Fourth Degree Burglary in Maryland: Acts, Penalties, Defenses

Fourth-degree burglary in Maryland is a misdemeanor under Section 6-205 of the Criminal Law Code, punishable by up to three years in prison. It covers four separate acts, and two of them do not require any intent to steal. A conviction generally stays on your record for life because the offense is not on Maryland’s list of expungeable charges.

The Four Acts the Statute Covers

Section 6-205 is really four offenses stacked into one degree. Which subsection you’re charged under changes what the state has to prove and which defenses actually help you.

Breaking and entering someone else’s dwelling. No intent to steal is required. The unauthorized entry itself completes the crime.¹
Breaking and entering a storehouse, which generally includes commercial buildings and warehouses. Again, no intent to steal is required.¹
Being in or on another person’s dwelling, storehouse, yard, garden, or surrounding area with the intent to commit theft. No break-in, no entry into a building. Loitering in a yard with intent to steal can be enough.¹
Possessing burglar’s tools with intent to use them in a burglary. You don’t have to attempt or complete a break-in. The tools plus the intent are the offense.¹

People often assume burglary always requires theft. It doesn’t. Under the first two subsections, walking uninvited into someone’s home or storehouse is enough by itself. Intent to steal only becomes an element under the third subsection, where there was no break-in.

Penalties

The maximum sentence is three years in prison.¹ Judges have wide discretion below that ceiling.

A first offense with no aggravating circumstances often results in probation or a suspended sentence rather than active time. Cases push toward the statutory maximum when there’s a prior record, evidence of planning, or a residence where someone was home. Being labeled a misdemeanor doesn’t mean judges treat the conduct casually, especially when it involves entering an occupied home.

Why the Conviction Sticks Around

Maryland doesn’t allow expungement for most criminal convictions. The Judiciary’s list of charges eligible for expungement under Criminal Procedure Article Section 10-110 is narrow, and fourth-degree burglary is not on it.² A conviction generally stays visible on your record indefinitely.

That permanence is where the real cost of the charge lives. Employers and landlords run background checks, and a burglary entry raises flags even when the underlying conduct was minor. Maryland professional licensing boards in healthcare, education, law, finance, and real estate review criminal history when deciding whether to grant or renew a license. The gap between how the statute classifies the offense and how the world treats a conviction is the single most important thing to understand before deciding how to fight or resolve the case.

If You’re Not a U.S. Citizen

A fourth-degree burglary conviction can create serious immigration problems. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services evaluates whether an offense qualifies as a “crime involving moral turpitude,” which triggers a conditional bar to establishing the good moral character required for naturalization. Burglary offenses can fall into that category depending on the specific elements.³

Even without a specific statutory bar, USCIS keeps discretion to weigh criminal conduct when judging good moral character. A conviction during the statutory period before your naturalization application can delay or derail it. If you hold a visa or green card, the immigration consequences may outweigh the criminal penalties, and both need to be on the table before you enter any plea.³

How Fourth Degree Compares to the Higher Degrees

Maryland’s burglary statutes run in degrees, with first the most serious. First-degree burglary involves breaking and entering a dwelling with intent to commit theft while armed with a deadly weapon or while someone is inside, and carries up to 20 years. Second degree involves breaking and entering a storehouse with intent to steal and carries up to 15 years. Third degree involves breaking and entering a dwelling with intent to commit a crime and carries up to 10 years.

Fourth degree sits at the bottom, and the lower degree reflects the absence of weapons, occupied buildings, or proven criminal intent in the break-and-enter subsections. When aggravating facts are present, prosecutors can charge higher.¹

Defenses That Fit the Charge

The right defense depends on which subsection you’re facing, because each one has different elements for the state to prove.

Attacking Intent

Under the third subsection, being on someone’s property with intent to steal, intent is the whole case. A legitimate reason for being there, such as a delivery, a social visit, or a wrong address, defeats the element directly. Surveillance footage, text messages, and witness testimony can back up your account.

Under the burglar’s tools subsection, the state has to prove you meant to use the tools for a burglary. Plenty of items that qualify as burglar’s tools also have ordinary uses. Crowbars, slim jims, and lock picks are tools of the trade in construction, automotive work, and locksmithing. A credible legitimate purpose for having them undermines the charge.

Consent or Permission

For breaking and entering a dwelling or storehouse, permission from the property owner eliminates the unauthorized-entry element. Text messages, emails, or testimony showing you had permission, or a reasonable belief you did, can end the case. Disputes between roommates, family members, and business partners sometimes generate charges that collapse once the context is on the table.

Attacking the Evidence

Mistaken identity is a real defense in cases resting on eyewitness testimony, especially when the incident happened at night or under poor visibility. Cross-examination that exposes inconsistencies in a description or identification procedure creates reasonable doubt.

Evidence from an unlawful search can be suppressed. If police found burglar’s tools during a stop without reasonable suspicion, or during a search that went beyond a valid stop, those tools may be inadmissible. A suppression motion is often the pivot point of a burglar’s-tools case.

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Law Section 6-205 – Burglary in the Fourth Degree
2
Maryland Judiciary. List of Expungeable Charges Under Criminal Procedure Article 10-110
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual: Conditional Bars for Acts in Statutory Period