Burglary 2nd Degree

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Burglary 2nd Degree in South Carolina

Burglary 2nd Degree in South Carolina is the entry into a building or dwelling without consent with the intent to commit a crime therein.  Burglary 2nd degree is a felony and can be classified as violent or non-violent.

Hi, my name is Dale Savage and I’m a criminal defense attorney here in Charleston, SC. Today we’re talking about burglary charges and in particular 2nd degree burglary.

What’s the Law for Burglary 2nd Degree?

To establish burglary 2nd degree in SC the prosecutor must show you:

Subsection (A)

  • Entered a dwelling;
  • Without consent; and
  • With intent to commit a crime therein.
    • 0-10 yrs. (Non-violent – felony)

Subsection (B)

  • Entered a building;
  • Without consent; and
  • With intent to commit a crime therein; and had one of the following aggravating factors
    • When entering or inside or in immediate flight you or a codefendant;
      • Armed w/a deadly weapon or explosive; or
      • Caused physical injury to any person not a participant in the crime; or
      • Uses/threatens to use dangerous instrument; or
      • Displays what appears to be a knife or firearm; or
  • The burglary is committed by a person w/2 or more convictions for burglary or housebreaking; or
  • The entering or remaining occurs at nighttime.
    • 0-15 yrs. (violent – felony)

Basically burglary 2nd degree controls the burglary of two types of structures 1) dwellings and 2) buildings and is either non-violent or violent.

What is a Dwelling?

A dwelling is basically any structure in which someone sleeps on a regular basis.

What is a Building?

A building is an:

  • Office, warehouse, any structure (not abandoned);
  • vehicle;
  • watercraft;
  • or aircraft.

Non-violent

This will cover burglaries of a dwelling, such as someone’s house, and it occurs during the daytime w/o any aggravating factors.  If it happens at night, then that elevates it to a Burglary 1st offense.

Violent

This applies to burglaries of buildings with one or more of the listed aggravating factors.

Aggravating factors

One of those aggravating factors is being armed with a firearm.  You don’t need to have entered the building with a firearm, but once inside and you steal a firearm that can elevate it to the more serious violent offense.

Defenses

Good lawyers know that it’s important to determine if the building was abandoned at the time of the burglary to establish a defense to the charge.

It’s also important to determine what evidence the state is relying on to link you to the crime.  Is it DNA evidence only, is it solely a witness ID, is it you being in possession of stolen property from the burglary?

Each of these legal issues needs to be investigated by your defense attorney if they are your facts to mount any defenses available to you.

Charleston, SC Criminal Defense Lawyer

If have been charged with burglary 2nd degree and would like to discuss your options, please call me at (843) 530-7813.  I hope this video was helpful and thanks for watching.

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