California Burglary Law and After-Acquired Intent
Stated in Penal Code 459, California burglary law makes it a crime to enter a structure with the intent to commit petty theft or any felony inside. A person need not actually commit the theft or felony. Merely entering with the requisite intent makes a burglary complete.
The central issue in many Penal Code 459 prosecutions is when the person acquired the intent. If s/he decided to commit the theft or felony only after entering the structure, this is not a burglary.
Take an example. Marge walks into a Target store, planning to steal some batteries. As long as she intended to steal the items at or before the moment she crossed through the entry doors, she committed a burglary. Even if she changes her mind once inside the store, and elects not to steal the batteries, she still committed a burglary once she entered with the criminal intent.
Now, suppose Marge enters the Target not planning to steal anything. But once inside, it occurs to her to steal some batteries. She conceals them in her purse and exits without paying. In this example, Marge committed a petty theft. But she did not commit burglary...because at the time she entered the structure, she had not yet formed the requisite criminal intent.
Many times a prosecutor will "tack on" a burglary charge to a standard petty theft case such as the example above. But it can be a challenge for the state to prove (beyond a reasonable doubt) exactly when the defendant formed the criminal intent. Was it like example one or example two above? Short of a confession from the suspect, how do we know?
Police and prosecutors look for "circumstantial evidence" of planning. For example, did the defendant enter the store with empty shopping bags...ostensibly to be used for carrying away stolen merchandise? And did she enter shopping for expensive goods, without bringing along cash or a means to pay for them?
Again, short of a confession, these charges are often difficult for the state to prove. The prosecution bears the burden of proving when the criminal intent arose. Any reasonable doubt as to that issue makes the defendant "not guilty" of the burglary charge.
