NM high court affirms breaking-and-entering conviction
In affirming a breaking-and-entering conviction in a 2013 Las Cruces case, the New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled that window screens provide protection from intruders and that placing one’s fingers behind a screen is an intrusion.
The state’s highest court on Feb. 25 affirmed the conviction of Anthony Holt, who was found guilty on one count of breaking-and-entering, a fourth-degree felony, by a Doña Ana County jury after a trial in 3rd Judicial District Court in Las Cruces.
Holt was accused of partially removing a window screen from a Las Cruces resident’s home on Dec. 19, 2010, according to court documents. While removing the screen, he placed his fingers behind the screen and “inside an outer boundary of the home.” But he “promptly” fled after being detected by the homeowner.
He was arrested and later indicted by a grand jury on one charge of breaking-and-entering. At trial, his defense sought a directive verdict, arguing that no entry had occurred because he was “interrupted” by the homeowner and “never did get inside” the home, court documents say. But he was found guilty and sentenced to five years and six months in prison.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/crime/2016/03/01/nm-high-court-affirms-breaking-and-entering-conviction/81175960/
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Interesting... A technical violation...
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