Many people store confidential documents, cash, jewelry, and other valuable items in safes or vaults, making these encasements targets for thieves. The type of theft offense that happens when you break into a party’s vault is the burglary of a safe or vault. It is unauthorized entry into someone’s safe to deny the owner the contents inside permanently.

Allegations of this offense can attract severe penalties upon sentencing, including jail time, court fines, and a dented reputation. Therefore, when apprehended, do not be quick to enter a guilty plea without understanding the law prescribing the offense and your options. At the California Criminal Lawyer Group in Fresno, we understand the statute defining various burglary types and how to defend them. We have expounded on the burglarizing of a vault below.

Burglarizing a Safe or Vault at a Glance

Per PEN 464, any party with the motive to engage in crime that accesses a building or structure, occupied or not, and opens or tries to open a vault is guilty of safe or vault burglary. The means used to open the safe include:

  • Acetylene torch.
  • Burning bar.
  • Concrete or other solid substances.
  • Electric arc.
  • Oxygen lance.
  • Any other tool that can open and burn through steel.
  • Nitroglycerine use.
  • Gunpowder.
  • Dynamite.
  • Other explosives.

A guilty verdict for the offense attracts no more than seven years of prison incarceration.

The Crime’s Elements

PEN 464 violation elements are the case’s facts, which the prosecutor should prove beyond moral certainty to secure a guilty verdict. The DA must dissect and evaluate these facts to increase the chances of a successful prosecution. Because after apprehension for PEN 464 violation, you will attract these criminal charges, it is essential to comprehend that for the court to issue a guilty verdict, the DA must demonstrate all the crime’s facts.

The DA partners with investigating officers and eyewitnesses to provide convincing details in the trial. If the proof is irresistible and demonstrates beyond moral certainty that you committed a PC 464 violation, you will attract various sentencing options depending on the nature of your crime.

Equally, when the DA fails to attain the evidentiary standard in these criminal cases, the court will mitigate your sentence or acquit you. Therefore, having a competent criminal lawyer on your side is critical to questioning the DA’s assertions through counterarguments.

The case’s facts that the DA should prove are:

You Accessed a Structure or Premise

The first critical fact or element of the case that the DA must demonstrate is that you entered a building. The conduct of accessing or entering indicates trespassing or unauthorized entry, possibly to engage in criminal activity.

The DA should obey several guidelines when showing the aspect of entry into a building for the court to deem it illegal. They do not have to prove that the structure was inhabited or not at the time of entry or whether you accessed it during the day or night. It is not the same as burglary, which punishes access to an unoccupied structure differently from an uninhabited one. The prosecutor's primary proof is that you entered or tried to enter a structure.

Furthermore, the DA must emphasize the fashion in which you entered the building. They can present evidence that you slipped into the structure with other individuals with legal admittance or broke in by picking a rock or breaking a window.

The DA's evidence to back up these assertions includes surveillance footage from the scene that captures your face entering the premises. However, if you wore a face mask, it would become difficult for the DA to identify you in the footage, allowing your lawyer to contest the evidence and have the court remove it.

Moreover, the time you entered the structure is irrelevant to the case. Whether during the day or night, your charges for burglarizing a vault will remain constant.

You Possess a Specific Intent to Participate in Criminal Activity

Another fact the DA should prove is that you had the motive to participate in a crime after entering the building. It must be clear that you planned to burglarize a vault. While demonstrating criminal motives is straightforward, the DA should thoroughly explain the facts. If they cannot prove criminal intent, you will not face the penalties associated with a conviction for burglarizing a vault.

The DA depends on the events before and after entering the premises to prove criminal intent. It indicates a criminal motive if no one knew you were in the structure or scanned it first to ensure no one else was present. Under the circumstances, the prosecutor will argue that you knowingly avoided being noticed because of your criminal motives.

Besides, if you snuck or slipped into the building to avoid attracting attention, logically, it is sufficient to conclude you had illegal intent. Also, if you make use of physical violence by immobilizing or tying up someone who sees you attempting to access the vault, it indicates criminal intent.

Witness testimony can also be used as proof of criminal intent. If you force a witness to show you where the safe is or coerce them into opening it, the prosecutor will have adequate evidence to show intent.

Possession of tools to open safes, like explosives, dynamite, and electric arcs, also shows intent to break into a vault. The police report will have information on tools in your possession during the arrest.

You Opened or Endeavored to Open a Vault

The DA must also demonstrate that you opened, tried to open, or broke into a vault. You will be guilty even when the attempt to open the safe was unsuccessful, which is why an attempt to burglarize a safe also amounts to a PEN 464 violation.

For the DA to prove this fact of the crime, they must gather legal proof to show you were actively involved and were present during the unlawful vault opening or attempted opening. Without the evidence that puts you at the scene, another party could have engaged in the offenses, making you innocent, as there is reasonable doubt that you participated in the crime.

The DA partners with the criminal forensic unit to analyze physical proof like fingerprints and hair sacs that could help put you at the scene. If the team finds your DNA at the scene, overwhelming evidence will show you were present or involved in the safe burglary.

