New Jersey Burglary & Robbery Defense
Burglary and robbery charges are prison-exposure cases.
These aren't municipal court matters. Burglary runs from third degree up to first (a 2024 law made home burglaries second degree and armed home invasions first), robbery starts at second degree with an 85% parole bar, and the difference between degrees often comes down to facts the defense can fight.
Two Different Crimes
Burglary is about entry. Robbery is about force.
People say "robbed" when a house is broken into, but New Jersey law draws a hard line. Burglary is an offense against a structure: entering without permission with a criminal purpose. Robbery is an offense against a person, a theft carried out with force or the threat of it. They're charged under different statutes, graded differently, and defended differently.
Both are indictable crimes prosecuted in the county Superior Court, and both are frequently overcharged. Prosecutors routinely file the highest degree the facts might arguably support and negotiate from there. A shoplifting incident where a security guard was pushed on the way out the door can be charged as second-degree robbery, and an argument inside an ex's apartment can produce a burglary count. Part of defending these cases is forcing the charge back down to what the evidence supports, because each degree is a different world of exposure. (If your case is a straight retail theft with no force alleged, start with our guide to fighting a shoplifting charge in New Jersey.)
Burglary — N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2
Current 2C:18-2 covers non-residential and utility-property burglary
After the 2024 amendments, N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2 covers entry into or surreptitious remaining in a research facility or structure other than a residential dwelling, including a separately secured or occupied portion, with purpose to commit an offense there. It also has a separate branch for trespass on utility-company property where conspicuous posting, fencing or another enclosure gives public notice. Residential dwelling and accommodation cases are now addressed by 2C:18-2.1 and 2C:18-2.2.
Burglary under 2C:18-2 is ordinarily third degree. It becomes second degree if, in an attempt, commission or immediate flight, the actor purposely, knowingly or recklessly inflicts, attempts to inflict or threatens bodily injury, or is armed with or displays what appear to be explosives or a deadly weapon. Second-degree burglary is expressly listed under NERA, so the conviction ordinarily carries an 85% parole-ineligibility term.
Residential burglary — N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2.2
Entering a residential dwelling or accommodation without license or privilege, or surreptitiously remaining there while knowing the remaining is unauthorized, with purpose to commit an offense there, is a second-degree crime. The State need not prove knowledge that another person was present. NERA applies unless the defendant proves by a preponderance a reasonable belief that nobody other than an accomplice was present; the degree remains second even if that exception is proved. Occupancy records, communications, surveillance, timing and observations bearing on whether anyone appeared present are concrete evidence for that reasonable-belief issue.
Home invasion burglary — N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2.1
Home invasion burglary covers an unauthorized entry into or surreptitious remaining in a residential dwelling or accommodation, or separately secured portion, with purpose to commit an offense there. During an attempt, commission or immediate flight, the actor must purposely, knowingly or recklessly inflict, attempt to inflict or threaten bodily injury, or be armed with or display what appear to be explosives or a deadly weapon. It is first degree and expressly subject to NERA. Injury records, video, statements, the object's appearance, timing and the link between the alleged aggravating act and the attempt or flight are distinct proof questions.
The timing of purpose depends on the charged branch. Entry burglary asks whether criminal purpose accompanied the unauthorized entry. A surreptitious-remaining theory can focus on purpose formed while the person later remained without authorization and knew the remaining was unauthorized. Permission messages, keys, lease terms, withdrawal of consent, movements inside, timing, video and statements can distinguish burglary from trespass or another offense.
