Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

According to The Lawrence Eagle Tribune, thieves recently broke into a chursh in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The thief stole checks and other items from a safe box. A church representative stated that she noticed the safe had been pried open when she went to deposit money from a recent offering. In an unusual twist, it appears that there were no signs of forced entry.

In order for the government to prove the crime of breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony they must prove that an individual broke into a car/building belonging to another person; that the person entered the car/building; that the person did it with an intent to commit a felony in the car/building and that these actions were committed during the nighttime. See, M.G.L.A. 266 § 16. The felony that is often relied on by the prosecution is that the defendant intended to commit a larceny i.e., steal something when inside of the car/building.

There are also lesser included offenses of this crime that include breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemeanor i.e., trespass. The difference between a felony and a misdemeanor is the potential sentence that can be imposed following conviction. A conviction for a misdemeanor carries the potential for a commited sentence in a jail or house of correction. If convicted for a felony, an individual can be sentence to state prison.

A successful defense is often mounted to establish that the prosecutor failed to establish that there was an actual breaking and that the defendant did not have the required intent to commit a felony to sustain a convciton.