If you are charged with a crime in New Jersey, you need to work with an attorney who is well versed in strategizing a defense. Some crimes offer more serious penalties than others, which is why you need to make sure you have an experienced legal advocate on your side.
For example, if you have been charged with burglary in Egg Harbor Township, NJ, you have been charged with one of the most serious crimes. Definitively, the crime involves unlawfully breaking and entering into a building. This is done with the intent to either commit a larceny or felony.
Specific Types of Burglary
In New Jersey, you are charged with burglary if you enter a structure at an unauthorized time, remain in a building when you do not have permission to stay in the structure, or trespass on the property of a utility.
Second and Third Degree Charges
If you commit burglary, the crime is considered a third-degree crime. For this charge, you can face as many as five years in prison and pay a $15,000 fine. The crime escalates in severity to a second-degree crime if you do the following:
• Knowingly threaten or try to inflict bodily injury to a person in a building.
• Enter a facility with what appears to be a gun or explosive.
People who are found guilty of the crime in the second degree face as much as 10 years in prison and are assessed a fine as high as $150,000. Therefore, threatening the occupant of a building while committing a burglary can quickly change the nature of the crime from third to second degree.
As you can see, it pays to know someone who understands what is involved in this type of defense. That is why you should contact an experienced firm, such as those in The Law Office of Mark D. Kargman, Esquire. Know your rights and plan your defense with a competent legal professional – someone who will help you fully exercise your rights and create a reasonable defense. Like us on Facebook.
