Published on 9/1/2026, 12:00:00 AM
What Is Burglary in Maryland?
What is burglary under Maryland law? The short answer is that burglary generally involves breaking and entering another person’s dwelling or storehouse, sometimes with the intent to commit a crime inside.
Maryland divides burglary into four degrees. The specific charge depends on factors such as the type of property involved, what the person allegedly intended to do, and whether a firearm was targeted. Maryland also recognizes home invasion as a separate felony involving entry into a dwelling with the intent to commit a crime of violence.
A person does not necessarily need to break a lock, smash a window, or complete the intended crime to face a burglary charge.
How Maryland Burglary Differs From Theft and Breaking and Entering
Burglary, theft, and breaking and entering describe related but distinct conduct.
Theft may be the intended crime underlying a burglary charge. However, the theft does not have to be completed. For example, first-degree burglary applies when someone breaks and enters another person’s dwelling with the intent to commit theft. The person’s intent at the time of entry is controlling.
If the intent to steal arose only after the person entered, the facts may not establish burglary based on an intent to commit theft. Completing a theft inside a building does not automatically prove that the person had that intent when entering.
“Breaking” also has a broader meaning than physically damaging property. It may include:
- Breaking a window
- Opening a closed but unlocked door
- Pushing a partially open door farther open
- Using force or threats to obtain entry
- Gaining entry through fraud or trickery
Entry generally occurs when any part of a person’s body enters the property. An instrument may also constitute entry when it is placed inside to commit the intended act, such as using an object to retrieve property.
Fourth-degree burglary shows why burglary is not always defined by an intent to commit another crime. Maryland law prohibits simply breaking and entering another person’s dwelling or storehouse under that degree.
Read more about Maryland breaking and entering charges.
Degrees of Burglary Under Maryland Law
First-Degree Burglary
Under Maryland Criminal Law Section 6-202, a person may not break and enter another person’s dwelling with the intent to commit theft.
First-degree burglary is a felony punishable by up to 20 years of imprisonment.
A dwelling is generally a structure where someone regularly sleeps. Its status does not depend solely on whether someone was sleeping there on the night in question. A temporarily vacant residence may remain a dwelling, and hotel or motel rooms may qualify as dwellings.
Home Invasion
Maryland’s home invasion law applies when a person breaks and enters another person’s dwelling with the intent to commit a crime of violence.
Home invasion is a felony punishable by up to 25 years of imprisonment.
The intended crime of violence does not have to be completed. The relevant question is whether the person had that intent when the breaking and entry occurred, or at the time of entry if the breaking and entry happened at different times.
Second-Degree Burglary
Second-degree burglary generally concerns a storehouse rather than a dwelling.
A person may not break and enter another person’s storehouse with the intent to commit:
- Theft
- A crime of violence
- Second-degree arson
This offense is a felony punishable by up to 15 years of imprisonment.
Maryland also prohibits breaking and entering a storehouse with the intent to steal, take, or carry away a firearm. That form of second-degree burglary is punishable by up to 20 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
The term “storehouse” covers more than a conventional retail store. It can include a building, watercraft, barn, stable, pier, storeroom, public building, trailer, aircraft, vessel, or railroad car.
Third-Degree Burglary
Third-degree burglary occurs when a person breaks and enters another person’s dwelling with the intent to commit a crime.
It is a felony punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment.
This provision is broader than first-degree burglary because the intended offense is not limited to theft. The prosecution must still establish that the required criminal intent existed at the relevant time.
Fourth-Degree Burglary
Fourth-degree burglary is a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years of imprisonment.
Maryland Criminal Law Section 6-205 prohibits several forms of conduct:
- Breaking and entering another person’s dwelling
- Breaking and entering another person’s storehouse
- Being in or on another person’s dwelling, storehouse, yard, garden, or related area with the intent to commit theft
- Possessing a burglar’s tool with the intent to use it, or allow it to be used, to commit burglary
A burglar’s tool may include a key, picklock, crowbar, prybar, jack, bit, explosive material, or device capable of burning through solid material. Possessing an ordinary tool is not enough by itself. The statute requires intent to use or permit its use in committing a burglary offense.
