State of MONTANA,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
William Jay GOLLEHON,
Defendant and Appellant.

No. 93-066.
Submitted on Briefs Sept. 23, 1993.
Decided Dec. 7, 1993.
262 Mont. 293, 864 P.2d 1257

Inmate was convicted in the Third Judicial District Court, Powell County, Ted L. Mizner, J., of two counts of kidnapping by accountability, one count of burglary, and five counts of deliberate homicide in connection with events which occurred during prison riot. Defendant appealed. The Supreme Court, Trieweiler, J., held that inmate could properly be charged with burglary for entering block of maximum security unit with intent to commit offense of rioting, as block satisfied statutory definition of “occupied structure”. Affirmed.

*296 TRIEWEILER, Justice.
Defendant William Jay Gollehon was charged in the District Court for the Third Judicial District in Powell County with two counts of kidnapping by accountability, one count of burglary, and five counts of deliberate homicide. Following a seven-day jury trial in Bozeman, Montana, Gollehon was convicted of all charges and was subsequently sentenced by the District Court. Gollehon appeals from his convictions. We affirm the judgment of the District Court.

The following issue is presented on appeal: Did the District Court err when it denied defendant's motion to dismiss the charge of burglary?

On the morning of September 22, 1991, William Jay Gollehon and eight other Montana State Prison inmates gained access to, and took control of, the maximum security unit of the prison. When officers regained control of the building four hours later, five protective custody inmates had died as a result of the riot that Gollehon and others participated in.

The maximum security building is divided into two separate areas. "A Block," "B Block," and "C Block" are located on the west side of the building. "D Block," "E Block," and "F Block" are located on the east side. Control cages are located on each side of the building. The west control **1260 cage regulates the power to A, B, and C Blocks, and the east control cage regulates the power to D, E, and F Blocks. Centered between the two units of the building are six separate exercise yards. At the time of the riot, there were ten protective custody inmates housed on D Block, and a total of 68 inmates in the maximum security building. Gollehon was one of the maximum security inmates housed on C Block.

During the morning of September 22, 1991, thirteen inmates, including Gollehon, were in the exercise yards. While officers were returning some of the inmates from the exercise yards to their cells, Gollehon and eight other inmates broke through the wire fences *297 separating the exercise areas and eventually gained access to the section of the maximum security building leading to A, B, and C Blocks. Once inside the building, the inmates were able to reach both control cages and ultimately were able to open the doors to all of the blocks in the maximum security unit.

While the inmates had control of the building, five officers took refuge by locking themselves in a shower facility in C Block. The inmates threatened to burn the officers out of the shower if they did not release keys to other sections of the building. The officers complied, and then heard the inmates say they were going to go to D Block and "get" the protective custody inmates. The officers remained in the shower until they were released by other officers after the riot.

Two protective custody inmates who were working outside their cells took refuge by barricading themselves in the laundry room. The rioting inmates, including Gollehon, tried unsuccessfully to break down the door and to smoke them out of the laundry room by starting a fire. At one point, not expecting to survive the attack, one of the inmates wrote the names of the inmates who were trying to get at them on the side of the dryer. Gollehon's name was included. Unable to get at the inmates in the laundry room, the rioting inmates entered D Block, opened the cells, and proceeded to kill five of the protective custody inmates.

On February 3, 1992, Gollehon was charged in an eight count information with two counts of kidnapping by accountability in violation of §§ 45-2-302 and 45-5-302, MCA; one count of burglary in violation of § 45-6-204, MCA; and five counts of deliberate homicide in violation of § 45-5-102(1)(b), MCA.

Gollehon filed motions to dismiss the burglary and homicide charges on the grounds that the burglary statute was not applicable to the facts of the case and that the homicide counts, based on the felony murder theory, would, therefore, necessarily fall. This motion was denied.

Gollehon was convicted of all charges following a jury trial. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on each count of kidnapping, and 20 years on the count of burglary, all of which were to run consecutively. *298 He was sentenced to five concurrent terms of life imprisonment on the deliberate homicide convictions, to run consecutively with the sentences imposed for kidnapping and burglary, and the sentences already being served for prior offenses. From this judgment, Gollehon appeals.

