In Re William S.

Does a second entry into a burglarized home via a door unlocked during the initial visit several hours earlier constitute a separate burglary? We hold it does and that judgment may be imposed on both crimes without offending Penal Code section 654.

I

Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1987, minor William S. and a juvenile accomplice decided to burgle a home belonging to neighbors of one of their friends. The minor removed the screen from the master bedroom window, and the duo crawled into the bedroom where Larry and Sherry Benfield slept. They crept into the hallway, opened a cabinet there, and removed two locked boxes and perhaps a camera. According to the minor’s accomplice, they left through the front door after unlocking it.

The pair repaired to their friend’s home nearby. Within several hours the burglars returned to the Benfield residence. They entered through the door previously left unlocked and again rifled the hall cabinet. In the kitchen the scofflaws found wallets and keys. They again departed through the front door and returned to their friend’s house.

According to the testimony of the friend, the pair woke him when they returned from the second trip and…