Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, § 20 (2026)

Stealing in building, ship or railroad car

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 20. Whoever steals in a building, ship, vessel or railroad car shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment in jail for not more than two years.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 38 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1926–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Sollivan, 663 N.E.2d 580 (Mass. App. Ct. 1996).

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Commonwealth v. Sollivan, 663 N.E.2d 580 (Mass. App. Ct. 1996). · cites it 6× “G. L. c. 266, § 20. At their separate trials, they moved for required findings of not guilty of the charges of larceny in a building.”

Commonwealth v. Wellard, 53 Mass. App. Ct. 650 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002). · cites it 3× “On appeal, the *654 defendant essentially claims that the Commonwealth’s evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the perpetrator’s intent was to commit the felony of larceny in a building under G. L. c. 266, § 20, and implies that any larcenous intent…”

Commonwealth v. Cruz, 714 N.E.2d 813 (Mass. 1999). · cites it 4× “The defendant also contends that the judge erroneously failed to define the crime of “stealing from a building” under G. L. c. 266, § 20, apparently in connection with the following instruction: “The crime that is defined in our statute provides .”

Maher v. Ret. Bd. of Quincy, 895 N.E.2d 1284 (Mass. 2008). · cites it 3× “266, § 18; stealing in a building, in violation of G. L. c. 266, § 20; and wanton destruction of property, in violation of G.”

Commonwealth v. Graham, 818 N.E.2d 1069 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 2× “266, § 30, but G. L. c. 266, § 20, which provides: “Whoever steals in a building, ship, vessel or railroad car shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment in jail for not…”

Commonwealth v. Tirrell, 416 N.E.2d 1357 (Mass. 1981). · cites it 2× “266, § 16, and larceny in a building, G.L.c. 266, § 20. [1] The trial judge sentenced him to serve twenty-five years in the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord and imposed a three- to five-year suspended sentence to the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at…”

United States v. Tetioukhine, 725 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2013). “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, § 20 . The conviction arose from Tetioukhine’s theft of multiple pieces of gold over several months from his then-employer, a jewelry company.”

Commonwealth v. Mock, 764 N.E.2d 924 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002). “He was later indicted on the same charges as well as on larceny in a building, G. L. c. 266, § 20, and resisting arrest, G.”

Commonwealth v. Abdallah, 54 N.E.3d 1100 (Mass. 2016). “266, § 18; two counts of larceny from a building, G. L. c. 266, § 20; and receiving stolen property having a value over $250, G.”

Commonwealth v. Haggerty, 509 N.E.2d 1163 (Mass. 1987). “3 The defendant also was convicted of larceny in a building, G. L. c. 266, § 20; unarmed robbery, G. L.”

Commonwealth v. Barklow, 755 N.E.2d 830 (Mass. App. Ct. 2001). · cites it 3× “The defendant was convicted of larceny in a building (G. L. c. 266, § 20) on a joint venture theory.”

Commonwealth v. Kane, 472 N.E.2d 1343 (Mass. App. Ct. 1984). “266, § 16) and larceny from a building (G. L. c. 266, § 20), allegedly committed on September 11, 1976.”

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