BURGLARY, ROBBERY, AND THEFT IN WASHINGTONBurglary is entry or remaining in a building without permission and with intent to commit a crime there. The typical example is entering a home or a business after hours and stealing something. That’s unlawful entry or remaining with intent to commit a crime.

Robbery is a crime that involves taking property from a person rather than from a building.

Theft is stealing something, and there are a multitude of ways to do that. For example, theft can be taking something from somebody. It can be taking something from a store. It can be taking something that doesn’t belong to you that was lost or not delivered to the correct place. If the bank deposits a $1,000,000 in your account by accident and you actually spend that money, that is theft even though you had nothing to do with stealing it. You’re not allowed to keep it if you know that it’s lost or delivered to the incorrect place.

For each crime, burglary, robbery or theft, there are levels. More significant ways or more serious ways exist to commit each of these crimes that involve more serious punishment.

There’s always differences in the law between crimes committed with and without weapons. Committing a burglary with a weapon raises it from a burglary in the second degree to a burglary in the first degree. The same is true for robbery.

There’s also a difference in levels of crime based on if you harmed an individual. So if you hit somebody or knock them down and take their money, that’s going to be a robbery in the second degree. If you crack them over the head with a baseball bat, that’s going to be robbery in the first degree. The specific actions related to the crime define the level of crime and the level of punishment that someone is likely to get.

What Are Potential Sentencing Guidelines for Burglary, Robbery And Theft Convictions in Washington?

There are too many possibilities to really provide specifics. For more information please refer to the site.

The way standard sentencing structure is set up in Washington State is with a two-access grid that is created by lawmakers. There are two variables, the vertical axis (up and down) on the grid is crime classification, or the seriousness of the crime. Each felony crime is categorized 1 through 16 (I to XVI), depending on the perceived seriousness by the lawmakers, with 1 a least offense and 16 a capital murder. The horizontal grid (left to right) is 0 to 9, and that is the criminal history of the defendant.

Your sentence depends on the assault classification (I to XVI) and the level of seriousness (0 to 9). For example, a 0 criminal history in a level IV offense, you’re going to have a standard sentence range of 3 to 9 months.

If you change the level of the offense, say you’re charged with assault one, which is an IX or X, even with a 0 criminal history, you are now in prison range because lawmakers have decided that level IX offenses are that serious. If you start out with a level IV offense, but you have a criminal history of 6 instead of zero, you’re again well within the prison range. If it is the same crime and the same offense with the same level of harm as the previous example, but you have a criminal history of 6 instead of 0, that changes your sentence on the current offense from 3 to 6 or 3 to 9 months in jail to several years in prison.

For more information on Burglary, Robbery & Theft Charges in Washington, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (206) 340-0990 today.