HOW YOU CAN EASILY BE CHARGED WITH 1ST DEGREE BURGLARY IN A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE

In domestic violence cases, acts that would normally be charged as a simple misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor are often charged as felonies. In this posting, I will illustrate how easy it is for the State to charge you with 1st degree burglary if you have a domestic violence case pending or if you are charged with domestic violence in the future.

2nd degree burglary is the unlawful entry into a building with the intent to commit a crime inside the building. You don't need to actually commit the crime inside the building; you just need to enter with the intent to commit a crime. Contrary to popular belief, there is no breaking and entering necessary. You don't have to break into a building to be charged with burglary; you just need to enter without permission or authorization. Residential burglary is a burglary that takes place in someone's home. 2nd degree burglary and residential burglary are class B felonies in Washington. That means that the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

1st degree burglary is a burglary in which you are armed with a deadly weapon or you commit an assault inside the building you unlawfully entered. 1st degree burglary is a class A felony. The maximum sentence for class A felonies is life in prison and a $50,000 fine.

So let's say you have a domestic violence case pending and there has been a no-contact order issued prohibiting you from going to your old residence, where your former roommate, the alleged victim in your case, lives. Let's say you get angry at the alleged victim for lying and making a false report to the police by saying that you assaulted him or her and you decide to go over to your old house and break something of theirs to teach them a lesson. By doing this, you will be charged with violating a no-contact order, which is a crime in and of itself. But you would also likely be charged with residential burglary because you are entering someone's home unlawfully (there's a no-contact order making it illegal to enter that person's home) and you enter with the intent to destroy that person's property, which is the crime of malicious mischief.

Let's say that after you enter the alleged victim's home, you decide not to destroy any property. The alleged victim tells you that they plan to make more false reports to the police so you get angry and slap that person. Here, it is already residential burglary because you entered a residence unlawfully with the intent to commit a crime inside that building- malicious mischief. Remember you don't need to actually commit the crime to be charged with burglary as long as you intended to commit the crime when you entered the residence. By slapping your old roommate, you now committed 4th degree assault. If you commit an assault during a burglary, it becomes 1st degree burglary, which is a class A felony punishable up to life in state prison!

What often happens in domestic violence cases is that someone gets upset with a family member, spouse, or former roommate and decides to go to that person's home to settle a score either with verbal threats or with acts of violence. In these cases, it is considered domestic violence because the alleged victim is a spouse, family member, or someone you once lived with. If they tell you that you are not allowed to enter the building, but you do so anyway, you could be charged with criminal trespass at the very least. Often an assault occurs. The prosecutor will want to argue that you entered the home with the intent to commit an assault on the alleged victim. If they can prove this, then you could be charged with 1st degree burglary in addition to the domestic violence assault charge. In this situation, it is absolutely imperative to contact a criminal defense lawyer who handles not only domestic violence matters, but serious felonies as well.

So in a situation where you would ordinarily be charged with a simple misdemeanor, punishable up to no more than 90 days in county jail, you could be facing a class A felony punishable up to life in state prison by unlawfully entering another person's home with the intent to assault that person or commit some other crime. Of course, this can happen in other non-domestic violence situations where there is no relationship between you and the alleged victim that would give rise to allegations of domestic violence. However, I am making this posting in a domestic violence blog because the scenarios I described above typically involve spouses, roommates, and family members. Burglaries that occur when there are no domestic violence charges are usually the types of burglaries where someone breaks into a home or business with the intent to steal cash, jewelry, or other valuable property.

CRIMES THAT ARE CONSIDERED TO BE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

I have written previously that domestic violence can be virtually any crime that is committed against another household member or family member. While that is true, Washington State law says that certain crimes definitely qualify as domestic violence. It is important to know what these offenses are because not all of them are necessarily violent. Under Washington State law the crimes that are automatically considered to be domestic violence include:

Assault in the first degree; Assault in the second degree; Assault in the third degree; Assault in the fourth degree;
Drive-by Shooting;
Reckless Endangerment;
Coercion;
Burglary in the first degree; Burglary in the second degree ;
Criminal trespass in the first degree; Criminal trespass in the second degree
Malicious Mischief in the first degree; Malicious mischief in the second degree; Malicious Mischief in the third degree
Kidnapping in the first degree;
Kidnapping in the second degree;
Unlawful Imprisonment;
Rape in the first degree; Rape in the second degree;
Residential Burglary;
Stalking;
Interference With the Reporting of Domestic Violence

Washington law also says that a violation of a no-contact order is considered to be domestic violence. Not all of these crimes are necessarily violent; most notably criminal trespass, burglary, and violation of a no-contact order. Remember that the Washington State legislature has made the above crimes essentially domestic violence per se, but that does not mean that the list is exhaustive; other offenses that are not included in the above list may still be considered to be domestic violence by the courts nonetheless.