WENATCHEE, Wash. - A Spokane Judge overturned a burglary conviction against a Mattawa man when the appeals court decided a fenced in area with three sides did not meet the definition of a building.
The Appeals Court says a fenced area can meet the definition of a building but this case is one fence short.
The decision overturned the conviction of Enrique Retana Gonzalez, 31, who was stopped near Wenatchee in August 2011 with a stolen outboard motor in his car. A judge convicted him of second-degree burglary.
Chief Appellate Judge Kevin Korsmo said Tuesday that it was not a burglary because the motor was taken from a partially fenced storage yard.