What Prosecutors Must Prove in a Burglary Case
The required elements depend on the degree charged. A burglary case may require evidence addressing:
- A breaking: This may be an actual breaking, such as opening a closed door, or a constructive breaking involving force, threats, fraud, or trickery.
- An entry: Entry can occur when part of the person’s body enters the property. Certain uses of an instrument may also qualify.
- The type of property: The charge may depend on whether the property was a dwelling or storehouse.
- Ownership or habitation rights: The dwelling or storehouse must be that “of another.” In the case of a dwelling, another person must have a greater right of habitation than the accused.
- The required intent: For first, second, and third-degree charges, the prosecution must establish the intent identified by the applicable statute.
- When the intent existed: The intended theft or other crime generally must have been contemplated at the time of the breaking and entry, or at entry if the two occurred at different times.
Burglary does not require proof that the intended theft, crime of violence, or other offense was successfully completed.
Possession of goods recently taken during a burglary may also be used as evidence. If the possession is exclusive and not reasonably explained, a factfinder may infer participation in the burglary. That inference is permitted, but it does not require a guilty finding.
Potential Penalties and Criminal Record Impact
Maryland burglary penalties depend on the charge:
- Home invasion: Felony, up to 25 years
- First-degree burglary: Felony, up to 20 years
- Second-degree burglary: Felony, up to 15 years
- Second-degree burglary involving intent to steal a firearm: Felony, up to 20 years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both
- Third-degree burglary: Felony, up to 10 years
- Fourth-degree burglary: Misdemeanor, up to three years
The degree determines whether the offense is classified as a felony or misdemeanor. First, second, and third-degree burglary are felonies. Fourth-degree burglary is a misdemeanor.
Anyone facing these penalties should discuss the particular charge and evidence with a Maryland criminal lawyer.
Common Defenses in Maryland Burglary Charges
The available defense depends on the facts and degree charged. Issues that may be disputed include:
No Breaking
There may be no breaking if the person entered through an opening that had not been created or enlarged and did not use force, threats, fraud, or trickery.
For example, Maryland authority has found no actual or constructive breaking where an occupant invited a person inside after the person knocked on the door.
Permission to Enter
Evidence of permission may challenge the breaking element. Having a key, however, does not necessarily establish permission to enter.
No Entry
The evidence may not establish that any part of the accused’s body entered the property. An object inserted solely to obtain access, such as a stick used to unlatch a door, may also be treated differently from an instrument inserted to carry out the intended crime.
Lack of Required Intent
The prosecution must establish the intent required for the charged degree. If the intent to commit theft or another crime developed only after entry, that timing may undermine the burglary allegation.
Property Did Not Meet the Required Definition
A case may turn on whether the property was legally a dwelling or storehouse. A structure generally becomes a dwelling when someone begins living there and regularly sleeps there. It may cease being a dwelling if its occupants leave permanently with no intention of returning.
Reasonable Explanation for Possessing Property
Recent possession of property taken in a burglary can support an inference of participation. A reasonable explanation for that possession may weaken the inference. Relevant circumstances include the kind of property, how the person obtained it, where it was found, and how much time passed after the burglary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Burglary Always a Felony in Maryland?
No. First, second, and third-degree burglary are felonies. Fourth-degree burglary is a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years of imprisonment.
What Is the Difference Between Burglary and Breaking and Entering?
Breaking and entering is an element of several Maryland burglary offenses. Some degrees also require proof that the person intended to commit theft, a crime of violence, arson, or another crime. Fourth-degree burglary can apply to breaking and entering a dwelling or storehouse without a separately stated intent to commit another crime.
Can Burglary Charges Be Reduced?
A reduced charge may be possible when the evidence does not establish every element of the higher degree. Maryland’s pattern jury instruction notes that a person charged with first-degree burglary may also be convicted of third or fourth-degree burglary. Whether a reduction is appropriate depends on the evidence and the applicable statutory elements.
Speak With a Maryland Burglary Defense Lawyer
A burglary allegation can expose someone to years of imprisonment. Small factual details, including how entry occurred and when an alleged intent developed, can affect the degree of the charge.
Contact the firm to discuss the allegations with a Maryland criminal lawyer. If the case involves allegedly stolen property, learn more from our Baltimore theft lawyer.