Surveillance video showing you leaving the vault room can indicate an attempted opening or breaking into a safe. However, the DA must produce photos of the damage to the safe to prove that you opened it or tried to break into it.

You Utilized Torches or Explosives to Access the Vault

The final fact of the crime that the DA should demonstrate to the jury is that you used acetylene torches or explosives for the vault opening. Most of these tools are only accessible to authorized parties alone, so apart from showing you possess them, you must explain how they found their way into your hands. If you did not use any of these tools to open the vault and instead guessed the right vault combination, your legal representative will argue that you did not utilize any of these tools; hence, you are innocent.

Burglary Classification

PEN 456 to PEN 464 prescribe burglary laws. The laws classify burglary as first-degree or second-degree. Burglary that happens on residential premises falls under the first-degree category, while the one that occurs on business premises is second-degree. First-degree burglaries attract more punitive penalties than second–degree ones because the prosecutor files the charges as felonies. Second-degree burglary is a wobbler, allowing the prosecutor to charge it as a felony or misdemeanor, depending on the case’s circumstances.

Residences for purposes of this statute refer to inhabited sections of a building, hotel, or motel room. An occupied trailer coach, a room within a home, a boat, or a floating house all qualify as residences. The structure you enter to commit a theft crime must be occupied for the criminal act to be deemed burglary.

Therefore, burglarizing a vault installed on a residential property amounts to first-degree burglary. When the burglarizing of a vault happens on commercial premises, then it qualifies as second-degree.

Arrest Process for Burglarizing a Vault

Typically, police are quick to respond to burglary incidents. If you fit the suspect’s description, they will not hesitate to apprehend you for safe burglary, a felony offense. In other cases, they investigate the burglary, gather and analyze evidence, and cross-examine witnesses before arresting you.

The arrest can happen minutes or hours after the crime. If you knew the police were coming after you and hid, the apprehension procedure can take days or weeks. After apprehension, you will be placed in custody pending arraignment. Contact a criminal lawyer immediately if you hear of a pending arrest or have been apprehended for vault burglary. At the California Criminal Lawyer Group in Fresno, we can help you fight the charges to prevent a guilty verdict and harsh penalties. However, we will arrange for a pre-trial release to give us ample time to investigate the case, gather evidence, discuss facts, and formulate legal defenses to contest the accusations. 

The California Constitution’s Section 24 Article 1 provides you, as a defendant, the right to a private attorney or public defendant. Also, you are allowed a speedy and public trial. You should understand these rights to ensure the arrest is legal and that a violation did not happen.

Court Process

The court process for criminal cases, including a PEN 464 violation, is complex. After arrest, the police present you in court for the arraignment proceeding. The judge sometimes rules on bail in this proceeding. After arraignment, the case moves to a pre-trial hearing, motions proceeding, and trial. The entire process can take months to resolve. The steps that will follow after apprehension for the burglary of a vault are:

  1. Court Arraignment

According to PEN 825, you should be presented before the judge for arraignment 48 hours after the arrest. The court will read your charges and ask you to enter an innocent, guilty, or no contest. The court also decides your bail and sets the date for the subsequent proceeding.

  1. The Pre-trial Stage

After arraignment, the judge schedules a pre-trial proceeding to assess the case’s progress. If the case has emerging issues or challenges, the court addresses them at this stage. Your lawyer is also accorded the chance to prepare defenses in the proceeding.

  1. Motions Proceedings

At this stage, the court allows parties to present motions after establishing the count you face. The judge can resolve the case or progress to trial if the opposing parties have not settled the matter.

  1. Trial Proceeding

You can choose a bench or jury trial if the charges reach the trial stage. In a bench trial, the judge listens to the opposing sides and issues a verdict. On the other hand, a jury trial is where jury members decide on your case based on the evidence presented.

Penalties for Burglarizing a Vault

The penalties for a conviction for vault burglary are severe because prosecutors charge the offense as a felony. If they successfully prove all the case’s facts and the jury issues a verdict against you, you risk criminal penalties. The penalties are:

  • 36, 60, or 84 months of prison incarceration.
  • Court monetary fines of no more than $10,000.
  • Felony or formal probation.

The judge can impose formal probation instead of prison incarceration to help with rehabilitation. Nevertheless, even though the program is more lenient than serving time in prison, it comes with strict conditions that you must obey. Violating these conditions will result in probation cancellation and reinstating the initial standard penalties for the offense.

The probation lasts thirty-six to sixty months, making it challenging to comply with the release conditions for this long. Also, a probation officer (PO) will monitor you throughout the duration and ensure to adhere to the court requirements. The law requires that you report to the PO periodically to track your treatment progress.

The felony probation conditions that you must comply with are:

  • Mandatory counseling sessions.
  • Community service.
  • Victim restitution.
  • Random narcotic tests.
  • Obeying the law throughout the probationary period.

