Burglary is one of the most common crimes in Utah. In 2023, there were about 5,500 cases reported to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification. Burglary may include a sentence that includes prison time, but if you have a good attorney behind you, that may not be the case.
Contrary to popular belief, burglary isn’t another word for robbery. In Utah, burglary is when you illegally enter someone’s property, and you have the intention of committing another serious crime. That other crime could include theft, another felony, assault, lewdness, sexual battery, and voyeurism.
At the most basic level, burglary is a third-degree felony. You can face a sentence of up to five years in prison plus a fine of $5,000.
If you commit burglary in a dwelling — which is a legal term for a building where a person stays at night — that’s a second-degree felony. An individual who commits this crime can receive up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
However, it’s important to note that this is the absolute worst case scenario and the maximum penalty you can face if you’re either found guilty or you plead guilty.
In the end, a judge will decide the penalty most appropriate for you. If you commit a third-degree felony, you can be sentenced to less than a year in prison, but if it’s a second-degree felony, you’ll receive one year at minimum.
This is one area where a good lawyer will make a substantial difference in the outcomes. Even if you’re guilty, an experienced attorney can help convince the judge to be more lenient. With the right evidence–or lack of evidence–you may not serve any prison time.
One route an experienced attorney may recommend is probation. This is a type of criminal sentence where you don’t spend time behind bars. You can live life normally, but you have to report to a probation officer and abide by other conditions.
In general, those conditions include not possessing a firearm, maintaining employment that’s at least 32 hours a week, and submitting to searches without a warrant if you’re suspected of violating the conditions.
Based on the facts of the case, the court may also include special conditions, such as not drinking alcohol, obeying a curfew, and participating in a drug court program.
If an individual is sentenced to 15 years for burglary, that doesn’t mean he will serve all of that time in prison. You may become eligible for parole.
This conditions are similar to probation. The main difference is that you are going from being incarcerated to living in society.
Your judge will determine when you are eligible for parole. When that date comes, you have the option of taking your case before members of a board. They’ll look at your case, the severity of the crime, and how you’ve been doing in prison. Then they’ll determine whether or not to grant you parole.
This is another thing a lawyer can be very helpful with. Your attorney can help you understand how to present yourself before the parole board and help you with any documentation that might be useful.
You can face even more severe consequences if you are charged with aggravated burglary. This is where you commit burglary, and in the process, you either injure someone else, threaten them with a dangerous weapon, or have any kind of dangerous weapon or explosive.
Aggravated burglary is a first-degree felony, which means you can get five years to life in prison. However, like we said before, if you have a good lawyer, you might be able to get some kind of leniency so you don’t have to serve much time at all.
Being accused of burglary is never a good thing, but in the best case scenario, you are only being charged with one crime.
With burglary, you only have to have the intent of committing a specific crime once you’ve broken into someone’s property. So if someone stops you before you’re able to commit the crime you wanted to commit, you’ll only get a burglary charge. However, if you’re successful, you’ll get burglary on top of the other crime.
For example, if you break into someone’s house, and you steal jewelry worth a combined $10,000, you may get charged with theft on top of burglary. The severity of a theft charge depends on how much money the items are worth. In this case, the items are worth than enough money to warrant a second-degree felony.
So, you just broke into a dwelling — a second-degree felony — and you stole over $10,000 worth of jewelry — another second-degree felony.
Having two second-degree felony charges can be bad for a couple reasons:
If you’re accused of burglary, you’ll want to hire a lawyer with a lot of experience in felony crimes. You’ll find that in Michael Holje, Staci Visser, and Ann Taliaferro. They are all excellent, highly professional attorneys, who will work hard to ensure you get the best result possible.
If you’ve been convicted, and you need help with either the sentencing or parole processes, Ann Taliaferro would be a great choice for you. She specializes in those types of cases.
Call (801) 532-5297 for a free consultation.
