Accidental Injury During Burglary in Indiana: Does Intent Matter?

Sometimes during the commission of a burglary, an innocent bystander may be accidentally injured. If you or a loved one is facing criminal charges for burglary, you might wonder whether this factor will affect the case or the charging. An experienced Indianapolis theft crime attorney from The Criminal Defense Team can review the charges and explain the potential penalties. You can learn more during a confidential consultation. 

What Is Intent? 

Before understanding how bodily injury affects burglary charges, it’s important to understand what we mean by the term “intent.” Intent is generally defined as a conscious objective to commit a particular act or bring about an illegal result. Intent is considered a form of mens rea, or the mental state that is required for some criminal convictions. This is in contrast to the actus reus, which is the physical act. 

For example, Indiana law states that “a person who breaks and enters the building or structure of another person with intent to commit a felony or theft in it, commits burglary, a Level 5 felony.” Under this law, breaking and entering a building or structure is the actus reus while the intent to commit a felony or theft there is the mens rea. The prosecution has to prove both that you broke and entered the building or structure and that you intended to commit a theft or felony in it.

When Burglary with Bodily Injury Is Charged

Indiana law states that burglary is “a Level 3 felony if it results in bodily injury to any person other than a defendant.” You can see from this definition that there is no intent or other mens rea requirement. Therefore, even if a person was accidentally injured, this crime could still be charged. 

Bodily injury is defined by Indiana law as “any impairment of physical condition, including physical pain.” Therefore, to secure a conviction, the prosecution would have to prove bodily injury to charge burglary as a Level 3 felony. 

Furthermore, Indiana law states that burglary is a Level 2 felony if it results in serious bodily injury injury to any person other than a defendant. Indiana law defines serious bodily injury as a bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes the loss of a fetus, unconsciousness, extreme pain, serious permanent disfigurement, or a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ.

When burglary is charged as a Level 2 or 3 felony, the potential consequences jump exponentially. A Level 3 felony conviction can result in up to 16 years’ imprisonment, while a Level 2 felony can result in up to 30 years’ imprisonment. 

Though the crime can be charged as a Level 2 or 3 felony if bodily injury or serious bodily injury occurs, your lawyer may bring up the fact that injury was accidental during sentencing. Also, if the injury was not significant, this could help result in a lighter sentence than when a serious injury occurred. 

Discuss Your Burglary Charge with a Qualified Criminal Defense Attorney 

If you are facing criminal charges involving a burglary that involves an accidental injury, a board-certified criminal trial specialist from The Criminal Defense Team will know how to best leverage this information. Contact our firm today by calling (317) 678-9853 and requesting a confidential consultation.