Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
The law is seldom funny, yet here we are. Two women are being charged with felony burglary and battery after breaking into a man’s apartment and glitter bombing him during a dispute. Police say they have the altercation on video and at one point, one of the women threw the glitter can at the victim. Police later traced the women’s vehicle to their home. Police found evidence of glitter within the vehicle.
How Serious are These Charges?
The two women are facing life in prison in Florida, where the crime occurred. Why? Because they burglarized a home and committed battery at the same time. Burglary + Battery + Florida = Potential Life Sentence. Florida is not a great place to play around. The Florida police are not necessarily going to make a huge distinction between someone entering a home to rob it and someone entering a home to play a prank. No matter what happened here, whether it was a domestic argument turned upside down or just a drunk prank, the actual penalties they are facing are extremely severe.
Potential Defenses
While the police can charge you with anything they want, the charges have to pass through a number of barriers. Chances are good that these women will not face life imprisonment for this conduct. They will likely argue that they did not commit burglary because they were not entering the premises to commit a felony. While “battering” someone in their own home can be a felony, it is unlikely that glitter-bombing someone constitutes aggravated battery. In other words, the two ladies have been way overcharged even though technically the prosecution could make an argument that their conduct fits the statute. It is more unlikely that the burglary with battery statute was meant for those who entered residences to commit sexual assault, robbery, or other serious felonies.
The women will probably be charged with breaking and entering, simple battery, criminal mischief, and other crimes of that nature. Burglary can only be charged when you enter a residence for the purpose of committing a felony. Simple battery is not a felony, even in Florida. The police will need to establish that aggravated battery occurred on the property in order to get a life sentence, which would not be appropriate for the type of crime that was committed. Nonetheless, both women are in their late 20’s, so the law will not necessarily offer them a get-out-of-jail-free card. Home invasion and criminal mischief are both potential felonies under the law. If they do not receive jail time, they could be responsible for the clean-up damage to the apartment and any other monetary losses suffered by the victim.
Talk to a Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney
If you are going to glitter-bomb someone, you should not break into their home to do it. If you lie in wait on public property, that would only be considered a simple battery. When you break into someone’s home to commit the glitter offense, you could face a life sentence. Call David Freidberg today at (312) 560-7100 and we can begin preparing your defense immediately.
