Dear Jon:

Please help! I made a big mistake, which I admit. However, I think I was charged with the wrong thing. I have been with my boyfriend for several years now and sometimes things get out of hand between us. Whenever we have one of our fights, my boyfriend always takes off for a few days and I don't hear from him. Usually he takes the car which he bought, but we both use. It drives me crazy when I don't know where his is and when he takes the car, I am left without transportation.

After our most recent fight, he took off, but without the car. I know I shouldn't have done this, but when I found that he had left the car, I removed the battery. The next day he came home and tried to use the car. When he discovered that the battery was missing he called the police. When the police came, they arrested me for burglary! How can this be a burglary? I thought I had to break into someone's house for a burglary. My friends all say that it should just be a theft. What do you think?

--Auto-less in Andersonville

Dear Auto-less:

Well, I think that the next time you feel the need to play Mr. Goodwrench with your boyfriend's car, you should consider just hiding the keys or taking a taxi.

Seriously, your misconception regarding burglary is a common one, but the burglary statute in Illinois is quite clear. A person commits burglary when without authority he knowingly enters a building, housetrailor, boat, aircraft, motor vehicle or railroad car with the intent to commit a theft.

You may ask how lifting the hood and removing the battery can constitute an "entry," but again the Illinois law is quite clear. The statute, after listing the structures which can constitute the subject of a burglary goes on to say "or any part thereof," which means that you do not have to actually enter the passenger compartment of the car.

The courts have ruled the engine compartment of a motor vehicle is an integral part of a car, and intrusion of the whole body in not required. And I have personally handled hundreds of cases where the defendant broke into the trunk of a car, or simply removed the wheels.

To further illustrate this point, I should tell about a recent case where the defendant was convicted of burglary for reaching into the open bed of a pick-up truck and taking a sledgehammer. At trial, the defendant argued that an "entry" to an open bed of a pick-up truck does not constitute a burglary. The Appellate Court disagreed and stated that "an unauthorized, knowing entry in to the bed of a pick-up truck with the intent to steal something therefrom is an act properly characterized and chargeable as burglary."

You should also be aware that just because certain facts may lend themselves to the appropriateness of a given charge, it does not necessarily follow that the prosecution will be successful in sustaining a conviction. In any burglary or theft case the prosecution must also show that the defendant acted "without authority." To meet the burden of proof on this element, the prosecution is required to produce what we call an "ownership and lack of consent witness." In your case, that would be your boyfriend. So although he owns the car, the fact that you use it regularly, with his permission, may provide a defense to the "consent" element of the charge.

--Jon

If you have a question for Jon you can either e-mail to JonFErik@aol.com or call his law offices at 773-875-4646.

**This column is not legal advice and no legal opinion is provided. This column is intended for entertainment and information only.**