Stewart v. Commonwealth
Kentucky Court of Appeals
793 S.W.2d 859 (1990)
- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
Harry Stewart (defendant) was charged with second-degree burglary after his ex-girlfriend told police that Stewart confessed to her that he stole tools and other items from the home of Claude Hicks. At trial, Stewart asked for a directed verdict, arguing that at most, he should have been charged with third-degree burglary, which criminalized entering or remaining unlawfully in a building. Second-degree burglary required entering or remaining unlawfully in a dwelling with intent to commit a crime. Stewart argued that the items he took were in Hicks’s basement, which did not constitute a dwelling because it had no interior entrance to Hicks’s home and was instead only accessible by a separate, exterior locked door. The state argued that the basement was part of Hicks’s house because it contained his laundry room, a refrigerator, and a workshop. The court denied Stewart’s motion, and Stewart was convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Howerton, C.J.)
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