Maryland Montgomery County Dwelling Burglary Evidence Lawyers Attorneys

PATRICK G. MCKENZIE v. STATE OF MARYLAND

COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND

December 30, 2008, Filed

Apartment 14 is located within the rental complex known as Pepper Tree Farm, in Montgomery County, Maryland. On September 4, 2007, the day in question, no tenant currently resided in that apartment. The most recent tenant had vacated the apartment two weeks earlier, and a new tenant had signed a lease and was scheduled to move into the apartment on September 5, 2007.

Petitioner was discovered in apartment 14 on September 4 by Kevin Leftwood. He noticed that the bottom of the front door and the door frame near the lock were bent. Mr. Leftwood left the apartment and called 911. The police responded and in short order arrested all three men. Mr. Leftwood returned to apartment 14 and observed cigarette burns on the carpet, stains on the ceiling of the dining room, and burn marks on the dining room wall. Petitioner was charged with committing fourth degree burglary of a dwelling, fourth degree burglary of a storehouse, criminal trespass, and malicious destruction of property. The District Court of Maryland convicted him of fourth degree burglary of a dwelling and malicious destruction of property, and acquitted him of the remaining charges. Petitioner appealed the convictions and was tried de novo before a jury in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. The jury found Petitioner guilty of burglary and acquitted him of malicious destruction of property. The court later sentenced Petitioner to three years' incarceration, with all but one year suspended, and two years of probation. Petitioner filed a petition for writ of certiorari.

Issues:

Is an unfurnished, vacant apartment a "dwelling" within the meaning of Maryland Code, Ann., Criminal Law Art. 6-205(a) (2002)?

Was the evidence sufficient to convict Petitioner of fourth degree burglary where the evidence established that he broke and entered an unfurnished, vacant apartment, which, at the time of the breaking, was unoccupied?

The Court held that the rental apartments were designed and generally operated with the goal of continuous occupancy. Though there could be times when an apartment was not rented, there was the substantial likelihood that people would be returning to inhabit the rental unit at any given time, as in the case of a vacation home. Therefore, an unoccupied apartment that was between rentals, but was suitable for occupancy, was a "dwelling" for purpose of statutory burglary. To the extent that any of the case law developed in the Court of Special Appeals intimated to the contrary, it was overruled to that extent. Having decided that a vacant apartment, between rentals, is a dwelling for burglary purposes, it remains only for us to decide whether the evidence offered at Petitioner's trial was legally sufficient to sustain his conviction of fourth degree burglary of a dwelling. The test is whether, after viewing the evidence "in the light most favorable to the State, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Applying that test to the facts of this case an easy one, since it is undisputed that apartment 14 was between tenancies and suitable for occupancy, and Petitioner broke and entered it. Accordingly, we affirm the conviction.

Disclaimer:

These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm's unofficial views of the Justices' opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content

Maryland Montgomery County Dwelling Burglary Evidence Lawyers Attorneys

By: Atchuthan Sriskandarajah

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