I'm going to briefly describ the facts of all the burglaries I've handled as an appellate attorney, to show just how stupid most of these charges are.
1) Someone broke into a house. Didn't take anything or harm anyone; he just left. Occupant was there, but in a different room. "Burglar" walked through another yard as he left. Charged with two burglaries; will die in prison.
2) Oooh, this is one of my favorites. Dude walked into *his mom's* house. He drank a soda - one he bought himself - from the fridge. When asked to articulate what crime dude intended to commit in the house, state was unable to do so. That didn't stop them from charging burglary.
3) Two dudes smashed the back window of a house. Took some jewelry. No one was home, and no one was harmed. They were caught immediately, and all the stuff was returned to the homeowner.
4) A bunch of teens broke into an unoccupied vacation home; stole some money, a gun, and a car. No one was harmed. Car recovered. They were sentenced to spend 1.5 more times in prison than they have been alive.
5) Teen broke into an unoccupied home and stole five firearms. No one was harmed or hurt. That's first-degree burglary punishable by life in Florida. Only evidence was a single fingerprint. Guy got longer sentence than he had been alive.
6) Dude squirmed through the hole left by an air conditioner at a business after hours. Obviously, no one was there. He stole a computer monitor, which he subsequently dropped because he was high.
THIS is what burglary looks like in Florida. This State does not distinguish between occupied vs. unoccupied for purposes of sentencing. It defines "house" super broadly, to include yards and garages. It does not require the State to know or define what crime a person . . intended to commit therein. And that crime can be a misdemeanor - remember my guy who drank a soda in a house? If that can had belonged to his mother, and not him, that would have technically been burglary.
Burglary has severe consequences in Florida. It's considered "violent." It makes you eligible for a bunch of sentencing enhancements. But burglary is just a trumped up way of saying theft or trespass, and it's used to coerce pleas.
So miss me with your "violent" crime rhetoric