Home Invasion in Maryland: A Few Things to Know

Home invasion in Maryland is deemed a form of burglary. However, instead of breaking and entering for the purpose of theft, with the crime of home invasion, there is an intent to commit a violent crime. Thus, to obtain a conviction, four criminal legal elements must be proven — beyond a reasonable doubt — by the prosecuting attorneys. These are:

• Breaking
• Entering
• Into a “structure” of another person — a home, apartment, etc.
• Intent — if the intent is to steal something, then the crime is burglary; if the intent is to commit a crime of violence (like rape), then the crime is home invasion

The crime of home invasion is a felony. If convicted of home invasion, the potential prison term is 25 years. See MD Crim. Code, § 6-202.

Note that, in Maryland, there are no additional elements. That is, intent is the key element, and the crime does not require any follow-through or commission of a crime of violence.

All Crimes Will Be Charged

With crimes like home invasion, it is standard procedure for Maryland prosecutors to charge as many crimes as warranted by the facts. Thus, if a crime of violence is committed or attempted, charges will be filed with respect to that crime (or those crimes if multiple crimes of violence were committed). If weapons were involved, then weapons charges will be filed. Further, there are numerous burglary-related crimes that can be charged depending on the facts. For example, it is a crime to have “burglary tools” with an intent to use them. “Burglary tools” are very broadly defined as anything that would assist in breaking a lock or breaking into a structure. Thus, hammers, common screwdrivers, or crowbars could be considered “burglary tools.”

Methods of Proving “Intent”

Typically, “intent” is shown by what happened in the circumstances. The law says that a person generally intends to do what a person does. So, if there was a crime of violence committed (or attempted), that is good evidence there was an intent to commit a crime of violence. The other main method of proving intent is to introduce evidence of what the person said before, during, or after the events of the alleged crime.

Potential Criminal Defenses

Since intent is a key element, potential criminal defenses should focus on that element. Depending on the facts, it might be possible to convince the jury that there was no intent to commit a crime of violence. Rather, the intent was to steal. That will still result in a conviction for burglary, but the potential jail time is much less. Other potential criminal defenses include:

• Alibi
• Mistake
• Authorization
• There was no evidence of “breaking into”
• Procedural errors by the police
• Constitutional violations
• And more

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer at (301) 705-5137. We are Waldorf, MD, Criminal Defense lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.