Is Second-Degree Burglary a Felony in AZ? ARS 13-1507

Is Second-Degree Burglary a Felony in Arizona?

Yes — a serious one. Second-degree burglary under A.R.S. § 13-1507 is a Class 3 felony: entering or remaining unlawfully in or on a residential structure with the intent to commit any theft or any felony inside. It is the most commonly charged burglary degree in Maricopa County, because it covers the classic scenario — someone in a home they had no right to be in — without requiring a weapon (that would make it first degree) and without the structure-type questions of third degree.

The Three Elements, and Why Each Is Contestable

• Entering or remaining unlawfully. No break-in required — an open door, an unlocked window, or overstaying revoked permission all qualify. But permission, claim of right, and the messy realities of breakups and roommates make “unlawfully” genuinely disputable in a large share of these cases.
• A residential structure. Defined in A.R.S. § 13-1501 as anything adapted for human residence or lodging, whether occupied or not — vacant houses and rentals count. But garages, sheds, and outbuildings raise real classification questions that can drop the charge to third degree, a full class lower.
• Intent to commit a theft or felony inside, at the time of entry. This is the element that converts presence into burglary — and the State almost never has direct evidence of it. It is inferred from circumstances, and inferences can be rebutted.

Penalties for Second-Degree Burglary

As a Class 3 felony, a first offense carries a range from probation up to 8.75 years in prison, with a presumptive term of 3.5 years if prison is imposed. Prior felonies raise the range sharply, and if the State alleges a weapon was possessed, the charge becomes first-degree burglary — a Class 2 dangerous felony with mandatory prison. Companion counts — theft, criminal damage, burglary tools — typically stack alongside, and a burglary conviction’s record consequences follow into employment, housing, and licensing for life.

The Cases That Actually Get Charged

Real second-degree burglary dockets are less “cat burglar” and more human mess: the ex who came back for belongings after the locks changed, the acquaintance who wandered into the wrong house intoxicated, the handyman accused after items went missing, the teenager in a vacant rental on a dare. In each, one of the three elements — unlawful entry, residential classification, or intent at entry — is usually genuinely weak, which is why these cases resolve across an enormous range: from dismissal and trespass pleas to prison terms, driven almost entirely by how the elements are litigated.

Defenses That Work

• No intent at entry — the trespass reduction, the workhorse of burglary defense;
• Permission or claim of right — invitations, shared occupancy, and retrieving one’s own property;
• Identity — print, DNA, and video evidence all have transfer and quality limits;
• Structure classification — dropping residential to nonresidential drops the class; and
• Suppression — statements and evidence from a bad stop or search leave the case.

How Tamou Law Group Defends Second-Degree Burglary Cases

We litigate the intent element first, because it is the State’s weakest and our clients’ strongest ground: no direct evidence usually exists, and every innocent explanation for the entry undermines the inference. Around it we build the permission record, test the identification forensics, and press the classification questions, aiming at dismissal, trespass, or the most survivable resolution the facts allow.

Related guides: the degrees of burglary compared, charged without stealing anything, and criminal trespass (13-1504). Call 623-321-4699, 24/7.