State v. Singletary

In State v. Singletary, 344 N.C. 95, 102, 472 S.E.2d 895, 899 (1996), the defendant and his wife left their home in Winston-Salem and the wife leased an apartment alone in Greensboro, as the sole lessee. Singletary, 344 N.C. at 102, 472 S.E.2d at 899. The defendant moved into his wife's apartment one month later, but then moved out following an argument. He returned his key to his wife and took most or all of his belongings with him. Two days later he broke and entered into the apartment. In his motion to dismiss the burglary charge, the defendant argued that he did not break and enter into the dwelling house "of another" in that the apartment was his residence and he had left it only for a "cooling off" period, as they had argued many times previously but had not permanently separated. Id. at 101, 472 S.E.2d at 899. He also challenged the jury instructions on this issue. Our Supreme Court held that the evidence did not support a finding that the apartment was the defendant's dwelling where his wife had maintained exclusive possession for the two days prior to defendant's breaking and entering. Id. at 102, 472 S.E.2d at 899. In so holding, the Court adopted the reasoning of a decision from the Florida Supreme Court that a husband can be guilty of burglary if he makes a nonconsensual entry onto the premises which are under the sole possession of his wife with the intent to commit an offense. Id.