Opinion ID: 1113569
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Burglary of an Inhabited Dwelling: Weight of Evidence

Text: Count I of Bogard's multi-count indictment charged the defendant with violating the provisions of Miss. Code Ann. § 97-17-23, which defines the crime of burglary during the night of an inhabited dwelling while armed with a deadly weapon. This statute requires proof that the dwelling house was occupied at the time of entry. The maximum penalty prescribed for the offense is imprisonment for not more than twenty-five (25) years. Bogard's conviction of armed burglary of an inhabited dwelling was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence because the witnesses for the State all testified that Bogard was already hiding inside the house at the time they entered. Essential to a valid conviction for armed burglary of an inhabited dwelling is proof that the dwelling house was occupied by some human being at the time of the burglar's entry. Newburn v. State, 205 So.2d 260, 267 (Miss. 1967). No evidence was presented in this case from which a jury could find that Bogard entered the dwelling house at the time it was occupied by any human being. This point was specifically raised as ground three (3) in Bogard's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. In ruling on this matter, the circuit judge found that the evidence was sufficient to support a finding of guilty of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling house. The court reasoned that since Bogard had been indicted as an habitual offender pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-83 his sentence (life imprisonment without the benefit of parole) would have been the same. Accordingly, the judge concluded that the grade of burglary was inconsequential in this case. The court deemed any error absolutely harmless because the lesser crime of burglary would have resulted in the same sentence as the enhanced crime of burglary of an inhabited dwelling. The grade of the offense, however, could take on added significance in a post-conviction environment should it become necessary, for some reason unforeseen, to resentence Bogard under the provisions of Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-81. By virtue of Miss. Code Ann. § 97-17-19, the maximum penalty for burglary of an uninhabited dwelling is ten (10) years as opposed to twenty-five (25) years under § 97-17-23 for armed burglary of an inhabited dwelling during the night. The jury, by its verdict, necessarily found Bogard guilty of burglary of a dwelling house, and the proof clearly supports a conviction for the lesser included offense of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling. A jury verdict may be affirmed as to guilt but the case remanded for resentencing when the proof is not sufficient to sustain a conviction for the crime charged but is sufficient to sustain a conviction for a lesser included offense. Biles v. State, 338 So.2d 1004, 1005 (Miss. 1976). See also Anderson v. State, 290 So.2d 628, 629 (Miss. 1974). We, therefore, decline Bogard's invitation to reverse and render; rather, we affirm Bogard's conviction of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling house and remand for resentencing under Miss. Code Ann. § 97-17-19 and § 99-19-83.