Robbery — N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1
Robbery: theft plus force, and NERA time
Robbery is committed when, in the course of a theft, a person inflicts bodily injury or uses force on another, threatens or purposely puts another in fear of immediate bodily injury, or commits or threatens any first- or second-degree crime. “In the course of” includes an attempted theft and immediate flight after the attempt or completed theft. Force used while immediately fleeing a shoplifting can therefore turn a retail theft into robbery; force from a separate, later encounter presents a different timing issue.
| Charge | What elevates it | Prison range | Parole ineligibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second-degree robbery | Force, injury or threats during a theft | 5–10 years | 85% of the sentence (NERA) |
| First-degree robbery | Attempt to kill, serious bodily injury, or armed with / uses / threatens a deadly weapon | 10–20 years | 85% of the sentence (NERA) |
Robbery is an enumerated offense under New Jersey's No Early Release Act: a convicted defendant must serve 85% of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for parole, followed by a mandatory period of parole supervision after release. There's no rounding down and no early-release program that overrides it. That's why the degree of the charge, and whether robbery is even the right charge, are worth fighting over with everything available.
Burglary & Robbery Questions
What people ask us about these charges
What’s the difference between burglary and robbery?
They are completely different crimes. Burglary (N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2) is entering or staying in a structure without permission with the purpose to commit an offense inside; no one needs to be present and nothing needs to be taken. Robbery (N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1) is theft accomplished by force, injury or the threat of it against a person. Burglary of a non-residential structure starts as a third-degree crime, but since a 2024 law, burglary of a home is graded second degree and 'home invasion burglary' first degree. Robbery starts at second degree and only goes up.
I didn’t take anything. How can this be burglary?
Because burglary does not require a completed theft. For entry burglary, the State must prove an unauthorized entry with purpose to commit an offense there. For surreptitious-remaining burglary, the criminal purpose may accompany the later unauthorized remaining rather than the initial entry. Nothing needs to be taken, so authorization, when the remaining became unauthorized, and when any criminal purpose formed are central evidence questions.
How much time am I looking at on a robbery charge?
Second-degree robbery carries 5 to 10 years in state prison and first-degree robbery 10 to 20 years. Robbery is also covered by the No Early Release Act, which requires serving 85% of the sentence before parole eligibility, followed by a mandatory term of parole supervision. Second-degree crimes carry a presumption of imprisonment even for first offenders, which is why these cases must be fought from day one.
What makes a robbery first degree instead of second?
Robbery becomes a first-degree crime if, in the course of the theft, the actor attempts to kill, purposely inflicts or attempts to inflict serious bodily injury, or is armed with (or uses or threatens the immediate use of) a deadly weapon. Those upgrade facts are exactly where the defense fights. What counts as a deadly weapon, what was said or displayed, and what the injuries really were often separate a 10-to-20-year case from something far more defensible.
Facing a value-based theft charge instead? Start with our theft defense overview. If a weapon allegation is part of your case, see gun and weapons charges.
How We Defend These Cases
Where burglary and robbery cases are won
High-exposure charges get the full-file treatment: every report, every video, every identification procedure, every word attributed to our client.
The upgrade facts
Was the object really a deadly weapon? Was the injury "serious bodily injury" in the statutory sense? Was a threat actually made? The facts that separate first from second degree, and robbery from theft, are contestable in almost every case.
Identification
Robbery and burglary cases lean heavily on eyewitness identifications and cross-racial, high-stress observations. New Jersey courts recognize how unreliable these can be, and suggestive photo arrays and show-ups can be challenged before trial.
Intent and permission
Burglary requires criminal purpose at the relevant unauthorized entry or surreptitious remaining; robbery requires theft. Claim-of-right facts, permission disputes, the timing of revoked permission and explanations for presence can change the charge materially.
Searches and statements
Warrantless entries, car searches, phone dumps and un-Mirandized statements are all suppression targets. In accomplice cases, we also fight the State's attempt to hang a co-defendant's conduct on our client.
The State is already building its case.
Before you talk to detectives, talk to us. What gets said and preserved in the first weeks shapes everything after, and the consultation is free and confidential.
Sources checked September 5, 2026: New Jersey Legislature statute archive; New Jersey Courts residential-burglary model charge. Laws and court instructions can change; this page is general information, not legal advice for a specific case.