Vault burglary is a crime of moral turpitude, meaning that a guilty verdict can result in inadmissibility or removal from the United States. Besides, your permanent residency or citizenship application could be revoked. Therefore, if you are an alien, you should take extra care in handling your case because your stay or admissibility in the country hinges on the court’s verdict.

Valid Defenses for Vault Burglary Counts

Usually, the DA will use every tactic they have to secure a guilty verdict. This makes your criminal lawyer an integral part of the trial because they must counter the prosecutor’s assertions. The defenses your legal representative will use to contest the charges are:

You had No Plans to participate in a Crime During your Entry into a Building

The DA pursues your case when they have sufficient proof to demonstrate that your actions to burglarize a vault were intentional. You will be guilty if, when you accessed the building, your motive was to participate in a crime once inside. Even if you attempted to break into the safe, that would only be sufficient to convict you if you had the specific intent to commit a crime after entering the structure. Many arrests happen before the crime is committed, meaning that the DA relies on circumstantial evidence to demonstrate this fact.

An experienced lawyer will counter the prosecutor’s assertions by claiming that you did not go to the building planning to burglarize a vault. This is because circumstantial proof is usually inadequate to substantiate vault burglary claims. If the DA cannot confirm their case, you can negotiate through a plea deal to lower the offense to burglary tool possession under PEN 466.

Mistaken Identity

It is not uncommon for innocent citizens to be arrested and charged with vault burglary. If you did not commit the crime, your lawyer can claim that you were misidentified or that the charges against you are false. The prosecutor will agree to reduce the count or dismiss the case if the proof is misleading.

Law Enforcement Misconduct

The police can infringe on your constitutional rights during apprehension or evidence gathering. They can compel you to confess to the vault burglary or illegally search your property for explosives or other tools to burglarize a vault. Law enforcement can also plant or engineer evidence to implicate you. If your lawyer has evidence of misconduct, they can file a Pitchess motion.

The motion allows the court to investigate the conduct of an investigating officer and find out if they have a history of police misconduct or complaints of misconduct. If the misconduct allegations are substantiated, you can impeach the credibility of their testimony, leaving the prosecutor with weak or no evidence to secure a guilty verdict.

Offenses Related to a PEN 464 Violations

Even when your defense lawyer manages to defeat the charges for vault burglary, you still risk conviction because the prosecutor can charge you with another crime related to burglarizing a vault. These offenses that the DA can charge you alongside, or instead of, a PEN 464 violation are:

  1. California Trespass

Per PEN 602, you are deemed trespassing when you enter or remain on an individual’s property without their permission. The prosecutor can agree to reduce your burglary of a vault offense to trespassing, which the prosecutor can charge as an infraction or misdemeanor. If you threaten the owner or party occupying a property during trespassing, you risk aggravated battery charges under PC 601. The aggravated battery is a wobbler. When charged with a felony and found guilty, you risk spending at most 36 months in prison.

The penalties for a misdemeanor trespass are at most six months of jail incarceration and a court fine of no more than $1,000.

  1. Burglary Tools Possession

California has statutes that prohibit the possession of particular tools with the ability or modification to force entry into a building or vault. These tools are only accessible to authorized persons, and having them without authorization demonstrates the intent to use them for burglary or trespass. Many states have statutes that list all burglary tools. PEN 466 criminalizes the possession of the following burglary tools:

  • Screwdrivers.
  • Explosives.
  • Bolt cutters.
  • Crowbars.
  • Ceramic spark plus.

If you were charged with burglarizing a property after arrest because you possessed tools used to open vaults, you could argue that you did not intend to commit a crime. If your evidence on the assertion is convincing, the prosecutor can agree to lower your PC 464 violation charges to burglary tools possession prescribed under PEN 466, which is a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor guilty verdict will result in at most half a year in jail.

  1. Having Destructive Devices

PEN 18710 criminalizes the carrying of destructive devices like grenades, explosive missiles, or bombs. The prosecutor can charge the offense alongside a PC 464 violation. When apprehended for having these tools and charged with burglarizing a vault, you can negotiate the charges to be reduced to a PEN 1871 if the prosecutor cannot demonstrate specific intent. Having these destructive devices alone is sufficient to obtain a guilty verdict.

Destructive device possession is a wobbler. A misdemeanor guilty verdict will attract at most twelve months in jail and no more than $1,000 in court financial fines. A felony sentence draws 16, 24, or 36 months of prison incarceration and at most $10,000.

  1. California Robbery

Per PC 211, robbery is the forceful taking of someone’s property from their immediate presence and against their will through physical force, threats, or intimidation. If your actions to rob an individual were driven by motive, you risk both robbery and burglary of a vault charges. The prosecutor files a robbery charge as a felony punishable by, at most, nine years of prison incarceration.

Find a Reputable Criminal Defense Group Near Me

Burglarizing a vault is a severe felony that attracts life-changing penalties upon conviction. Therefore, when you face the charges, talk to a competent lawyer to evaluate the case and advise accordingly. At the California Criminal Lawyer Group in Fresno, we are committed to crafting the appropriate defenses to prevent a guilty verdict. Call us at 559-712-8377 for a no-obligation consultation.