Charge:
1st Degree Burglary and Trespassing
Result:
Burglary charge dismissed for lack of evidence, Client pled guilty to Trespassing.
Story:
While intoxicated, our Client was given the address of a residence where a party was being held and planned on attending. Upon arrival of what they thought was the correct address, our Client entered the porch area of the residence through the unlocked screen door and attempted to enter the home. Unfortunately, our Client had the wrong address, and what started as an honest mistake quickly worsened to the point that our Client was charged with 1st Degree Burglary. The people living at the home told our Client to leave several times, and due to the level of intoxication and inability to understand that no party was happening at the residence, our Client decided to remain in the porch area and waited there for his friends. The homeowners contacted police to have our Client removed from their property. When officers arrived our Client had difficulty understanding why they were there, or they were questioning his presence. Our Client made several vague statements to the police that led them to the conclusion that he was at the residence to purchase drugs. Because our Client had entered the property by opening the porch screen door, the police decided that the combination of his breaking and entering and attempted purchase of narcotics warranted a burglary charge against our Client. While normally this would be a laughable situation, our Client was facing harsh consequences and the Prosecutor was not interested in dismissing the burglary charge. After a Motion to Dismiss, Naros Law was able to demonstrate to the Court that the burglary charge was inappropriate and not supported by the evidence obtained by the police. The Court agreed, and our Client later pled guilty to the much lower charge of Trespassing.