Also known as: occupied structures
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A structure, vehicle, or place adapted for overnight accommodation of persons or for carrying on business therein, whether or not a person is actually present. If a building or structure is divided into separately occupied units, any unit not occupied by the actor is an occupied structure of another. Property is that of another if anyone other than the actor has a possessory or proprietary interest therein.
Odilia Okamura hid in a retail store fitting room until closing. After the manager locked the doors, she entered the secured back office intending to open the safe and remove cash. The office qualified as an occupied structure because it was adapted for carrying on business, triggering burglary liability upon her unprivileged entry with criminal purpose.
Oswald Orozco started a fire against the wall of a mixed-use building containing his station's broadcast equipment. He aimed to damage the insured property to collect proceeds, but the blaze spread and placed the structure in danger of destruction. The building counted as an occupied structure of another because residents used upper-floor apartments for overnight accommodation.
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Owen Ortega ignited newspapers against the exterior wall of a building housing his insured studio equipment. He intended to damage the property and collect insurance, yet heavy smoke reached upper-floor apartments. The structure remained an occupied structure of another, and the affirmative defense failed because the fire recklessly endangered residents.
No. The definition expressly states that a structure, vehicle, or place qualifies as an occupied structure whether or not a person is actually present, so long as it is adapted for overnight accommodation or carrying on business.
Supporting sources
Burglary becomes a felony of the second degree if perpetrated in the dwelling of another at night or if the actor inflicts or attempts to inflict bodily injury or is armed with explosives or a deadly weapon during the offense. The occupied-structure element supplies the base offense but does not itself control the grading factors.
Supporting sources
Yes. If a building or structure is divided into separately occupied units, any unit not occupied by the actor is an occupied structure of another, allowing separate burglary charges for entry into a locked office or apartment even when the outer building was entered lawfully.
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Yes. It is an affirmative defense to burglary that the building or structure was abandoned, but the defense requires objective proof of abandonment rather than the defendant's subjective belief that the premises appeared disused.
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…approximates that adopted by the drafters of the Model Penal Code: "A person is guilty of burglary if he enters a building or occupied structure, or separately secured or occupied portion thereof, with purpose to commit a crime therein, unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the actor is licensed or privileged to…