An auto burglary offense occurs when you enter a locked vehicle or its trunk to steal the vehicle or the property or commit a felony offense while inside. It is a severe offense that can result in jail or prison time and significant penalties if convicted. In most cases, auto burglary is charged as a wobbler offense in California. It means that, based on the circumstances of your case, the district attorney can charge you with a felony or a misdemeanor. If you are facing auto burglary charges today, it is crucial to understand the gravity of your charges. A skilled criminal lawyer can assist you in understanding the likely penalties if you are found guilty and how to fight your charges during the trial.

What Leads to Penalties in an Auto Burglary Case?

Penalties for any criminal offense are imposed during sentencing after the jury finds you guilty of your charges. Before that, the district attorney must prove beyond a reasonable doubt all elements of this offense. You can also use your criminal lawyer to present evidence and arguments. The jury will find you guilty if the prosecution has more compelling proof against you. Here are the elements of this offense that your case must satisfy for the judge to render a guilty verdict:

  • That you entered a locked car.
  • You did it to steal the vehicle or something valuable inside it or to commit a felony.

Under Penal Code 459, auto burglary is a subset of the general crime of burglary.

Note: The simple act of breaking into another person's locked vehicle is not considered auto burglary; this is a separate offense known as a car break-in. A car break-in offense will be prosecuted as auto burglary if your intent while breaking into someone else's vehicle is to commit theft or any other felony offense while inside the vehicle.

Here are the offense's components in greater detail:

Locked Vehicle

When you enter another person's locked vehicle or trunk to commit a crime, you commit an auto burglary offense. The most important requirement here is that the vehicle is locked. To access the vehicle's interior, you must either modify its condition or break into it. The fact that the vehicle doors were locked during the offense is significant under this statute. This law applies if you face accusations of stealing something from a vehicle's trunk after the owner has locked it.

Here are some options for how you could have finished the crime:

  • Breaking a locked vehicle’s window to access its lock.
  • Reaching through a locked vehicle’s open window to steal something in the back seat.
  • Using a device like a screwdriver to pick a locked vehicle’s door to steal it.

Entering The Vehicle

You must also have entered a locked vehicle to steal or commit a felony. Entering a vehicle means using any body part to access a locked vehicle under this law. What matters is that you were inside the vehicle at some point. You could also use an object you can control to access someone else's locked vehicle. To be guilty under this statute, you do not need to have entered the vehicle with your entire body.

For example, reaching for something through an open or broken window in a vehicle is considered entering the vehicle.

The Intent

Auto burglary is an intent offense; you are not guilty unless you have it. In this case, the intent is to steal another person's vehicle or something inside it or to commit a felony crime inside the vehicle. Here are some felony offenses you could commit after breaking into someone else's locked vehicle:

  • Grand theft auto, or stealing the car mentioned above.
  • Grand theft or the theft of something valuable from within a vehicle. The item’s value must be greater than $950.
  • Kidnapping if you intend to take a child left inside a locked vehicle.

You are not guilty of auto burglary if you only entered someone else's locked vehicle without intending to commit a felony. However, based on the circumstances of your case, you could face charges under another law.

Note: Auto burglary does not require the commission of a felony offense. What is important is your intent to commit a felony. If your arrest happened before completing the crime, the district attorney can still prove their case and obtain a guilty verdict.

The Penalties for Auto Burglary Conviction

Auto burglary is a second-degree offense. As a second-degree crime, it is a less severe form of burglary. This also makes it a wobbler offense. It means that based on the circumstances of your case and your criminal record, the prosecutor can charge you with a felony or a misdemeanor. If you are guilty of auto burglary, you could face the following penalties:

Jail or Prison Sentence

A criminal conviction will almost always result in incarceration. It means you must be behind bars in a county jail or state prison. The basis of the judge's decision is the facts of your case. For example, a misdemeanor conviction for auto burglary can result in a year in jail, whereas a felony conviction can result in 16 months, two years, or three years in state prison.

Prison and jail sentences are harsh penalties because they separate you from your family, friends, and community for an extended period. They also separate you from your job, business, and life as you know it. That separation has severe consequences for your life in a variety of ways.

Serving prison time will harm your physical, mental, and psychological health. You can no longer take care of yourself as you would if you were free. Some people experience significant stress and mental anguish, which can lead to depression and impact their lives even after serving their sentence.

Incarceration increases your chances of recidivism or a proclivity to reoffend. Most people who have previously served jail or prison time commit crimes for the second or subsequent time. It also worsens your disdain for authority, primarily if your complaints are not heard fairly.

Above all, being incarcerated causes problems with your family. Your life as a family member does not return to normal after the conviction. You could lose meaningful relationships due to your conviction, which can be challenging to reestablish after serving your sentence.

That is why, with the assistance of their lawyers, defendants fight to avoid a conviction and its consequences. If the evidence against you is overwhelming, your skilled criminal lawyer can also assist you in obtaining a plea bargain. You would then serve your entire sentence outside of jail or prison. That way, even if the court finds you guilty of your charges, you will not lose much.

Misdemeanor or Felony Probation

Probation is an alternative to incarceration. The judge can sentence you to misdemeanor probation if you are convicted of a misdemeanor under auto burglary laws. If you are convicted of a felony under auto burglary laws, the judge can sentence you to felony probation. Probation enables a convicted person to serve all or part of their sentence in their community under supervision.

Misdemeanor probation is for less severe offenses. As a result, the judge can sentence you to probation rather than jail. Your probation period could last anywhere from one to three years. During this time, you will receive instructions and guidelines from the court on how to behave in the community. The judge will impose probation conditions you must follow throughout your probation period. You must not break any of those rules. Otherwise, the judge could revoke your probation and send you to jail for the statutory period for your offense.

