Opinion ID: 1244110
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Conviction for Intent Alone

Text: Because of the breadth of the statutory definition of burglary tool, the defendant claims that the offense essentially omits the actus reus element of the crime. We disagree. The commission of a crime ordinarily requires concurrence of an unlawful act, actus reas, and a culpable mental state, mens rea. Hendershott v. People, 653 P.2d 385, 390 (Colo.1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1225, 103 S.Ct. 1232, 75 L.Ed.2d 466 (1983). The language of section 18-4-205 again refutes the defendant's contention that one can be convicted for burglarious intent alone. The prosecution must prove that the defendant possessed a burglary tool and had the burglarious intent, or knowledge of another's burglarious intent, to use the burglary tool. The statute cannot be read to permit or condone conviction on proof of intent without proof of the other element of the crime.