What Are Burglary Tools Under Arizona Law? ARS 13-1505

What Are Burglary Tools Under Arizona Law?

Arizona’s statute, A.R.S. § 13-1505, defines burglary tools in the broadest terms possible: “any explosive, tool, instrument or other article adapted or commonly used for committing any form of burglary.” There is no list of banned items anywhere in the law. Instead, the definition has two halves — the item and the intent — and it is the intent half that actually decides what counts. A crowbar in a contractor’s truck is equipment; the same crowbar, in the State’s telling, behind a strip mall at 2 a.m. is a burglary tool. For how the charge itself works and what it carries, see our companion guide: is possession of burglary tools a crime?

The Two Statutory Categories

1. “Adapted or commonly used” items, plus intent

The first category covers anything adapted for burglary (modified for the purpose — a ground-down key, a slim jim, a cut-down pry tool) or commonly used for burglary (ordinary items burglars ordinarily use). Critically, an item in this category is only a burglary tool when possessed with the intent to use it — or let someone else use it — in a burglary. Without that intent, it is just property.

2. Motor vehicle manipulation keys and master keys

The second category is different in kind: buying, selling, transferring, possessing, or using a motor vehicle manipulation key or master key is covered by itself, with no burglary plan required. The definitions come from A.R.S. § 13-1501:

• A manipulation key is a key, device, or instrument — other than a key designed for a specific lock — that can be variably positioned and manipulated in a vehicle keyway to operate the lock, expressly including wiggle keys, jiggle keys, and rocker keys;
• A master key is a key that operates all the keyed locks in a similar type or group of locks.

The statute builds in exemptions for this category: locksmiths, licensed vehicle dealers and manufacturers, key manufacturers, vehicle-finance lenders, and law enforcement acting in their lawful occupations — and a person may possess a single manipulation key so long as it is not held with theft or felony intent.

What Gets Charged as a Burglary Tool in Practice

Because the first category is open-ended, real charging decisions are built from context. Items defense attorneys commonly see charged in Maricopa County cases include:

• Entry tools: pry bars, crowbars, screwdrivers, bolt cutters, channel-lock pliers, window punches;
• Lock tools: lock picks, tension wrenches, bump keys, slim jims;
• Concealment and support items: gloves, masks, flashlights, two-way radios, police scanners, duffel bags;
• Vehicle-entry tools: the manipulation and master keys above, plus “jigglers” sold online in sets; and
• Adapted items: anything modified for entry — the ground-down key, the sharpened putty knife.

Every item on that list has a lawful use, which is precisely the point: no object is a burglary tool by nature. The State converts property into contraband by proving what you intended to do with it, usually through inference — the hour, the location, the combination of items, and any statements made at the stop.

What Is NOT a Burglary Tool

• Ordinary items with no intent evidence — the trade tools, the junk drawer, the trunk kit;
• A single manipulation key held without theft or felony intent — expressly allowed;
• Keys and tools held in a lawful occupation — the locksmith, dealer, and lender exemptions;
• Lock picks as a hobby — Arizona does not ban lock picks; locksport ownership without burglary intent falls outside the statute; and
• Items connected to some other purpose — even an unlawful one: the statute requires intent to use the item in a burglary as defined in §§ 13-1506 to 13-1508, not general bad intent.

Why the Definition Matters

Possession of burglary tools is a Class 6 felony — and because the definition is built on inference, it is one of Arizona’s most contestable charges. The definitional questions are the defenses: Was the item “adapted” or merely ordinary? Is the State’s “commonly used” theory anything more than the fact that burglars also own screwdrivers? Does the intent inference survive an innocent explanation? Does an exemption apply? Our companion guide covers the charge, penalties, and defenses in full — and the degrees of burglary the tools definition keys off of.

How Tamou Law Group Defends the Definition

We litigate the statute’s own words: “adapted” means modified, not merely useful; “commonly used” cannot mean everything a hardware store sells; and the intent element requires proof of a planned burglary, not a suspicious hour. Around the definition fight we attack the stop that produced the items and apply the exemptions, and where a charge survives, the Class 6 designation levers keep it off the felony record.

Companion guides: is possession of burglary tools a crime?, the degrees of burglary in Arizona, and our Scottsdale property crimes lawyer page. Call 623-321-4699, 24/7.