Sec. 30.04. BURGLARY OF VEHICLES. (a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner, he breaks into or enters a vehicle or any part of a vehicle with intent to commit any felony or theft.
(b) For purposes of this section, "enter" means to intrude:
(1) any part of the body; or
(2) any physical object connected with the body.
(c) For purposes of this section, a container or trailer carried on a rail car is a part of the rail car.
(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that:
(1) the offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum term of confinement of six months if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under this section;
(2) the offense is a state jail felony if:
(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times of an offense under this section; or
(B) the vehicle or part of the vehicle broken into or entered is a rail car; and
(3) the offense is a felony of the third degree if:
(A) the vehicle broken into or entered is owned or operated by a wholesale distributor of prescription drugs and the actor breaks into or enters that vehicle with the intent to commit theft of a controlled substance; or
(B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor committed the offense in the course of committing an offense under Section 20.05(a)(2).
(d-1) For the purposes of Subsection (d), a defendant has been previously convicted under this section if the defendant was adjudged guilty of the offense or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return for a grant of deferred adjudication, regardless of whether the sentence for the offense was ever imposed or whether the sentence was probated and the defendant was subsequently discharged from community supervision.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the actor entered a rail car or any part of a rail car and was at that time an employee or a representative of employees exercising a right under the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Section 151 et seq.).
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 916, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 308 (H.B. 1887), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 338 (H.B. 1178), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2017.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., 3rd C.S., Ch. 2 (S.B. 4), Sec. 9, eff. February 6, 2024.
Notes of Decisions
United States v. Michael Herrold, 883 F.3d 517 (5th Cir. 2018).
· cites it 2× “Texas Penal Code § 30.04 criminalizes "burglary of vehicles," which a person violates when, "without the effective consent of the owner, he breaks into or enters a vehicle or any part of a vehicle with intent to commit any felony or theft.”
Lopez-Elias v. Reno, 209 F.3d 788 (5th Cir. 2000).
· cites it 5× “In 1985, Ricardo Lopez-Elias was convicted in Texas state court of burglary of a vehicle with the intent to commit theft, in violation of Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 30.04 (a) (West 1987), and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, suspended.”
State v. Colyandro, 233 S.W.3d 870 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007).
· cites it 2× “04(b)); burglary of a motor vehicle (TEX. PENAL CODE § 30.04(a)); coercion of a public servant (TEX.”
Jenschke v. State, 147 S.W.3d 398 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004).
· cites it 2× “" TEX. PENAL CODE § 30.04(a) ("Burglary of Vehicles").”
Castaneda v. State, 135 S.W.3d 719 (Tex. App. 2003).
“See Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 30.04(d) (Vernon 2003).”
Fernando Escudero-Arciniega v. Eric Holder, Jr., 702 F.3d 781 (5th Cir. 2012).
· cites it 2× “Although we have not previously addressed this particular statute, we have examined the definition of burglary under Texas Penal Code § 30.04(a) — which imposes a materially identical standard — numerous times.”
Hunt v. State, 625 S.W.2d 405 (Tex. App. 1982).
· cites it 6× “Appellant seeks a reversal of his conviction under Tex. Penal Code § 30.04 for burglary of a vehicle.”
Love v. State, 744 S.W.2d 247 (Tex. App. 1987).
· cites it 8× “Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 30.04 (Vernon 1974); Washington v.”
Brown v. State, 294 S.W.3d 203 (Tex. App. 2009).
· cites it 6× “[3] See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 30.04 (Vernon Supp.”
Benson, Yusulf Shaheed, 459 S.W.3d 67 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015).
“03(e)(4) (numerous alternative ways of committing a state-jail-felony theft, including (1) the property stolen is valued at $1,500 or more but less than $20,000, or (2) the value of the property was less than $1,500 and the defendant has previously been convicted two or more…”
Welch v. State, 908 S.W.2d 258 (Tex. App. 1995).
· cites it 2× “See Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 30.04 (Vernon 1994).”
— Tex. Penal Code § 30.04(a) — 35 cases
State v. Colyandro, 233 S.W.3d 870 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007).
“04(b)); burglary of a motor vehicle (TEX. PENAL CODE § 30.04(a)); coercion of a public servant (TEX.”
Jenschke v. State, 147 S.W.3d 398 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004).
“" TEX. PENAL CODE § 30.04(a) ("Burglary of Vehicles").”
Fernando Escudero-Arciniega v. Eric Holder, Jr., 702 F.3d 781 (5th Cir. 2012).
“Although we have not previously addressed this particular statute, we have examined the definition of burglary under Texas Penal Code § 30.04(a) — which imposes a materially identical standard — numerous times.”
— Tex. Penal Code § 30.04(b) — 1 case
— Tex. Penal Code § 30.04(b)(1) — 1 case
Love v. State, 744 S.W.2d 247 (Tex. App. 1987).
“Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 30.04 (Vernon 1974); Washington v.”
— Tex. Penal Code § 30.04(c) — 3 cases
Welch v. State, 908 S.W.2d 258 (Tex. App. 1995).
“See Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 30.04 (Vernon 1994).”
— Tex. Penal Code § 30.04(d) — 6 cases
Castaneda v. State, 135 S.W.3d 719 (Tex. App. 2003).
“See Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 30.04(d) (Vernon 2003).”
Lopez-Elias v. Reno, 209 F.3d 788 (5th Cir. 2000).
“In 1985, Ricardo Lopez-Elias was convicted in Texas state court of burglary of a vehicle with the intent to commit theft, in violation of Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 30.04 (a) (West 1987), and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, suspended.”
— Tex. Penal Code § 30.04(d)(2) — 1 case
Benson, Yusulf Shaheed, 459 S.W.3d 67 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015).
“03(e)(4) (numerous alternative ways of committing a state-jail-felony theft, including (1) the property stolen is valued at $1,500 or more but less than $20,000, or (2) the value of the property was less than $1,500 and the defendant has previously been convicted two or more…”
— Tex. Penal Code § 30.04(d)(2)(A) — 4 cases
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