Home Invasion charges and Breaking and Entering charges

Home Invasion, Burglary, and Breaking and Entering are often referred to as being one and the same. Under Michigan law, however, they’re clearly defined as being distinct crimes, but are often interconnected.

For example, In order for someone here in Michigan to be charged with Home Invasion, they must have committed the crime of Breaking and Entering.

In order for someone to be charged with Burglary, it must be proved that they either stole property, or intended to steal property during a Breaking and Entering. In other words, forcing their way into a place or space where they were not legally allowed to be.

In order to understand exactly how the law defines a crime, and what the punishment is likely to be for someone facing that specific charge, you’ll need to understand what each one is. On this page we’ve provided a basic outline of statutory Home Invasion, Breaking, and Entering and Burglary, with links to additional information for you. 

Breaking & Entering

Breaking and Entering (sometimes called “B and E”) refers to the act of illegally entering a building, or staying in a building, with the intention of committing a crime. This charge does not include stealing or vandalizing property, because those are considered to be separate crimes.

In Michigan, the term “Breaking” refers to opening or moving something, whether it’s a house or a simple container, to gain access to something you don’t legally have permission to access. “Entering”, which follows breaking, is exactly what it sounds like – entering. This could mean reaching into the container you just opened, or even reaching your hand into a building that you just opened.

There are many ways in which a person can be charged with Breaking and Entering, depending on several factors. Some of these factors include whether or not there was a weapon involved, whether the property broken into into was a car, a house, or a storage unit, and whether or not the person stole property during the B & E.

For more information, please read this: Breaking and Entering, and how we defend against B&E charges

Home Invasion

Home Invasion in Michigan is divided into three categories, namely:

• First Degree Home Invasion,
• Second Degree Home Invasion,  
• Third Degree Home Invasion.

All three are felonies, but each one refers to slightly different circumstances, and is punishable by varying numbers of years in prison.

Our law states that for a person to be charged with Home Invasion in any of the three degrees, they must have committed the crime of Breaking and Entering. However, once the person is inside the building or structure without permission, what they do there determines whether they will face first, second or third degree Home Invasion charges.

For example, whether they have a weapon with them at the time, and whether they commit some other felony (like assault or larceny) will affect how they’re charged. Additionally, their intention when they entered the property, and whether or not there was another person present who was lawfully there at the time, are other factors that play into which charge the prosecutor may choose to bring.

For more information, please read this: Home Invasion charges and how we defend against them.

Burglary

Burglary refers to the act of illegally entering a building or dwelling without permission, and stealing, or trying to steal, property. It isn’t necessary for a theft to have actually taken place for the prosecutor to charge someone of this crime. They only have to prove that the person committed the B & E with the intention of stealing something, for this charge to apply.

What defines Burglary as different from Home Invasion or Breaking and Entering, is the intention. If the person intended to commit another crime, like stealing property, after having committed a home invasion or breaking and entering, this then becomes burglary. Even if the other, intended crime, never actually took place.

For more information, please read this: Burglary and how we defend against it.

Other Related Crimes

If a person enters an occupied building armed with a weapon, and steals or attempts to steal property by using the weapon to threaten someone, this could be charged as Armed Robbery, If the person threatens someone with the weapon during the robbery, which could mean the simple act of pointing the gun at someone and threatening to shoot, this could result in Felonious Assault charges.

Additionally, when a person steals items from a building, store, house, gas station or any other public or private building that they had a right to be inside, but not the right to remove items, this would be charged as Larceny. It isn’t necessary for Breaking and Entering to have occurred in order for a person to be charged with Larceny.

Defense Attorneys

We understand that this can seem very confusing. Michigan law is complex, and changes regularly. That’s why, if you have been charged with Home Invasion, Burglary, Breaking and Entering, or any other related crime in Michigan, you’re going to need a skilled professional defense attorney with decades of experience on your side.

At The Kronzek Firm, our criminal defense attorneys have decades of combined experience protecting our clients from serious felony charges and possible prison time. We work together as a team, bringing our varied expertise and wide knowledge base to the table to ensure that you get the best defense. As we always say, the right attorney is critical. Thousands of our clients will tell you the same thing.

But don’t wait! The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can start. Time is of the essence and planning a creative and unique defense is much harder to do when it’s left until the last moment. Call us at 1 866-766-5245. We can help.

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