San Diego Burglary and Theft Charges

Penal codes for burglary

211. Robbery is the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear. 212. The fear mentioned in Section 211 may be either: 1. The fear of an unlawful injury to the person or property of the person robbed, or of any relative of his or member of his family; or, 2. The fear of an immediate and unlawful injury to the person or property of anyone in the company of the person robbed at the time of the robbery.

212.5. (a) Every robbery of any person who is performing his or her duties as an operator of any bus, taxicab, cable car, streetcar, trackless trolley, or other vehicle, including a vehicle operated on stationary rails or on a track or rail suspended in the air, and used for the transportation of persons for hire, every robbery of any passenger which is perpetrated on any of these vehicles, and every robbery which is perpetrated in an inhabited dwelling house, a vessel as defined in Section 21 of the Harbors and Navigation Code which is inhabited and designed for habitation, an inhabited floating home as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 18075.55 of the Health and Safety Code, a trailer coach as defined in the Vehicle Code which is inhabited, or the inhabited portion of any other building is robbery of the first degree. (b) Every robbery of any person while using an automated teller machine or immediately after the person has used an automated teller machine and is in the vicinity of the automated teller machine is robbery of the first degree. (c) All kinds of robbery other than those listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) are of the second degree.

213. (a) Robbery is punishable as follows: (1) Robbery of the first degree is punishable as follows: (A) If the defendant, voluntarily acting in concert with two or more other persons, commits the robbery within an inhabited dwelling house, a vessel as defined in Section 21 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, which is inhabited and designed for habitation, an inhabited floating home as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 18075.55 of the Health and Safety Code, a trailer coach as defined in the Vehicle Code, which is inhabited, or the inhabited portion of any other building, by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or nine years. (B) In all cases other than that specified in subparagraph (A), by imprisonment in the state prison for three, four, or six years. (2) Robbery of the second degree is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or five years. (b) Notwithstanding Section 664, attempted robbery in violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison.

214. Every person who goes upon or boards any railroad train, car or engine, with the intention of robbing any passenger or other person on such train, car or engine, of any personal property thereon in the possession or care or under the control of any such passenger or other person, or who interferes in any manner with any switch, rail, sleeper, viaduct, culvert, embankment, structure or appliance pertaining to or connected with any railroad, or places any dynamite or other explosive substance or material upon or near the track of any railroad, or who sets fire to any railroad bridge or trestle, or who shows, masks, extinguishes or alters any light or other signal, or exhibits or compels any other person to exhibit any false light or signal, or who stops any such train, car or engine, or slackens the speed thereof, or who compels or attempts to compel any person in charge or control thereof to stop any such train, car or engine, or slacken the speed thereof, with the intention of robbing any passenger or other person on such train, car or engine, of any personal property thereon in the possession or charge or under the control of any such passenger or other person, is guilty of a felony.

San Diego Misdemeanor Charges

A general definition of a misdemeanor charge

Criminal codes penalize a variety of activities. Generally, an offense is any violation of the California Penal Code. The Penal Code divides offenses into three major categories: felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions. Felonies are crimes for which a person may be sentenced to imprisonment in the state prison or to death. Misdemeanors are lesser crimes for which a person may be sentenced to imprisonment in a jail. Infractions are not punished by imprisonment at all, and include such offenses as trespassing on land with a vehicle, being under 21 years of age and possessing alcohol, and disturbing the peace. Children under the age of 14 are not capable of committing crimes according to California law, unless the prosecutor presents clear proof that the child had knowledge of the wrongfulness of his or her action.

Under the Penal Code, misdemeanors range from driving on private land without the owner’s consent to fraudulently avoiding the payment of a railroad fare to paying birth parents to adopt their child. Under the law, many crimes are misdemeanors on the first offense, but become felonies on the second offense. This means that, for example, the crime of indecent exposure is a misdemeanor the first time a person is convicted. The second or subsequent offense of indecent exposure is charged as a felony. Similarly, using a telecommunication device to avoid payment of telecommunication charges is a misdemeanor for the first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses.

As mentioned, misdemeanors usually carry a maximum punishment of a fine and less than one year of incarceration. Crimes for which a person may be punished by more than one year in jail or in prison are categorized in California as felonies.