State v. Werner, 383 P.3d 875

Defendant was hired to perform carpentry at Goff's home; Goff gave him a key, turned off the alarm, and expressly permitted access while Goff and his wife were away for about a week.
Goff allowed defendant to use the first-floor refrigerator, bathroom, and telephone and to be on the premises to finish specified work.
When Goff returned he discovered multiple items missing (coins, alcohol, frozen meat, a spotting scope, three shotguns); defendant later admitted taking them.
Defendant conceded theft at trial but moved for judgment of acquittal on the burglary charge, arguing his initial entry and presence were with Goff’s permission and never unlawfully remained.
The state’s theory was that defendant became a trespasser (and thus a burglar) by committing theft while lawfully on the premises, without asserting any temporal or spatial exceedance of Goff’s consent.
The trial court denied the motion; a jury convicted defendant of theft and first-degree burglary. On appeal the court evaluated whether the state presented legally sufficient evidence that defendant entered or remained unlawfully.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether committing an unauthorized crime while lawfully on private premises converts lawful entry into "entering or remaining unlawfully" for burglary	Theft inside the house exceeded the scope of the contractor's license; commission of the crime made him a trespasser and thus a burglar	Permission to be on premises is not negated merely because the licensee commits a crime; burglary requires unlawful entry/remain separate from the subsequent crime	Court reversed burglary conviction: commission of the crime alone does not convert lawful entry into unlawful remaining; state failed to prove trespass element

State v. Felt, 108 Or. App. 730 (1991) (upheld burglary where evidence supported victim implicitly revoking permission)
State v. Hartfield, 290 Or. 583 (1981) (criminal trespass is the requisite primary element of burglary)
State v. Pitts, 259 Or. App. 372 (2013) (burglary complete when trespass coincides with intent to commit crime)
People v. Crowell, 470 N.Y.S.2d 306 (1983) (contractor given key not guilty of burglary for theft; criminal intent does not negate license)
People v. Zee, 477 N.Y.S.2d 965 (1984) (rejecting rule that commission of crime automatically revokes license to remain)
People v. Alvarez, 382 N.Y.S.2d 952 (1976) (authorization to enter not rendered inoperative by intent to steal)
People v. Ennis, 322 N.Y.S.2d 341 (1971) (license to enter public building not extinguished by criminal intent)
State v. Evans, 267 Or. App. 762 (2014) (denial of acquittal upheld where defendant exceeded spatial limits of permission by entering bedroom)
State v. Holte, 170 Or. App. 377 (2000) (entering expressly excluded bedroom supports trespass element)
State v. Hall, 327 Or. 568 (1998) (standard for reviewing denial of judgment of acquittal)
State v. Gaines, 346 Or. 160 (2009) (statutory interpretation principles; examine text, context, legislative history)
State v. Lucio-Camargo, 172 Or. App. 298 (2001) (legislative history: "remain unlawfully" intended to address public-buildings sit-in situations)