VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 12.150
Common Law Burglary—Armed
The defendant is charged with the crime of burglary while armed. The Commonwealth must
prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following elements of that crime:
(1) That the defendant [without permission] broke and entered the dwelling house of another; and
(2) That he did so in the nighttime; and
(3) That he did so with the intent to commit [larceny; (name of felony)] therein; and
(4) That at the time of his entry he was armed with a deadly weapon.
If you find from the evidence that the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt
each of the elements of the crime, then you shall find the defendant guilty of burglary while armed
[but you shall not fix the punishment until your verdict has been returned and further evidence has
been heard by you].
If you find from the evidence that the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt
each of the first three elements of the crime as charged but you also find that the defendant was
not armed with a deadly weapon at the time of entry, then you shall find the defendant guilty of
burglary [but you shall not fix the punishment until your verdict has been returned and further
evidence has been heard by you].
If you find that the Commonwealth has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the
other elements of the crime, then you shall find the defendant not guilty.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Criminal, Release 26, October 2025. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.
Provenance
- Source
- vacourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-11
- Edition
- crim-2025-10-01
- Content hash
8f3e1caa34f03f917c6a517ff7823e8d7633f9ba6018c7f863e8ee9dbd6af7b6
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