Texas Penal Code Section 30.02 defines burglary as entering a habitation, or a building not then open to the public, with intent to commit a felony, theft, or assault, or as remaining concealed in such a structure with that intent.¹ Burglary of a habitation is a second-degree felony, punishable by two to twenty years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine of up to $10,000.³

The grade is not fixed. Section 30.02 raises the offense to a first-degree felony where the person entered the habitation with intent to commit a felony other than felony theft, or committed or attempted such a felony inside.² That single distinction, theft versus a felony other than theft, changes the exposure range substantially, which is why the wording of the indictment is read as closely as the facts.

Burglary is graded by the structure entered and by the intent alleged. The difference between the grades is the difference between very different prison ranges.

Burglary of a building

Where the structure is a building not then open to the public rather than a habitation, Section 30.02 grades the offense as a state jail felony.¹ The line between a building and a habitation, a place adapted for overnight accommodation, is itself sometimes contested.

Burglary of a habitation as a second-degree felony

Entering a habitation with intent to commit theft, or a felony or assault, is a second-degree felony, the base charge here, carrying a two-to-twenty-year range.² Most cases are charged at this grade.

When the intent alleged raises it to a first-degree felony

Section 30.02 elevates the offense to a first-degree felony where the person entered with intent to commit a felony other than felony theft, or committed or attempted such a felony inside.² Because that distinction governs whether the exposure tops out at twenty years or runs to ninety-nine years or life, the scope of the indictment is a central issue from the first day.

People charged with burglary of a habitation are frequently identified by an eyewitness who saw someone near a residence, or tied to a scene by physical evidence whose strength varies widely from case to case. Many have never been in a criminal courtroom before, and many are charged on an identification made under stress, at a distance, or after the witness was shown a single suspect.

The collateral exposure is severe. A felony conviction reaches the right to vote and to possess a firearm, professional licenses, housing, and the background checks that employers run, and a first-degree grade compounds all of it. Because the difference between the grades turns on the intent alleged, and because the identification and forensic evidence vary so much in quality, the early work on those issues shapes everything that follows.²

The two-to-twenty-year range and the $10,000 fine in Section 12.33 are the criminal side of the second-degree exposure.³ Where the indictment alleges entry with intent to commit a felony other than theft, the first-degree grade raises the ceiling dramatically,² which is why the scope of the charging instrument is contested early rather than late.

A felony conviction is permanent in a way a misdemeanor is not, reaching civil rights, licensing, housing, and employment. There can be a parallel civil exposure where property was taken or a residence was damaged, and restitution may be negotiated within the criminal case. For some defendants, community supervision is available where a person is eligible under Article 42A.102 and the court and the State agree.⁴ Whether any particular outcome fits a given case is a fact-specific question answered from the record, not a promise.

A burglary of a habitation case is built on identification and physical evidence, and what a person does before indictment affects all of it. The most common mistake is explaining the situation to an investigator without a lawyer present. Those statements are written down and used, and Texas law governs when an accused's statement is admissible and what warnings had to come first.⁵

A few steps help in nearly every case. Write down where the person was and with whom while it is fresh, and preserve any messages, receipts, or location data that establish it. Preserve anything that bears on identity, including clothing and vehicle records. Hold on to all paperwork from the arrest. And do not contact the complainant or any witness, which can complicate the case rather than resolve it.

This is general information about how these cases work in Texas. It is not legal advice about any specific case, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

A burglary of a habitation in Bexar County follows a felony path. Knowing the order of events makes the process less frightening and the decision points easier to see.

Arrest, magistration, and intake

Where there is an arrest, the person is brought before a magistrate who gives the statutory warnings and sets bond, ordinarily within 48 hours, under Article 15.17.⁶ The case is referred to the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney's intake division for grand jury presentation.

Grand jury and indictment

A felony proceeds by indictment. The case is presented to a Bexar County grand jury, and where the timing fits, a defense packet can be submitted to the intake division before the grand jury acts, including on the question of whether the facts support a second-degree or a first-degree grade.²

Filing in a district court and discovery

After indictment the case is assigned to one of the Bexar County felony district courts, which have jurisdiction over felony cases,⁷ sitting in the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center on Dolorosa Street.⁸ The State's evidence, including the offense report, any surveillance video, the forensic reports, and the record of any identification procedure, is produced under the discovery statute, Article 39.14.⁹ The case is prosecuted from the Paul Elizondo Tower.¹⁰

Resolution

A burglary of a habitation can resolve by dismissal, by a reduction in grade or to a building burglary, by a negotiated plea, by community supervision where a person is eligible under Article 42A.102,⁴ or at trial. Which routes are realistic depends on the record.

A burglary of a habitation does not carry a fast administrative clock, but timing decides what evidence survives, what can be presented before indictment, and what options remain.

Burglary of a habitation cases are built on identification and physical evidence. Forrest Good PLLC reads the offense report against the witness statements for consistency on what the witness actually saw, the face, build, clothing, vehicle, and direction of travel, versus what the witness was later shown in a photo array or a show-up. Identification procedures are scrutinized against the statutory framework for photo arrays and live lineups and the line of suggestive-identification cases that govern when an identification is unreliable as a matter of law.

Surveillance video from the residence's own system, from neighboring properties, and from nearby commercial cameras is requested through formal discovery under Article 39.14 and through investigative subpoenas.⁹ The forensic evidence is reviewed item by item: DNA reports for the laboratory methodology, the comparison standard, and any partial or mixed-profile concern; fingerprint comparisons for the number and quality of points; the chain of custody for any recovered property tying the person to the scene. The indictment language is examined closely, because the difference between a theft-based second-degree burglary and a felony-other-than-theft first-degree burglary changes the exposure range substantially.² Any custodial statement is examined against the warnings that had to precede it.

The hour estimate

Forrest Good PLLC estimates this matter at 40 to 70 hours of attorney time, billed at $250 per hour. The lower end reflects a single-fingerprint case with a contained record; the upper end reflects a mixed-DNA case, extensive surveillance, multiple witnesses, identification-procedure litigation, ten or more district court settings, and suppression motion practice. The pricing methodology explains how the charging instrument, the evidence load, and the procedural stakes drive the estimate.

The flat fee and what it covers

The starting flat fee is $10,000. It covers grand jury packet preparation and intake-division engagement before indictment where the facts support it; review of the offense report, surveillance video, and forensic evidence; scene and witness investigation; every pretrial setting in the assigned district court; full pretrial motion practice including suppression and identification challenges and discovery enforcement under Article 39.14;⁹ and plea negotiation. The fee shown here is honored while this page is published, consistent with Texas Disciplinary Rule of Professional Conduct 7.02(d).¹²

Any work outside the scoped fee is billed at $250 per hour and is disclosed in the written engagement letter before it begins. The engagement letter is the binding contract for the matter.

The first step is a conversation. The initial 30-minute consultation with Forrest Good PLLC is free and is scheduled through the office's Google Booking page. It is the time to walk through the available case materials, how the identification was made, and the grade the indictment alleges, and to map out where the identification and forensic issues stand before any setting. Bringing any documents the person has makes the half hour far more useful.

No attorney-client relationship is formed until a written engagement letter is signed; the consultation itself carries no obligation.

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