Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-8-3 (2026)

Entry of building or ship with felonious intent

✓ current as of July 2026
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Every person who, with intent to commit murder, sexual assault, robbery, arson or larceny, shall enter any dwelling house or apartment at any time of the day or night, or who with such intent shall, during the daytime, enter any other building, or ship or vessel, shall be imprisoned not more than ten (10) years, or be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or both.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases, 1970–2016 · leading case: State v. Contreras-Cruz, 765 A.2d 849 (R.I. 2001).
State v. Contreras-Cruz, 765 A.2d 849 (R.I. 2001). · cites it 5× “2d 65 (1979) that the term "apartment” did not fall within the meaning of the term "dwelling house” in G.L.1956 § 11-8-3 as it then existed and that therefore the defendant in that case, who was accused of "entering] an apartment intending to commit larceny,” could not be…”
State v. Guerra, 12 A.3d 759 (R.I. 2011). · cites it 2× “Ahlborg & Sons on October 10, 2005, with the intent to commit larceny, in violation of G.L1956 § 11-8-3, and (2) larceny from O.”
State v. Johnson, 358 A.2d 370 (R.I. 1976). · cites it 4× “It is found in §11-8-3. The statute makes it a crime for an individual to enter a dwelling at any time of the day or night with intent to commit murder, rape, robbery, arson, or larceny.”
State v. Perry, 372 A.2d 75 (R.I. 1977). · cites it 14× “Perry, was indicted and tried in Superior Court before a jury on a charge of entering a dwelling with the intent to commit larceny in violation of §11-8-3. He moved to dismiss the indictment on January 19, 1976, on the grounds that the statute was unconstitutionally vague and…”
State v. Nardolillo, 698 A.2d 195 (R.I. 1997). · cites it 3× “This ease comes before us on appeal from judgments of conviction entered in the Superior Court against the defendant, Joseph Nardolillo, following a jury trial on six charges of entering a dwelling with intent to commit larceny in violation of G.L.1956 § 11-8-3. We affirm. The…”
State v. Neary, 404 A.2d 65 (R.I. 1979). · cites it 9× “That application was denied by another judge, Judge Gallant, who observed with respect to the charge in the indictment that he, unlike Judge Rourcier, had “no difficulty in finding that although the section is not enumerated, the defendant is charged with a violation of…”
State v. Drew, 919 A.2d 397 (R.I. 2007). · cites it 2× “2(b)(3), and three counts of entering a dwelling with the intent to commit a larceny therein in violation of G.L.1956 § 11-8-3. 3 *403 While both defendant and Ms.”
United States v. Cesar Bernel-Aveja, 844 F.3d 206 (5th Cir. 2016). “060 (2015) 111 11 R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-8-3 (2002) 112 *234 W.”
Bailey v. Baronian, 394 A.2d 1338 (R.I. 1978). · cites it 2× “16 The board’s contention that petitioner would have been convicted of §11-8-3 17 is equally speculative, for neither “felonious intent” nor the time of day were elements of the Michigan crime.”
State v. Byrnes, 433 A.2d 658 (R.I. 1981). “1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 11-8-3. 4 . In violation of G.L. 1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 11-8-7.”
State v. Riely, 523 A.2d 1225 (R.I. 1987). · cites it 6× “1956 (1981 Reenactment) § 11-8-3, which calls for the punishment of any individual who, with an intent to commit larceny, enters any dwelling house or apartment at any time of the day or night.”
State v. Ranieri, 560 A.2d 350 (R.I. 1989). · cites it 4× “1956 (1981 Reenactment) § 11-8-3 because he had unlawfully entered four different dormitory rooms at Roger Williams College.”
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.