Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Re: Burglary Charge

Hello:

One could be arrested for burglary if caught in the situation you described. However, the State Attorney's Office decides the actual charges a person will be prosecuted for. Thus, after a case comes in, the State can file it as charged, change the charge, add charges, bump it down to a misdemeanor or drop all charges. In the above facts, if the person did not enter the building, it probably is not a burglary, but rather an attempted burglary. This is way less serious, but still a felony. If there was a fence around the perimeter of the premises, and it was passed through by the person who attempted to get into the building, the State may try to interpret that action as satsfying the elements of a burglary. I can't state a definite answer on that without researching the law on the subject. I doubt just passing through a fence would qualify as burglary...only entering a structure. 'Hope this helps. Tom Rosenblum