Michigan First Degree, Second Degree, & Third Degree Home Invasion Law Michigan Home Invasion Attorneys Home Invasion is the law that replaced common law Burglary in Michigan. There are varying degrees of Home Invasion. There is Home Invasion in the first degree, Home Invasion in the second degree, and Home Invasion in the third degree. Home Invasion in the first degree is the most serious of these charges, and results in the highest statutory penalties. Prosecutors routinely prosecute people charged with Michigan Home Invasion. If you are convicted of Home Invasion, you could end up in prison for a long time. To avoid this, you need a skilled and aggressive Michigan Criminal Defense Attorney with experience defending Home Invasion charges. At Kronzek & Cronkright, PLLC, we have many years of experience representing defendants who have been charged with Home Invasion.
Defending clients against Home Invasion Charges in Ann Arbor, Traverse City, Detroit, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and throughout Michigan.
What are “Breaking” and “Entering”?
Because Home Invasion relies on the historical principles of Breaking and Entering, it is helpful to define those terms. They are actually two separate things. Breaking means using any amount of force to break into a structure, building, container, or vehicle. This can include kicking down a door, using explosives to tear down a wall, or shattering a window. Opening a closed door or window, or even slightly opening one that is already partially open, is enough to qualify as breaking. In addition, fraudulent entry is a special type of breaking called a constructive breaking. An example of a constructive breaking is when the defendant gains entry into the structure by lying and saying he or she is a city inspector. Entering is the act that occurs after the breaking. Entering is when any portion of the intruder's body is placed inside the structure, though it is also considered entering if the intruder sends an object into the structure instead of his or her body. The entering can last for just a short time; for example, if the intruder places his or her foot or hand just inside the door for only one second before withdrawing it, an entering has occurred. There are other crimes besides Home Invasion that deal with breaking and entering into a structure. You can find out about those other crimes by reading our burglary content.
What is Home Invasion?
Home Invasion is broken down into three degrees, each with varying elements and punishments. All of the degrees of home invasion have one thing in common, which is, that the crime must involve the breaking or entering of a dwelling or related buildings. A dwelling is defined under Michigan law as a structure or shelter that is permanently or temporarily used as a place of abode, including attached structures such as garages or in-law suites. There are many defenses to Home Invasion charges available to clients with skilled trial attorneys. Kronzek & Cronkright's attorneys are leading the way as premier Michigan Home Invasion defense lawyers.
Home Invasion in the First Degree - MCL 750.110a (2)
First degree Home Invasion is a Michigan felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. This is the most serious of the Home Invasion crimes. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following three elements before a defendant can be found guilty of this crime:
(1) The defendant must either break and enter a dwelling –or– the defendant must enter the dwelling without permission.
(2) The defendant must have formed the intent to commit a larceny, felony, or assault by the time he or she entered the dwelling –or– the defendant must have actually committed one of those crimes while entering, present in, or exiting the dwelling, and
(3) The defendant must be armed with a dangerous weapon when entering, present in, or exiting the dwelling –or– while the crime is occurring, there is another person lawfully in the dwelling. A successful defense to any one of these elements by a skilled trial lawyer will result in a finding of not guilty.
Home Invasion in the Second Degree - MCL 750.110a (3)
Second degree Home Invasion is another Michigan felony and it is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $3,000, or both. Michigan Home Invasion in the second degree is similar to Michigan Home Invasion in the first degree, with the difference being that the third element (involvement of a dangerous weapon or someone lawfully inside the dwelling) need not be met. Therefore, a defendant can be found guilty of Second Degree Home Invasion in Michigan the prosecution can prove the following two elements:
(1) The defendant must either break and enter a dwelling –or– the defendant must enter a dwelling without permission.
(2) The defendant must have formed the intent to commit a larceny, felony, or assault by the time he entered the dwelling –or– the defendant must have actually committed one of those crimes while entering, present in, or exiting the dwelling.
If just one of these elements cannot be proven by the prosecutor, the defendant cannot be found guilty of Home Invasion in the second degree.
Home Invasion in the Third Degree - MCL 750.110a (4)
Third degree Home Invasion is also a Michigan felony, though it is the least serious of the Michigan Home Invasion crimes. It is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $2,000, or both. There are two elements the prosecution must prove in order to convict a defendant of Michigan Home Invasion in the third degree:
(1) The defendant must either break and enter a dwelling –or– the defendant must enter a dwelling without permission, and
(2) The defendant must have formed the intent to commit a misdemeanor by the time he entered the dwelling –or– the defendant must have actually committed a misdemeanor while entering, present in, or exiting the dwelling –or– while entering, present in, or exiting the dwelling, the defendant violates a probation term or condition, a parole term or condition, a personal protection order (PPO) term or condition, or a bond or bail condition, or any term of pretrial release.
Both of these elements must be met in order for the prosecutor to prove the defendant committed Michigan Home Invasion in the Third Degree.
For all degrees of Home Invasion, the timing is critical. In most cases, a court will look at the intent of the accused at the time he or she is breaking and entering into the structure. In order to be found guilty, the judge or jury must conclude that he or she intended to commit a larceny, felony, or assault once inside the structure. There can be any number of felonies being contemplated in this situation, such as a felony sex crime or felony drug crime.
I was charged with Home Invasion, but I wasn’t the person who went inside the house.
Generally, in order to be charged with Home Invasion in Michigan, you needed to have broken into and entered a dwelling or entered a dwelling without permission. So, what happens if a Home Invasion is committed as a group effort? Let’s say your friend was the one who actually broke into and entered the home, and you stayed in the getaway car. Or, maybe you stood in the home’s front yard being the “lookout.” You might think that you would be charged with a lesser crime since you did not actually go inside the home like your friend did. However, in Michigan, the law recognizes accomplice liability. This means that a person with any participation in a crime can be charged for the commission of that crime. Therefore, if you were just the getaway car driver or the lookout, you can still be charged with Home Invasion. The prosecutor would only need to prove that:
• a Home Invasion was committed by someone in your group,
• you performed acts or gave encouragement that assisted in the Home Invasion, and
• you intended for the Home Invasion to occur or knew that your friend intended to commit Home Invasion at the time you helped or encouraged him or her.
This accomplice liability principal applies to all Michigan crimes. However, in the hands of a skilled defense attorney, there are many factual and legal defenses available for people accused of Home Invasion as accomplices.
Michigan Home Invasion Defense Attorneys
As you can see, a Home Invasion conviction could land you in prison for years. Fortunately, at Kronzek & Cronkright, we are highly skilled in defending Home Invasion cases in Michigan. We offer a free consultation so that you will be able to see for yourself how ur experienced criminal defense attorneys will work on your behalf even before you hire us. Our attorneys are standing by 24 hours each day waiting for you to give us a call. Our phone number is (866) 7-NoJail!
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Lansing Home Invasion - Lansing Area residents are seeing a rise in home invasions.
Contact us today about your Home Invasion matter: 1-866-766-5245
The law firm of Kronzek & Cronkright practices criminal defense throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. They will represent clients from all over the state including Lansing, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Mount Pleasant, Bay City, Saginaw, Traverse City, Ludington, Allegan, Hillsdale, Lapeer, Port Huron, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Farmington Hills, Flint, Livonia, Warren, Bay City and Dearborn. If you are in need of a criminal defense attorney, call us today at 1-866-7NoJail, or e-mail us!
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