Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-89 (2026)

Burglary; how punished

✓ current as of May 2026

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If any person break and enter the dwelling house of another in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony or any larceny therein, he shall be guilty of burglary, punishable as a Class 3 felony; provided, however, that if such person was armed with a deadly weapon at the time of such entry, he shall be guilty of a Class 2 felony.

Code 1950, § 18.1-86; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 94 cases (16 in the last 5 years), 1978–2025 · leading case: Johnson v. Commonwealth, 444 S.E.2d 559 (Va. Ct. App. 1994).

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Johnson v. Commonwealth, 444 S.E.2d 559 (Va. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 40× “FACTUAL BACKGROUND Johnson was indicted on a charge of burglary, Code § 18.2-89, and petit larceny, Code § 18.”

Giles v. Com., 672 S.E.2d 879 (Va. 2009). · cites it 22× “In this appeal from a defendant's conviction for burglary, we consider the meaning of dwelling house as a required element of Code § 18.2-89. BACKGROUND On the night of September 28, 2005, Christopher Lee Giles participated in the breaking and entering of a house located in…”

Rash v. Commonwealth, 383 S.E.2d 749 (Va. Ct. App. 1989). · cites it 24× “” Code § 18.2-89. Rash’s appeal presents an issue of first impression in Virginia: whether an unoccupied but furnished dwelling constitutes a “dwelling house” for purposes of Code § 18.”

Clark v. Commonwealth, 472 S.E.2d 663 (Va. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 20× “One of those statutes, "Code § 18.2-89[,] describes an offense identical to common law *666 burglary, save that the element of intent is expanded to include intent to commit a larceny.”

Wright v. Commonwealth, 641 S.E.2d 119 (Va. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 12× “Gary Wright (‘Wright”) appeals his convictions for petit larceny third or subsequent offense and common law burglary, in violation of Code § 18.2-89. He argues (1) that the evidence was insufficient to support his larceny conviction, and (2) that the evidence was insufficient to…”

Giles v. Commonwealth, 658 S.E.2d 703 (Va. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 18× “INTRODUCTION Code § 18.2-89 states in part that “[i]f any person break and enter the dwelling house of another in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony or larceny therein, he shall be guilty of burglary.”

Williams v. Commonwealth, 649 S.E.2d 717 (Va. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 8× “1-86 (now Code § 18.2-89), and the "Possession of burglarious tools, etc.”

People v. Oram, 217 P.3d 883 (Colo. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “02(a)(1) ("enters" building not open to public) Utah Code § 76-6-202(1) ("enters or remains unlawfully") Va. Code § 18.2-89 ("break and enter") Wash.”

Johns v. Commonwealth, 675 S.E.2d 211 (Va. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 11× “Based on a review of the common law and other states’ statutes and cases, this Court reversed Rash’s conviction, holding “that a dwelling is no longer a ‘dwelling house’ for purposes of Code § 18.2-89 when its occupants leave it without any intention to return.”

Hassan Christopher Atkins v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 800 S.E.2d 827 (Va. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “Hassan Christopher Atkins appeals his convictions for three counts of breaking and entering and three counts of grand larceny, in violation of Code §§ 18.2-89 and 18.2-95.1 The appellant argues that the evidence of the text messages and tweet recovered from his cellular…”

Rashad v. Commonwealth, 651 S.E.2d 407 (Va. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 6× “1 refers to the generic term “burglary” without distinguishing between common law burglary under Code § 18.2-89 and statutory burglary under Code §§ 18.”

United States v. Jorge Torrez, 869 F.3d 291 (4th Cir. 2017). · cites it 3× “1 and the use of any deadly weapon during a burglary under Va. Code § 18.2-89, neither crime requires the use of “a firearm (as defined in section 921).”

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