Property+Offenses

// List of Massachusetts state property offenses: // The highlighted ones are the most common.


 * Arson (G.L. c. 266, § 1)
 * Breaking and Entering (G.L. c. 266, § 16)
 * Burning Insured Property (G.L. c. 266, § 10)
 * Burning Personal Property, Motor Vehicle, etc. (G.L. c. 266, § 5)
 * Forgery (G.L. c. 267, §§ 1-8)
 * Possession of Burglarious Tools (G.L. c. 266, § 49)
 * Theft, Purchase, Receipt, Possession or Concealment of Stolen Motor Vehicle; Malicious Damage to Motor Vehicle; Stealing Parts from Motor Vehicle Taken Without Authority; Concealing Motor Vehicle Thief (G.L. c. 266, § 28)
 * Trespass (G.L. c. 266, § 120)
 * Uttering (G.L. c. 267, §§ 5-6)
 * Wanton Destruction of Property (G.L. c. 266, § 127)
 * Willful and Malicious Destruction of Property (G.L. c. 266, § 127)
 * Willful or Wanton Destruction of House of Worship, Cemetery or School (G.L. c. 266, § 127A)

Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266, the prosecution needs to prove that a defendant willfully and maliciously, burns or causes to be burned, aids, counsels or procures the burning of a building or dwelling.
 * __ Arson __** :

The penalties of arson depend on what type of building was being burned. If the building was a warehouse, church, court house, town house, college academy, office, lumber yard, ship vessel, bridge or building for public use, the penalties are less severe than arson of a person’s dwelling. The penalties for arson of a building are not more than 10 years in state prison, or not more than 2 ½ years in jail.

However, if the defendant is convicted of arson or burning a person’s dwelling, then the penalties are much higher. A person’s dwelling includes: apartment houses, tenement houses, hotels, boarding houses, dormitories, hospitals, institutions and sanatoria. The penalties for burning a person’s dwelling is not more than 20 years in state prison or not more than 2 ½ years in jail or not more than $10,000 fine.

**__Breaking and Entering__** Under Massachusetts General Laws, you can be charged with Breaking and Entering to boats, vessels, houses, and vehicles. These charges are differentiated based on the time of day or night when the event occurred and, more importantly, based on the intent of the person doing the entering.

__ Massachusetts Breaking and Entering Misdemeanor Penalties __ The penalty for breaking and entering to commit a misdemeanor is a lot less than for breaking in to commit a felony. For breaking and entering to commit a misdemeanor, the defendant could face not more than 6 months in jail and or not more than a $200 fine.

__ Massachusetts Breaking and Entering, Daytime Penalties __ The time of day the break in occurred also influences the amount of jail time the defendant could face. If the defendant is convicted of breaking and entering to commit a felony during the daytime, the defendant could face up to 10 years in state prison, or up to a $500 fine, or not more than 2 years in jail. If the defendant is armed with a weapon then the defendant faces not less than 5 years in state prison, or not more than 2 ½ years in jail.

__ Massachusetts Breaking and Entering Nighttime Penalties __ If the defendant is convicted of breaking and entering to commit a felony at night, the defendant can face up to 20 years in state prison, or not 2 ½ years in jail. Nighttime is defined as 1 hour after sunset and until 1 hour before sunrise.

Uttering false or forged records is the act of attempting to pass off the forgery in an attempt to defraud. It is a separate crime that carries a sentence of up to 2 years in jail, or 10 years in prison. ||  ||
 * __ Forgery __**
 * Forgery is the act of intentionally counterfeiting / forging a document, most often a check. If convicted of forgery, it carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison or 2 years in jail.

According to Massachusetts General Law, a charge of trespassing has the following penalties:
 * __ Trespassing __**
 * Trespassing may seem like a relatively minor criminal charge, but there can be unfortunate life consequences for anyone who ends up with a permanent criminal record. A criminal conviction will show up on a background check, and can limit your ability to get many different kinds of jobs. An experienced criminal attorney will help you fight these charges, and give you every opportunity to get the charges dismissed, or beat them at trial. A legal consultation is a wise choice for anyone faced with a criminal arrest and potential prosecution.
 * 30 days in jail
 * fine of up to $100,
 * both the fine and jail term.

4. Throughout the city of Boston vandalism on personal, coorprate, and city property is clearly visible. We can see this in defacing, even more specifically graffitti, although its a culture it is still a crime. This crime listed on a local log several years ago is a common result of these cases.

“Client, a 15 year-old high school student, confessed at the police station to committing extensive graffiti damage in his home town -- to his school and local businesses. Client's parents hire Attorney Yannetti to negotiate with the police and to represent Client at his clerk magistrate's hearing. Today, Attorney Yannetti convinces the clerk magistrate not to issue a complaint against Client, thus preserving his criminal record. Client only needs to make restitution and perform 14 hours of community service and the application for complaint will be dismissed. “ (“ [|__http://www.davidyannetti.com/PracticeAreas/Clerks-Hearings.asp__] )

5. a.) A woman's 30 year old son whom due to recent disputes has had a restraining order has revisited her property when she was not home. Although the door is locked and he has no means of entering. He finds a window open with a screen, he cuts through the screen and enters the house to retrieve some items he had left since the last visit. When she returns she sees the screen ripped and some items have been moved, she also sees her son leaving the property. b) It is a local holiday, in south boston some middle school students decided to attend the parade. They know a teacher lives close by and decided to do something. They go to a local supermarket and purchase toilet paper and eggs. They find the teachers residency and cover it in both items. The teacher is inside and can recognize some students but not all. c) Some teenagers on the town baseball team have their license. After beating another rival team they decided to drive around the losing teams town. A few of the players get the idea to take the bat and smash in the mailboxes of residence. They label it “mailbox baseball”, clever I know. Their license plate was taken by one of the angry victims, and the captain of the team who did this turned his teammates in.  6. If friends were around a fire and get into a fight. One of the persons involved is an owner of the house where they are and the other is a guest. When fighting the guest accidentally knocks over the holder for the fire resulting in arsenal damage. Could one the guest be held accountable?would find him guilty.

If a neighbor accidentally let a ball roll into the neighbors year and went to retrieve it, could they be charged as trespassing? Do you thing a judge would find him guilty. ||  ||