Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, § 18 (2026)

Dwelling house; entry at night; breaking and entering in day time; firearms; punishment

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 18. Whoever, in the night time, enters a dwelling house without breaking, or breaks and enters in the day time a building, ship or motor vehicle or vessel, with intent to commit a felony, no person lawfully therein being put in fear, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than ten years or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars and imprisonment in jail for not more than two years. Whoever commits any offense described in this section while armed with a firearm, as defined in section 121 of chapter 140, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 7 years or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not less than 2 years nor more than 21/2 years.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 91 cases (19 in the last 5 years), 1974–2026 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Johnson, 119 N.E.3d 669 (Mass. 2019).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Commonwealth v. Johnson, 119 N.E.3d 669 (Mass. 2019). · cites it 2× “Following a jury-waived trial, the defendant was convicted of two counts of breaking and entering in the daytime, G. L. c. 266, § 18; one count of breaking and entering in the nighttime, G.”

Lima v. Holder, 758 F.3d 72 (1st Cir. 2014). · cites it 3× “Later that year, Lima was arrested and charged with breaking and entering in the daytime in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266 § 18. 1 Brought before the Malden District Court on December 15, 2009, Lima admitted facts suffi-dent for a finding of guilt.”

Commonwealth v. Pena, 967 N.E.2d 603 (Mass. 2012). · cites it 2× “On April 24, 2006, the probationer pleaded guilty in the Superior Court to charges of breaking and entering in the daytime with the intent to commit a felony, G. L. c. 266, § 18 (count 1); larceny over $250, G.”

Commonwealth v. Moore, 741 N.E.2d 86 (Mass. App. Ct. 2001). · cites it 3× “A jury in the District Court convicted the defendant of breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony, G. L. c. 266, § 18, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, G.”

Maher v. Ret. Bd. of Quincy, 895 N.E.2d 1284 (Mass. 2008). · cites it 3× “In March, 2002, a grand jury returned three indictments against Maher related to the December, 2001, break-in, to which Maher pleaded guilty in July, 2003: breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony, in violation of G. L. c. 266, § 18; stealing in a…”

Commonwealth v. Sheeran, 345 N.E.2d 362 (Mass. 1976). · cites it 3× “The defendant testified in his own behalf and his credibility was impeached by evidence of a record of conviction of the crime of breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony, in violation of G. L. c. 266, § 18. The record shows the following entry on…”

Commonwealth v. Silva, 802 N.E.2d 535 (Mass. 2004). “The defendant was charged in the Holyoke District Court with breaking and entering in the daytime with the intent to commit a felony (G. L. c. 266, § 18); possession of a class A drug with the intent to distribute (G.”

United States v. Farrell, 672 F.3d 27 (1st Cir. 2012). “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, § 18 provided that: Whoever .”

Commonwealth v. McGovern, 494 N.E.2d 1298 (Mass. 1986). “G. L. c. 266, § 18 (1984 ed.). The defendant also was indicted for wilful and malicious destruction of property valued in excess of $100.”

Craig Martin v. Lynn Bissonette, 118 F.3d 871 (1st Cir. 1997). “In the end, we affirm the judgment of the district court.”

Commonwealth v. Abdallah, 54 N.E.3d 1100 (Mass. 2016). “266, § 16; breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony, G. L. c. 266, § 18; two counts of larceny from a building, G.”

Commonwealth v. Graham, 818 N.E.2d 1069 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004). “933 (1964), quoting from G. L. c. 266, § 18. The indictment is silent as to the nature of the felony, but the trial judge instructed the jury that “the felony that the Commonwealth is alleging in this indictment is that the defendant intended to commit a larceny in the dwelling.”

Show all 91 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.