Ortega

Here we hold that one who enters a home with the intent to commit extortion is guilty of burglary. This is the case even if the extortion will not be completed until sometime in the future at a location other than where the entry took place.

Facts

Defendant Gabriel Ortega, Jr., bought a car from Daniel ‘ Rodriguez. Rodriguez agreed to help Ortega fix the car if it needed minor repairs. A few weeks later, Ortega went to Rodriguez’s home and asked Rodriguez to fix the car. They spoke outside where Rodriguez was working on a truck. Rodriguez agreed to fix the car the next day. While Rodriguez was cleaning up, Ortega went to Rodriguez’s room to write a note reminding Rodriguez of their agreement.

Rodriguez entered the room to find Ortega searching through some drawers. Ortega explained he was looking for a pen, and questioned Rodriguez about the lock to his room and a radio. Ortega then wrote two notes to Rodriguez. One note was a reminder to fix the car. The other note read, “Danny, I’m going to take your radio if you do not come and fix my car by a certain date. I will use the proceeds of this radio, part of it to go to fix my car.” Both men then left the room. Soon…