Denver Burglary Lawyer

A burglary charge in Colorado carries consequences that extend far beyond the courtroom. We are talking about felony convictions, years in prison, and a criminal record that follows a person into every job application, housing search, and professional licensing review for the rest of their life. If you are reading this, someone you care about or you yourself has been accused of entering a building or structure with criminal intent. What happens in the next few weeks matters enormously. Reid DeChant is a Denver burglary lawyer who has defended these cases from early investigation through trial, and he understands what prosecutors look for and where their cases can fall apart.

How Colorado Defines Burglary and Why the Distinctions Matter

Colorado divides burglary into three degrees, and the tier determines everything about how aggressively a case will be prosecuted and what sentence the defendant faces if convicted.

First degree burglary is the most serious. It requires that the defendant unlawfully entered or remained in a building and either was armed with explosives or a deadly weapon, or assaulted or menaced someone inside. This is a class 3 felony, which carries a presumptive sentencing range of four to twelve years in the Colorado Department of Corrections, with an aggravated range going higher depending on circumstances.

Second degree burglary is more commonly charged. Under Colorado law, a person commits second degree burglary when they knowingly break and enter, or enter unlawfully and remain, in any building or occupied structure with the intent to commit a crime inside. Whether it is classified as a class 3 or class 4 felony depends on what type of structure was involved. Breaking into a dwelling, meaning a place where people live, bumps the charge up to a class 3 felony. A non-residential building is typically a class 4.

Third degree burglary involves breaking into a vault, safe, ATM, coin-operated machine, or similar container. It is a class 5 felony, which is the lower end of the spectrum, but still carries real prison exposure and a permanent felony record.

What makes these distinctions so consequential is that the facts of an arrest rarely fit neatly into one category. Prosecutors have discretion to charge at the highest plausible level. Defense counsel has the opportunity to contest whether the facts actually support that level of charging, and to negotiate based on what the evidence actually shows.

What Prosecutors Actually Have to Prove in These Cases

Every burglary charge rests on specific elements, and any one of them is a potential pressure point in a defense strategy.

The unlawful entry element sounds straightforward, but it is often contested. If the defendant had permission to be in a location, or had a reasonable belief they had permission, the unlawful entry element is not met. In cases involving shared residences, workplaces, or ongoing disputes over access, this becomes a genuine factual issue.

The criminal intent element is perhaps the most important. Colorado law requires that the defendant had the intent to commit a crime at the time of entry, not afterward. This is almost always a circumstantial inference. No one walks into a building with a sign announcing their intentions. Prosecutors typically argue intent from surrounding circumstances: tools found on the defendant, statements made, pattern of behavior, or what was taken or attempted. That same circumstantial chain can often be challenged or reframed.

Evidence collection and handling matters too. In residential burglary investigations, Denver police and detectives from surrounding jurisdictions often rely on fingerprint analysis, DNA evidence, surveillance footage, and cell phone location data. Each of those evidence types has its own set of challenges. Surveillance footage can be misidentified or show ambiguous conduct. Cell phone location data has significant margin of error. Fingerprint matches depend on the quality of the latent print recovered, and many courts have seen expert testimony contested successfully on that basis.

Denver’s Geography and Where Burglary Charges Arise

Denver courts handle a substantial volume of burglary cases each year, and the types of cases cluster in certain parts of the metro. Residential break-ins in Capitol Hill, Stapleton, and Aurora generate a large share of second degree burglary charges filed in Denver District Court and Arapahoe County. Commercial burglaries, including after-hours break-ins in RiNo, Five Points, and along Colfax Avenue, appear regularly in the Denver DA’s docket.

Jefferson County, Adams County, and Douglas County each have their own prosecution offices, and their charging tendencies and plea practices differ in ways that matter to anyone facing a case. Reid has worked across these jurisdictions and knows how local prosecutors approach these files. That familiarity with how different DA’s offices evaluate evidence and resolve cases is a practical advantage, not an abstract one.

Cases arising from Denver International Airport, where cargo theft and related burglary charges sometimes appear, involve federal jurisdiction questions that add another layer of complexity entirely.

Questions People Ask About Burglary Charges in Colorado

Can I be charged with burglary if I never stole anything?

Yes. Colorado’s burglary statute does not require that any theft actually occurred. The crime is complete at the point of unlawful entry with intent. If prosecutors can demonstrate that you intended to commit a crime when you entered, the charge holds even if you were stopped before anything happened or decided not to go through with it.

What is the difference between burglary and trespassing in Colorado?

The distinction is intent. Trespassing involves unlawful entry without the specific intent to commit a crime inside. Burglary adds that criminal intent element. In practice, trespassing is typically a misdemeanor, while even the lowest-level burglary charge is a felony. Defense counsel sometimes has the ability to argue that the facts support trespassing rather than burglary, which can be an important negotiating position.

Will I go to prison for a first-time burglary offense?

It depends heavily on the degree of the charge, the specific facts, the defendant’s criminal history, and how the defense is handled. Class 4 felonies involving non-residential structures and a defendant with no prior record sometimes resolve without incarceration through deferred judgment or probation. Class 3 felonies, particularly those involving homes or any aggravating factor, carry substantial prison exposure and require serious defense work at every stage.

How does a burglary conviction affect my record?

In Colorado, felony convictions have wide-reaching collateral consequences. Background checks for employment, housing, and professional licensing will reflect the conviction. Some occupational licenses cannot be obtained with a felony record. Immigration consequences can be severe for non-citizens, including potential deportation or bars to naturalization. Record sealing is available for some convictions after significant waiting periods, but a felony conviction is one of the more difficult items to seal.

Can burglary charges be reduced to a lesser offense?

Reduction is possible in some cases, though it is never guaranteed. Where the evidence of entry is contested, or where the facts do not clearly support the intent element, there is often room to negotiate. A charge reduced from a class 3 to a class 4 felony, or from felony burglary to criminal trespass, represents a significant difference in terms of sentencing exposure and long-term record consequences.

What should I do if police want to question me about a burglary?

Speak with an attorney before speaking to police. This applies whether you are being formally interrogated or just contacted for an informal conversation. Statements made to investigators are routinely used to fill gaps in an otherwise thin case. The right to remain silent exists precisely for situations like this, and invoking it is not an admission of anything.

Does it matter if I am only accused and not yet charged?

Yes. The investigation stage is often the most important phase for defense. Evidence gets preserved or lost, witness memories set in, and prosecutors build their theories before an indictment is ever filed. Having legal counsel during an investigation can affect how a case is eventually charged, or whether it is charged at all.

Talk to a Denver Burglary Defense Attorney About Your Case

Felony charges demand more than general competence. They demand someone who has stood in courtrooms, cross-examined witnesses, and argued cases where the outcome genuinely mattered. Reid DeChant built his career as a public defender handling everything from traffic matters to homicides, then carried that courtroom experience into private practice at DeChant Law. For someone facing burglary charges in Denver or the surrounding counties, a Denver burglary defense attorney who has that foundation behind them is not a luxury. Contact DeChant Law to discuss what happened, what the evidence looks like, and what a realistic defense strategy could mean for your outcome.