Theft | Burglary| Robbery
Everyone makes mistakes. Financial difficulties, health setbacks, and life circumstances often make people desperate. Difficult situations can lead them to make spur of the moment decisions they later regret. In criminal cases, what seemed like a short-term solution often results in long-term consequences. Under Texas law, burglary, robbery, and theft are distinct crimes that involve taking property from an individual or business without permission.
Burglary involves entering a private home or closed public building uninvited with the intention of committing a theft or assault. In Texas, breaking into a vehicle or coin-operated machine with the intent to steal also constitutes burglary.
It does not matter if the theft never actually took place. The law merely requires that the individual intended to commit the theft or assault. Because proving intent is often difficult for the prosecution to accomplish, I frequently assist clients in reducing charges, negotiating plea bargains, or achieving a complete dismissal of the case.
Robbery is similar to burglary, except robbery involves using or threatening force to steal. This covers a variety of criminal activities, including bank robbery, mugging, and carjacking. Additionally, a related charge known as “aggravated burglary” is a burglary committed with a deadly weapon or one that causes the victim serious physical harm. Whereas simple burglary is prosecuted as a second degree felony, aggravated burglary is punishable as a first degree felony.
