Opinion ID: 1664716
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Offense of Residential Burglary

Text: A person commits residential burglary if he enters or remains unlawfully in a residential occupiable structure of another person with the purpose of committing in the residential occupiable structure any offense punishable by imprisonment. Ark. Code Ann. § 5-39-201(a)(1) (Repl.2006 & Supp.2007). To enter or remain unlawfully means to enter or remain in or upon premises when not licensed or privileged to enter or remain in or upon the premises. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-39-101(2)(A) (Repl.2006). Defense counsel argued at trial that Bill could not be guilty of burglary because he entered the trailer lawfully, as he was invited by Steve, and because, at the time of entrance, he did not intend to commit any crime. According to the testimony of Bill and Leslie, the circumstances necessitating the stabbing and the taking of property developed only after they entered lawfully. We have overturned a burglary conviction where the defendant developed the intent to commit an offense punishable by imprisonment only after entering onto the premises. See Hickerson v. State, 282 Ark. 217, 667 S.W.2d 654 (1984). In Hickerson , the defendant entered a home through an unlocked door and did not carry a firearm. Id. According to the victim, a twelve-year-old girl, he spoke with her for some time before drawing a gun, taking her to his car, driving away, and raping her. [2] Id. We held that, because there was no evidence that the defendant carried a firearm at the time he entered the residence, the defendant lacked the intent to commit a felony at the time of entrance. Id. Therefore, he could not be guilty of burglary. Id. The Hickerson case is distinguishable from the one at bar. In Hickerson , we stated that, if the jury had found that the defendant carried a firearm, there would be substantial evidence that Hickerson intended to commit a felony when he entered the house. Id. at 221, 667 S.W.2d at 656. In the instant case, the testimony indicated that Bill carried the knife made from a railroad spike with him on the night of the homicide. The jury could have inferred from this evidence the intent to commit a felony at the time of entrance. Furthermore, the residential-burglary statute clearly contemplates situations where the defendant enters lawfully but remains unlawfully. See Ark.Code Ann. § 5-39-201(a)(1). As the circuit court indicated, although Bill may have been licensed or privileged to enter the trailer, he was certainly not licensed or privileged to remain there after he began stabbing the owner and removing his property. For these reasons, we conclude that substantial evidence supports the residential-burglary conviction.