Cleveland Burglary Defense Attorneys

Levels of Burglary Charges in Ohio

Ohio’s burglary statute categorizes burglary charges based on the circumstances of the alleged offense. The levels determine potential penalties, but burglary is always a felony crime in the state. The levels also often have a big impact on how a defense strategy is developed. 

At Patituce & Associates, we are always ready to help with a burglary defense case involving any charge.

Fourth-Degree Felony Burglary

If you allegedly trespassed onto someone else’s residential property when someone else was or likely was to be there, but you did not intend to commit a criminal offense once there, you could be charged with fourth-degree felony burglary. 

In some contexts, this crime is described as criminal trespassing or unlawful entry, rather than a specific form of burglary. All the same, it is a felony and can carry severe penalties upon conviction, so such charges should be challenged whenever they occur.

Third-Degree Felony Burglary

Many burglary charges are filed as third-degree felonies, which occur when there is an allegation of unlawful entry into a structure or building with intent to commit a crime, but without additional factors that raise the severity of the charge.

Second-Degree Felony Burglary

Burglary rises to a second-degree felony when:

• The offender possesses a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance while committing the burglary (even if it is not used); or,
• The burglary is alleged to have occurred in a habitation (a place meant to be lived in, such as a home), and the offender attempts to harm, threatens to harm, or actually harms someone inside during the course of the burglary.

Aggravated Burglary (First-Degree Felony Burglary)

In Ohio, aggravated burglary — sometimes referred to as first-degree burglary — applies when burglary occurs under particularly serious circumstances that elevate the offense beyond the standard second-degree felony.

Under Ohio Revised Code § 2911.12(B), aggravated burglary can be charged when:

• The offender inflicts, attempts, or threatens to inflict physical harm on another person during the burglary; and
• At the time of the offense, either:
  • The offender possessed a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance; or
  • A victim was inside the structure, and the offender knew it.