Burglary of an unoccupied conveyance is a fancy term for "car burglary."
It means that somebody breaks into an unoccupied car with the intent of
committing a crime inside that car.
Some of the crimes committed inside a car may be
theft or criminal mischief. If you break into an occupied car, you may be looking
at life in prison for
burglary with an assault or battery.
For purposes of this entry, let's discuss the crime of burglary of
an unoccupied conveyance. This is a commonly charged crime. The usual
scenario is somebody comes outside their home, only to find their car
in the driveway with a window smashed. Something may be missing from inside
the car, such as a stereo or some other belongings. The person calls
police, and they search the car for physical evidence. They may find fingerprints
inside the car, or maybe a neighbor witnessed the event.
Burglary of a car is a serious crime, but for
first-time offenders,
Pretrial Intervention (PTI) may be available should the alleged victim agree. Of course,
restitution will likely be made a condition of PTI.
If the accused has a prior record, PTI will not be offered. The State may
even seek jail time.
As a
criminal defense attorney practicing in Miami-Dade and Broward, I make the State do its job on every
single case. That is, the State must present enough evidence in order
to be able to prove the accused guilty. A burglary with poor witnesses
and no physical evidence is a burglary worth fighting at
trial.
Call me today to discuss your burglary of an unoccupied conveyance charge.