- Burglary – 2C:18-2.
a. Burglary defined. A person is guilty of burglary if, with purpose to commit an offense therein he:
(1) Enters a research facility, structure, or a separately secured or occupied portion thereof unless the structure was at the time open to the public or the actor is licensed or privileged to enter; or
(2) Surreptitiously remains in a research facility, structure, or a separately secured or occupied portion thereof knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so.
b. Grading. Burglary is a crime of the second degree if in the course of committing the offense, the actor:
(1) Purposely, knowingly or recklessly inflicts, attempts to inflict or threatens to inflict bodily injury on anyone; or
(2) Is armed with or displays what appear to be explosives or a deadly weapon.
Otherwise burglary is a crime of the third degree. An act shall be deemed “in the course of committing” an offense if it occurs in an attempt to commit an offense or in immediate flight after the attempt or commission.
New Jersey Penalties and fines for Burglary
Burglary is one of the most commonly charged offenses in the criminal justice system in New Jersey. A defendant commits a burglary when he enters a structure, a research facility, home or any building with the intent to commit a crime within that place. It is not necessary that a crime actually be committed, all that is necessary to prove burglary is that a defendant entered structure or dwelling where they should not have or where they did not have license to and had the intent to commit a crime outside of the crime of entering that structure unlawfully. This crime is graded as a second degree offense if the person who enters the dwelling uses force on another person in that dwelling by attempting to inflict bodily injury on that person or if they enter that structure or dwelling with explosives or any deadly weapon. Otherwise, burglaries are always charged as third degree offenses. A third degree charge carries a New Jersey state prison sentence of up to five years; a second degree offense carries a presumption of imprisonment between 5 and 10 years New Jersey state prison time. It is critical to obtain proper representation for charges of this nature. Burglary charges are prosecuted very seriously in New Jersey and can carry extremely serious penalties.