Burglary Versus Robbery: How California Draws the Line

California separates burglary from robbery by one fact: whether anyone was confronted. Burglary is entering a place intending to steal, complete the moment you step inside. Robbery is taking property from a person by force or fear.

That line decides whether a charge can be a misdemeanor at all, and whether a conviction counts as a strike. We handle both at the Law Offices of William Bruzzo, where our work as your Orange County Criminal Defense Lawyer often starts with the label. Treat this as background, not legal advice on your case.

What California Counts as Burglary

Burglary in California is an entry offense, not a theft offense. Under Penal Code Section 459, it means entering a structure intending to commit larceny or any felony. The offense is complete at entry, so nothing has to be taken and no one has to be home. Covered places run from houses and shops to warehouses, tents, vessels, and a vehicle when its doors are locked.

The degree is set by Section 460. Entry into an inhabited dwelling, vessel, floating home, or the inhabited portion of any other building is first degree burglary, and everything else is second degree. Under Section 461, first degree carries two, four, or six years in state prison, while second degree is a wobbler.

What Makes a Case a Robbery Instead?

Robbery in California requires a person on the other end of the act. It is defined by Penal Code Section 211 as the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from that person or their immediate presence, against their will, by force or fear.

Timing matters more than most people expect. Force or fear used to keep property or to get away can support a robbery charge, which is how a shoplifting allegation ends up filed as something far worse. Robbery becomes first degree under Section 212.5 in an inhabited dwelling, against a transit operator or passenger, or against someone using an ATM. The terms appear in Section 213: three, four, or six years for first degree, two, three, or five for second.

Why the Label Changes the Stakes

The charge on the complaint carries consequences in California that outlast any sentence:

• Robbery is a felony in every case. There is no misdemeanor version.
• Robbery is a serious felony under Penal Code Section 1192.7(c)(19), so a conviction counts as a strike.
• First degree burglary is a serious felony under Section 1192.7(c)(18), and it is also a strike.
• Second degree burglary is a wobbler, chargeable as a misdemeanor or a felony under Section 461(b).
• Shoplifting stays a misdemeanor under Section 459.5 where the value does not exceed $950, with narrow exceptions, and the same property cannot also support a burglary charge.

Proposition 36 added Section 666.1 in December 2024, under which petty theft or shoplifting may be charged as a felony where a person has two or more qualifying prior theft-related convictions. It did not move the $950 line.

Where Orange County Handles These Cases

Orange County arraigns these cases at the justice center serving the city where the incident occurred, though the charging decision belongs to the district attorney. The Superior Court publishes addresses and hours for each justice center: Central in Santa Ana, Harbor in Newport Beach, North in Fullerton, West in Westminster. The Judicial Council maintains a plain-language guide to the criminal court process.

Talk With an Orange County Criminal Defense Lawyer Before the Charge Is Set

Which label attaches shapes everything that follows. Our office, the Law Offices of William Bruzzo, works these cases with over 30 years behind us in Orange County courts.

Reach us at (714) 547-4636. You can also contact us online whenever it suits you. We charge nothing for a first conversation, keep what you tell us private, and answer day or night. El Abogado Habla Español.