Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-701 (2026)

Possession of burglary tools

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section JustiaTenn. Code CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A person who possesses any tool, machine or implement with intent to use the same, or allow the same to be used, to commit any burglary, commits a Class A misdemeanor.

Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1.


Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13 cases, 1996–2018 · leading case: State v. Morgan, 929 S.W.2d 380 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1996).
State v. Morgan, 929 S.W.2d 380 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “” Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-14-701 (1991). We conclude that the record contains ample, indeed overwhelming, evidence in support of the jury’s verdicts.”
State v. Rice, 973 S.W.2d 639 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1997). “” Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-14-701 provides that “[a] person who possesses any tool, machine or implement with intent to use the same, or allow the same to be used, to commit any burglary, is guilty of a Class A misdemean- or.”
State of Tennessee v. David Way (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “T.C.A. § 39-14-701. Way does not dispute that a burglary occurred at GPHS on or about August 19, 2012, during which money was stolen from an ATM and vending machines were vandalized.”
State of Tennessee v. James Michael Watkins (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “Possession of Burglary Tools Under Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-14-701 (2010), “[a] person who possesses any tool, machine or implement with intent to use the same, or allow the same to be used, to commit any burglary, commits a Class A misdemeanor.”
State of Tennessee v. Marcellus Hurt (Tenn. Crim. App. 2006). · cites it 2× “Possession of Burglary Tools Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-14-701 (2003) provides that “[a] person who possesses any tool, machine or implement with intent to use the same, or allow the same to be used, to commit any burglary, commits a Class A misdemeanor.”
State of Tennessee v. Stephen D. Lamb (Tenn. Crim. App. 2006). · cites it 2× “T.C.A. § 39-14-701 (2003). The proof at trial in this case established that a person matching the Appellant’s description was observed exiting the business through the broken store front window, that the cash drawer was open, and that the cover of the ATM was pried open and,…”
State of Tennessee v. Michael Wqyne Belcher (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002). · cites it 2× “” Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-14-701 provides that “[a] person who possesses any tool, machine or implement with intent to use the same, or allow the same to be used, to commit any burglary, commits a Class A misdemeanor.” The evidence viewed in the light most favorable…”
State of Tennessee v. Nordell Buggs (Tenn. Crim. App. 2001). · cites it 2× “Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-701 . Defendant contends in his brief that just because he had a screwdriver and other tools, including the car jack and hammer, the State “theorized” that defendant must have used these tools for the purpose of breaking into a business.”
State of Tennesee v. Troy James Keith Reynolds (Tenn. Crim. App. 2014). · cites it 2× “” T.C.A. § 39-14-701. Here, the proof adduced at trial established that storage buildings on three pieces of property in close proximity on Old Whites Mill Road had been burglarized during the early part of August 2012.”
State v. Timothy Redd (Tenn. Crim. App. 1997). · cites it 2× “Tennessee Code Annota ted section 39-14-701 defines the offense of possession of burglary tools as p ossession of “any tool, machine or implement with intent to use the sam e, or allow the same to be used, to commit any burglary.”
State of Tennessee v. Randall Murphy (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “§ 39-14-701, in relation to the theft of a rental truck filled with wheels and tires taken off of several semi trucks awaiting delivery to a trucking company.”
State of Tennessee v. Dionis Nick Papa (Tenn. Crim. App. 2010). “§ 39-14-701, possession of marijuana, third offense, see id.”
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.