Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Yes, you can be charged with Residential Burglary and grand theft. The Criminal Justice System is NOT ABOUT TRUTH....its about BELIEVABILITY. I would seriously advice you to contact an attorney NOW. As a Former Deputy D.A, our office has been able to stop cases that, we believe, would be filed, but for our intervention. Do not speak to Law Enforcement. I wish you well..... David Wallin

The fact a case can be a civil matter HAS NOTHING to do with can criminal charges be filed. And if you wnt free advice from attorneys who charge hundreds of dollars an hour for their time, don't use "hey". Pretend you are a criminal facing jail, say, A BURGLAR, and you get lucky enough to speak for free to knowledgeable and highly paid attorneys.

Use punctuation, like capitalization, and manners.

You need an attorney. Stop talking to the Police. California Penal Code section 459 defines burglary as entering into a structure with the intent to commit a crime therein. You do not have to intend to commit a crime you just have to intend to remove items and if you intended to that when you entered into the structure you will have a problem. So STOP talking to the police and get an attorney.

In California there are degrees of burglary. First degree burglary is generally charged when someone is accused of residential burglary. Second degree burglary is generally charged when someone is accused of commercial burglary. Residential burglary is generally a felony and considered more serious because the structure that has been entered is where someone lives. Commercial burglary is generally a place of work.

Burglary is a "wobbler" and It can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor. The facts as you have provided describe a "residential burglary."

In this situation it would behoove you to hire an attorney early and have them get pro-active in working with the District Attorney's office so they can prevent it from becoming a bigger problem. Unfortunately, the situation you have describe can easily happen and happens more often than you might think, especially when roommate situations and girl friend situations get complicated. If your looking for an attorney, give us a call.

Good luck

Yes, you can be charged with burglary. Anyone can be charged with anything. Convicting you is another matter. You already made one mistake. You talked to the police. If they had evidence to convict you they would not have spoken to you. They only speak to you to get evidence against you. Whatever you say can and will be twisted in such a way as to hurt you. Don't make any more mistakes. DO NOT talk to them again and get yourself a lawyer.

CAN they criminally charge you? Of course. They will if they think they can convict you. Your opinion does not matter to the police or DA.

When threatened, arrested or charged with any crime, �what can you do�? Hire an attorney, unless you know how to effectively represent yourself in court against a professional prosecutor intending to convict. No amount of free 'tips and hints' from here or anywhere else are going to effectively help you in your defense, other than the advice [if not already too late] to exercise the 5th Amendment RIGHT to SHUT UP and do NOT talk to police or ANYONE about the details of the case except through an attorney. That includes on this or any other web site or public forum. Most police and prosecutors will happily tell you that 95% of people convict themselves by trying to be 'helpful and cooperative', either during initial contact, questioning, interview or interrogation.

If serious about hiring counsel to help in this, and if this is in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me.