A charge of burglary in Tulsa OK can have serious consequences.
If you’ve been charged with this crime, contact an experienced Tulsa criminal defense attorney to examine your available legal options.
First-Degree Burglary
Anyone caught breaking into another person’s home with the intent to commit a crime by doing any of the following will be charged with first-degree burglary:
- By forcibly bursting or breaking the wall, or an outer door, window, or shutter of a window of such house or the lock or bolts of such door, or the fastening of such window or shutter; or
- By breaking in any other manner, being armed with a dangerous weapon or being assisted or aided by one or more confederates then actually present; or
- By unlocking an outer door by means of false keys or by picking the lock thereof, or by lifting a latch or opening a window, is guilty of burglary in the first degree.
Anyone convicted of first-degree burglary will face between 7 and 20 years in prison.
Second-Degree Burglary
Anyone who breaks and enters any place in which any property is kept will be charged with second-degree burglary.
Alternately, anyone who breaks into or forcibly opens any coin operated or vending machine with the intent to steal any property therein or to commit any felony, is guilty of burglary in the second degree.
A conviction of second-degree burglary will lead to between two and seven years in state prison.
Defending a Charge of Burglary in Tulsa OK
In order to obtain a conviction, a prosecutor must prove that the defendant’s acts met the exact definition of the crime. Your attorney may therefore argue that the act did not meet each of the crime’s definitions.
For example, “breaking” means any act of physical force, however slight, by which obstructions to entering are removed.
Therefore, if someone merely walked into a home with an open door, a strong argument can be made that doing so did not meet the definition of the crime.
Similarly “dwelling” means every house, building, or enclosed structure, any part of which has usually been occupied by any person(s) lodging therein; or any enclosed structure joined to and immediately connected with a house.
Therefore, if someone breaks into a building where people do not live, an attorney may argue that this also was not a burglary.
Finally, a prosecutor must prove that a defendant intended to steal or commit some other crime once inside the home.
If a defendant was inside to do something that was not a crime, he may not be charged with burglary under these circumstances either. OUJI-CR 5-18
Free Consultation: Tulsa Felony Defense Lawyer
A conviction of a charge of burglary in Tulsa OK can lead to years in jail and severely alter one’s life. However, a guilty conviction is not always easy for a prosecutor to obtain.
If you or someone you know is faced with this charge, consult with an experienced attorney at the Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm today at 918-256-3400, or toll free at 1-888-447-7262.
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