Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

When someone has been arrested for burglary in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida, the possible punishment depends on what was "broken into". Burglary means that you entered somewhere you did not have a right to be with the intent to commit a crime within. It can with the intent to commit ANY crime, like theft, battery, and arson. The different places you can burglarize are defined below:

Structure - a building of any kind, either temporary or permanent. It has to have a roof over it.

Dwelling - a building or conveyance, including a porch, whether temporary or permanent, which has a roof on it and is designed to have people lodge in it at night.

Conveyance - any motor vehicle, boat, railroad car, airplane.

If someone is arrested for trespassing or burglary in Jacksonville, they are likely to be arrested for possessing burglary tools as well. Possessing "burglary tools" is a third degree felony punishable for up o 5 years in prison.

In order to be convicted of this charge, you have to possess any tool or machine with the intent to commit a burglary. It is not enough to prove that you intended to commit the burglary while the tools were in your possession. The prosecutor must prove that you intended to use THOSE tools to commit the burglary. You would have to commit some overt act toward the commission of the crime. Technically, any tool can be considered a burglary tool if you look at the totality of the circumstances involved.

Burglaries are up in Duval County, Clay County, and St. Johns County, according to the Florida Times Union. Burglary is when someone 'breaks" into a home or business with the intent to commit a crime once inside.

Jacksonville has about 1,000 burglaries reported a month this year. Clay County had a 2% increase and St. Johns County had a 23% rise.

JSO solves around one in 10 burglaries.

If you have been arrested for burglary in Jacksonville or anywhere in Northeast Florida, contact our experienced Burglary Lawyers in Jacksonville at (904) 634-0900 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Three businesses in Jacksonville's Riverside were burglarized in one week. The burglars busted out the business' windows and took the registers.

If you break into a closed business, you can be charged with "Burglary to a Structure" You have to enter the building with the intent to commit a crime inside, such as theft. Also, your whole body does not have to enter the building. If you put any part of your body far enough into the building to commit a crime, that is enough.

If there are no other people in the building at the time of the break in, the burglary is a third degree felony punishable for up to 5 years in prison.

If you have any questions about burglary charges in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Burglary Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.