Charged With Burglary After Sholifting from a Store, PC 459

[RCsnake]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: CA
hi, i am a 20 years old student in California. About two months ago i was caught shoplifting a 150dollar worth of headphones in a Target store. I regret it so much and i swear it will not happen again.
Cops were waiting for me outside the store and they brought me inside a small room where they investigated me. They also showed me a video camera where they recorded me stealing an earphone back in October.
When they searched my pockets and clothings, they found my wallet and i had a 20dollar cash and debit cards.
Then i was sent to jail for the night and the day after i was released and they gave me a court date. But on my booking paper, it says PC 459 Burglary.
I dont have a private lawyer because i am a student and i could not afford one.

1. I do not get why cops charged me with pc459 burglary. Is this what judge is going to charge me too? or is this separate?
2. The store was open and running when i was caught and i had cash and debit cards with me. Can i use this evidence to prove that it was not intentional and therefore not burglary?
3. When i go to the court, should i plead not guilty and ask for a public defender to prove my case?

thank you so much!

[Mr. Knowitall]

I can only make an educated guess, but my inference would be that based upon your pattern of theft and the items you stole they're inferring that you planned to steal when you entered the store.

Every person who enters any house, room, apartment, tenement, shop, warehouse, store, mill, barn, stable, outhouse or other building, tent, vessel, as defined in Section 21 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, floating home, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 18075.55 of the Health and Safety Code, railroad car, locked or sealed cargo container, whether or not mounted on a vehicle, trailer coach, as defined in Section 635 of the Vehicle Code, any house car, as defined in Section 362 of the Vehicle Code, inhabited camper, as defined in Section 243 of the Vehicle Code, vehicle as defined by the Vehicle Code, when the doors are locked, aircraft as defined by Section 21012 of the Public Utilities Code, or mine or any underground portion thereof, with intent to commit grand or petit larceny or any felony is guilty of burglary. As used in this chapter, "inhabited" means currently being used for dwelling purposes, whether occupied or not. A house, trailer, vessel designed for habitation, or portion of a building is currently being used for dwelling purposes if, at the time of the burglary, it was not occupied solely because a natural or other disaster caused the occupants to leave the premises.

The fact that you could have purchased the items that you stole does not change the fact that you stole them.

You should seek help from a lawyer to try to get the charge reduced, and to try to get an optimal outcome.

[Welfarelvr]

1. I do not get why cops charged me with pc459 burglary. Is this what judge is going to charge me too? or is this separate?
2. The store was open and running when i was caught and i had cash and debit cards with me. Can i use this evidence to prove that it was not intentional and therefore not burglary?
3. When i go to the court, should i plead not guilty and ask for a public defender to prove my case?

thank you so much!

The key point is what your intent was when you entered the store. As Mr. Knowitall said, one way might be proving a pattern of behavior. Another way might be anything you said to the police during the questioning. Yet another way is burglary implements like a bag brought into the store to conceal the item. No one can tell for sure.

I would always plead not guilty unless you and your attorney find a deal worth taking. I include your attorney as you should never plead without professional legal advice. If the only reason they claim a burglary is a pattern of behavior, then you have a real shot at beating the charge because there are a ton of arguments that can be made against the tape proving anything.

[flyingron]

Pretty good explanation here: http://www.shouselaw.com/blog/theft/...come-burglary/