Also known as: offences against the habitation · offense against habitation · burglary · arson
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A category of common-law crimes that safeguard the security and privacy of a dwelling by criminalizing unauthorized entry into such a structure with intent to commit a felony.
Odilia Okamura entered a brownstone after dark through a window she forced open. The upper floors served as Owen Ortega's regular sleeping quarters even though the ground floor housed his business. Because the entry occurred when facial features could not be discerned by natural light, the nighttime element was satisfied and the charge proceeded.
Oscar Ortiz unlocked the side door of a monitoring station that contained a cot used for overnight stays. He carried tools to alter data records belonging to the operator. The structure was not open to the public and Ortiz lacked any remaining privilege after his contract ended, satisfying the entry and purpose elements.
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Oskar Ocampo removed a board from a trailer window after sunset and slid a pry bar inside toward a wall safe. The bar crossed the threshold of the bedroom area used for sleeping. The insertion served the purpose of reaching the safe, completing the entry element even without bodily intrusion.
Odin Obeng and an accomplice entered a hospital storage room after hours to remove equipment. When a patient blocked their path, Obeng administered an unauthorized sedative that caused respiratory arrest and death. The death occurred while the pair were engaged in the burglary, triggering the presumption of extreme indifference.
Ophelia O'Brien forced entry into her own mixed-use building after dark. The upper floors were leased to a tenant who regularly slept there and had left belongings behind during a temporary trip. Because occupancy rather than title controls, the structure qualified as the dwelling of another.
Orchard Farms' manager piled newspapers against a wall shared with a tenant's apartment and ignited them. The manager had recently increased the station's fire insurance and intended the blaze to reach the equipment for a claim. The purpose of damaging property to collect insurance satisfied the arson mental element.
A structure retains dwelling status when the occupant regularly uses it for sleeping and leaves most belongings behind with intent to return. Temporary absences such as a three-month sabbatical do not strip the character of a dwelling.
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Burglary is a felony of the second degree when perpetrated in the dwelling of another at night or when the actor inflicts or attempts to inflict bodily injury or is armed with explosives or a deadly weapon during the offense.
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Common-law arson requires only a burning that damages the fibers of combustible material. Charring the wood fibers of a door satisfies the element even if the frame receives only superficial blackening.
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An owner can commit burglary of the owner's own building when tenants occupy and use it as their dwelling. Occupancy rather than title determines whether the structure is the dwelling of another.
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…comparable in terms of the possible sentence imposed to serious felonies such as aggravated battery, § 16-5-24, first-degree arson, § 16-7-60, and robbery, § 16-8-40.[^maj-1] In this case, however, respondent has not been tried, much less convicted and sentenced.[^maj-2] Moreover, respondent has not raised the Eighth…