A New Jersey man, who is selling his townhouse, found two teenagers asleep on the unoccupied floor. The teens were ultimately charged with burglary, criminal mischief, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
On Saturday morning, the homeowner was checking on his unoccupied townhouse and found more than just empty bowls of porridge. However, Goldie Locks was not present; rather, a 17 year-old male and 15 year-old female were found in the unit. Apparently the teens broke a sliding glass door to gain entry into the premises. Once the homeowner saw the sleeping teens, he immediately called the police who issued citations to both teens for burglary, criminal mischief, and possession of drug paraphernalia. It is estimated that the sliding door will cost $2,000 to repair. The teenagers' names were not released since both are under the age of 18.
New Jersey Criminal Lawyer Blog's Take: This unique version of the three bears probably has some scratching their head as to why the teens were charged with burglary if they did not "steal" anything. There is a common misconception that burglary implies theft. In fact burglary only requires the breaking and entering into the dwelling of another with the intent to commit a felony therein. Thus, even though the teens broke into the townhouse and were asleep they were found with drug paraphernalia. This explains how New Jersey police charged the teens with burglary.
An additional fact about burglary is that it has its roots in English common law, which required the act to take place at night and in the residential dwelling of another. These laws have modified in most jurisdictions to allow for the breaking and entering at any time of the day and in any type of building whether they be residential homes or commercial offices.
