robbery. The following are four things you might not know about burglary:…
If you or a loved one is facing criminal charges in Southwest Riverside County, time is critical. Contact the Law Office of Nic Cocis today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
