Burglary has widespread consequences and covers more acts than climbing in a window when a homeowner is at work to take their electronics. For example, you enter an unlocked car and take money or a weapon from the glove compartment, or you hide in a grocery store until it is closed and feast through the night, you are committing burglaries.
It is important to know that burglaries are felonies. A conviction can land you in prison, saddled with heavy fines. Your reputation will suffer, and your relationship with family and friends will likely be strained. Buying a home, choosing a college, and getting a bank loan will be harder. Your ability to vote or own a firearm will be compromised. Getting the help of a seasoned theft lawyer is vital. For an experienced defense with proven results, a DeKalb County burglary lawyer should be the first call you make.
Under the Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 16-7-1, burglary in the first degree occurs when a person without permission enters or remains in a dwelling with the intent to commit a felony while inside. A dwelling is a structure or portion of one that is intended for residential occupancy, although the law recognizes railroad cars, aircraft, vehicles, watercraft, or anything that can house people.
Burglary in the second degree is an intentional and uninvited entry into an occupied or vacant building that is not intended as a dwelling. A second-degree offense can also include aircraft, storefronts, watercraft, and railroad cars. Our DeKalb County burglary attorneys could help you understand the specific charges you are facing, build a strong defense strategy tailored to your case, protect your rights, and help you pursue the best possible outcome.
Burglary comes with possible probation and fines, and the length of incarceration depends on your prior record and if you were carrying a weapon. The punishment for the first conviction of burglary in the first degree is imprisonment for one to 20 years. The second conviction means imprisonment for two to 20 years, and the third and subsequent convictions have a punishment of five to 25 years in prison.
Because your freedom is at stake, our DeKalb County defense attorneys could assess your burglary charges and determine mitigating factors and the best defense in your situation. You are entitled to an advocate and a trial before a jury of your peers. We are here to see that you get them.
The prosecutor must prove you intended to unlawfully enter a structure to commit a felony, such as theft. The case falls apart if the intent to commit a crime cannot be proven. If you climbed through a window of a house you believe is yours, you did not intend to commit a felony. If you broke into a car on a cold night to sleep, you did not commit a burglary. Aside from challenging the element of intent, some other defenses to burglary include:
Our burglary lawyers in Dekalb County are also adept at negotiating plea deals with the prosecutor’s office. Mitigating factors can include your youth, having no criminal history, or having a compelling reason to burglarize a dwelling or structure, such as the owner not returning what is rightfully yours.
If a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrests you and accuses you of burglary, it does not mean you are on your way to prison. In some cases, our preliminary negotiations result in the charges being reduced or dropped. If the prosecutor takes your case to trial, we are willing and able.
Contact a DeKalb County burglary lawyer immediately upon arrest. There is no time to waste in building a defense.
Robert James Trial Attorney
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