Probation for a felony offense can last up to five years. Based on the circumstances of your case, the judge can sentence you to probation for the entirety of your jail/prison time, or he can penalize you for serving some of your time behind bars and the remainder on probation. You will also receive probation conditions to which you must adhere for the duration of your probation. A probation officer will also monitor you. If you violate the terms of your probation, the judge can revoke it and send you to jail/prison for the entire time recommended by law for your offense.

Following an auto burglary conviction, you could face the following probation conditions:

  • To provide the court periodic updates on your progress and performance during misdemeanor probation.
  • Cooperate with the probation officer and provide them with periodic updates on your progress on felony probation.
  • While on probation, you are not permitted to commit any crime or face arrest for any offense.
  • To volunteer in the community.
  • You must pay all court fines and restitution(if it applies to your case).
  • Go for counseling or drug or alcohol treatment if you need it.

If you violate any probation condition, the judge will hold a probation violation hearing to determine the reason for your actions and the consequences. Following that hearing, the judge can make the following decisions about your case:

  • Continue probation under the same terms and conditions but with a stern warning against further violation.
  • Continue probation but under new and stricter probation conditions.
  • Cancel probation and send you to jail/prison for the period recommended under the law.

Loss of Gun Rights

Adults own or purchase firearms for a variety of reasons. The primary one is for self-defense. Because crime rates are high, purchasing or possessing a firearm is necessary, but it requires a license. A gun makes you feel safe at home, work, or walking down the street. If you enjoy hunting, you will also need a firearm. Adults in California, fortunately, can quickly obtain a license to purchase or possess a gun. However, under certain conditions, like a felony conviction, you could lose your gun rights.

The law prohibits certain people from purchasing or possessing firearms. Among them are convicted felons. If your conviction is for a felony charge under the auto burglary laws, you will be a felon. You will then lose your gun rights, either temporarily or permanently. Based on the facts of your case. If you own a firearm, you must surrender it to the police following your conviction.

Serious Immigration Consequences

A conviction for auto burglary could jeopardize your immigration status if you are an immigrant. Offenses that could affect your immigration status are commonly called crimes of moral turpitude. They include crimes based on dishonesty, base, depraved behavior, or vile behavior that would shock a reasonable person. Burglary is a moral turpitude crime in most cases, but not always. If your actions meet the requirements of these crimes, you could face serious immigration consequences, like deportation or being declared inadmissible in the United States.

Auto burglary can be classified as a crime of moral turpitude if the district attorney can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime you intended to commit while inside someone else's vehicle was a moral turpitude crime. Arson, burglary, robbery, theft/larceny, and voluntary manslaughter are crimes of moral turpitude.

A conviction for a crime of moral turpitude can result in the loss of a professional license or certification and lead to impeachment and severe immigration consequences.

Penalties for Auto Burglary as a Strike Offense

Remember that auto burglary is typically prosecuted as a wobbler offense, which is a second-degree burglary offense. If you break into and enter an inhabited vehicle, like an RV or trailer coach, the district attorney can charge you with first-degree burglary. An inhabited vehicle is one in which someone or people live. If you enter a locked, occupied vehicle intending to steal or commit a felony offense, you will face charges for first-degree burglary. If you are convicted, your prison sentence will increase from two to six years. You will have also committed a strike violation under the three-strikes law.

The three-strikes law is a sentencing guideline that increases your sentence based on the number of strikes in your criminal record. The first strike has no bearing on your conviction; however, if you receive a second or third strike, you will face a harsher punishment than the law allows for the underlying offense. For example, if your second strike is auto burglary, your sentence will be double what the law provides for auto burglary. If this is your third strike, you could face a prison sentence ranging from 25 years to life.

A Damaging Criminal Record

A damaging criminal record is a severe consequence of a criminal conviction, even though it is not one of the criminal penalties for auto burglary. Even after you have served all your penalties, a criminal record will follow you and affect your life in various ways. After serving your jail/prison and probation sentences, your conviction record does not automatically disappear. It will remain until a court expunges it. Before that, anyone conducting a background check on you will be aware of your conviction and will be able to treat you accordingly.

Ex-convicts with a blemished criminal record find it difficult to restart their lives after serving their sentences. It could affect how easily you can find a suitable neighborhood. Prospective tenants are subjected to background checks by landlords. Most of them are unwilling to rent to someone with a criminal record. As a result, you are forced to live wherever you can find shelter quickly.

Before hiring, prospective employers will also conduct background checks. If they learn about your criminal record, they can hesitate to hire you, regardless of your qualifications. As a result, you are forced to take any job to restart your life.

An adverse criminal history will also influence how you make friends. Many people are hesitant to make friends with ex-convicts. You also lose a lot of friends and family as a result of your conviction. It becomes challenging to pick up your relationship where you left it after serving jail time.

However, with the assistance of your criminal defense attorney, you can correct this by requesting the court to expunge your criminal record. Expungement removes all negative consequences and disabilities associated with a criminal conviction. An expunged record is not available to the public. As a result, anyone conducting a background check on you will not discover your conviction. You must only reveal your convictions when applying for a government position.

Find an Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer Near Me

The penalties for auto burglary are severe, with consequences affecting many aspects of your life, including your career and social life. However, you can avoid a conviction and its implications if you vigorously defend yourself against your charges. A skilled criminal lawyer in San Jose will be aware of the best defense strategies to employ in your case to persuade the court to reduce or dismiss your charges. Let the California Criminal Lawyer Group accompany you on this difficult journey. We provide high-quality, dependable legal advice and support to ensure that you start your legal journey on the right foot. We will only stop once you receive a favorable outcome for your situation. Call us at 408-622-0204 to learn how much more we can do for you.