People v. Bradford

(Court opinion corrected 12/12/14.) Defendant was convicted, after bench trial, of burglary, for knowingly and without authority remaining within Walmart with intent to commit therein a felony or theft. A defendant who develops an intent to steal after his entry into a public building may be found guilty of burglary by unlawfully remaining. Just as a defendant's entry is "without authority" if accompanied by a contemporaneous intent to steal, a defendant's remaining is "without authority" if it also is accompanied by an intent to steal. State sufficiently proved Defendant remained in Walmart "without authority" as he moved through the store and stole merchandise. Any authority Defendant may have had to remain in store was implicitly withdrawn once he formed intent to steal from store. Thus, evidence was sufficient to convict Defendant of burglary as charged. (POPE and TURNER, concurring.)