Colorado Burglary Defense Lawyers

In Colorado, burglary encompasses a variety of situations in which a person trespasses onto another’s property with the intent to commit a crime other than the trespass itself.

First Degree Burglary, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-4-202

Three general elements must be proven in order to convict a person of first degree burglary: (1) he or she unlawfully enters or remains in a building or occupied structure; (2) he or she intends to commit a crime other than trespass; and (3) he or she either assaults a person, menaces a person, is armed with explosives, or is armed with a deadly weapon.

First degree burglary is a violent crime that presents an extraordinary risk to society, and as such, carries significant mandatory sentencing enhancements. Generally, first degree burglary is a class 3 felony that carries a minimum sentence of ten years of imprisonment and a maximum sentence of thirty-two years. However, if a first degree burglary involves a controlled substance within a pharmacy or other place having lawful possession of it, the burglary is a class 2 felony that carries a minimum sentence of sixteen years of imprisonment and a maximum sentence of forty-eight years.

Second Degree Burglary, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-4-203

A person commits second degree burglary if he or she unlawfully breaks an entrance into, enters, or remains in a building or occupied structure with the intent to commit a crime therein.

Second degree burglary is generally a class 4 felony that carries a presumptive minimum sentence of two years of imprisonment and a presumptive maximum sentence of six years. Under extraordinary aggravating circumstances, a court may impose a sentence of more than six years, and under extraordinary mitigating circumstances, a court may impose a sentence of less than two years.

A second degree burglary of a dwelling or a second degree burglary of a controlled substance from a building where it is lawfully kept is a class 3 felony that carries a presumptive minimum sentence of four years of imprisonment and a presumptive maximum sentence of twelve years. Under extraordinary aggravating circumstances, a court may impose a sentence of more than twelve years, and under extraordinary mitigating circumstances, a court may impose a sentence of less than four years.

Third Degree Burglary, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-4-204

A person commits third degree burglary if, with the intent to commit a crime, he or she enters or breaks into any vault, safe, cash register, coin vending machine, product dispenser, money depository, safety deposit box, coin telephone, coin box, or other apparatus or equipment whether or not coin operated.

Third degree burglary is generally a class 5 felony that carries a presumptive minimum sentence of one year of imprisonment and a presumptive maximum sentence of three years. Under extraordinary aggravating circumstances, a court may impose a sentence of more than three years, and under extraordinary mitigating circumstances, a court may impose a sentence of less than one year.

However, if the object of the third degree burglary is to steal a controlled substance from where it is lawfully kept, then it is a class 4 felony that carries a presumptive minimum sentence of two years of imprisonment and a presumptive maximum sentence of six years. Under extraordinary aggravating circumstances, a court may impose a sentence of more than six years, and under extraordinary mitigating circumstances, a court may impose a sentence of less than two years.