A woman asks a man to help retrieve a saddle from a friend's barn, and they both leave with the saddle. The friend later breaks into the woman’s house to reclaim it. Under burglary at common law without a nighttime requirement, which individuals are guilty?

• A. The woman only.
• B. The man only.
• C. Both the woman and the man.
• D. Neither.

Answer: (C)

Burglary at common law requires entering the dwelling of another with intent to commit a felony inside. Removing the saddle from a structure shows the required felonious intent at the moment of entry, and the absence of a nighttime limitation means the entry can occur during the day and still count.

In this scenario, the two people entered a friend's barn and left with the saddle, showing they entered the structure with the purpose to take the saddle (theft). That satisfies the mens rea and the actus reus for burglary, even though the entry happened during the day. The friend’s later act of entering the woman’s house to reclaim the saddle does not change the fact that the two entered the barn with intent to commit a theft, so they are guilty of burglary.