Did the District Court err when it denied defendant's motion to dismiss the charge of burglary?

The burglary charge was based on the allegation that Gollehon had "knowingly entered or remained unlawfully in an occupied structure, the D block area of the maximum security unit, with the purpose to commit an offense therein, namely, Riot." Section 45-2-101(40), MCA, defines occupied structure as follows:

**1261 "Occupied structure" means any building, vehicle, or other place suitable for human occupancy or night lodging of persons or for carrying on business, whether or not a person is actually present. Each unit of a building consisting of two or more units separately secured or occupied is a separate occupied structure. [Emphasis added].

Gollehon contends that the court should have dismissed the burglary charge on the basis that the definition of occupied structure is inapplicable to his unauthorized entry into D Block. He asserts that the maximum security unit is one single building, and that no sections of the building constitute a separate occupied structure apart from the remainder of the unit. As a matter of law, he contends that he could not be charged with burglary for entering D Block during the September 1991 riot.

When reviewing a trial court's interpretation of the law, the standard of review employed by this Court is whether the court correctly interpreted the law. Steer, Inc. v. Department of Revenue (1990), 245 Mont. 470, 803 P.2d 601. In this instance, the court concluded that the burglary statute was applicable because the definition of "occupied structure" encompassed the D Block of the maximum security unit. After considering the express language of the statute in question, and the circumstances of this case, we conclude that the court correctly interpreted the statute and did not err when it denied Gollehon's motion to dismiss the burglary charge.

The language used in § 45-2-101(40), MCA, defining occupied structure is plain and unambiguous. It clearly states that each unit of a building which consists of two or more separately secured units *299 is a separate occupied structure. The maximum security unit is a building consisting of several "blocks" which are physically distinct and are separately secured. Moreover, each block consists of separately secured cells which are intended for human occupancy. The plain language of the statute clearly contemplates that a burglary can occur within parts of a building when one unlawfully enters or remains within a separately secured unit within that building. The unauthorized entry by Gollehon and the other rioting inmates into D Block of the maximum security unit fits squarely within the burglary statute. When statutory language is plain, unambiguous, direct, and certain, a court cannot apply any other means of interpretation. White v. White (1981), 195 Mont. 470, 636 P.2d 844.

Gollehon claims that this interpretation of the statute is contrary to the provisions of § 45-1-102(1)(c), MCA, which requires that the definition of an offense provides "fair warning of the nature of the conduct declared to constitute an offense." He notes that the Powell County District Court records reveal that no prisoner has ever been charged with burglary for unauthorized entry into another area of the prison, but here, without fair warning that he could be charged in this manner, he stands convicted of five counts of homicide by virtue of the State's unprecedented application of the burglary statute. He contends that the burglary statute does not state that it specifically applies to prisons and that if the Legislature intended it to apply to the State Prison it could have expressly so stated. Without such a statement, he asserts the inference must be drawn that such an application of the statute was not intended.

Montana's burglary statute does not enumerate specific structures or types of buildings to which it applies. Rather, the statute refers to an "occupied structure" which, in turn, is generally defined. Because the statute is general in nature, it is inconsistent to suggest that a structure satisfying the definition of an occupied structure cannot be the site of a burglary unless it is specifically enumerated. Even though no prisoners have previously been charged with burglary for conduct occurring within the prison, the language of the statute is clear and provides fair notice to all persons of conduct which constitutes the criminal offense of burglary.

Gollehon also argues that the prison handbook, which describes internal institutional rules, does not warn inmates that an **1262 inmate's presence in an unauthorized area of the prison could result in a charge of burglary in district court. The prison's orientation handbook does not serve as an exclusive list of offenses for which an inmate can *300 be charged in court. The prison handbook warns inmates to follow all "city, county, state, and federal laws," and the internal disciplinary procedures established by the prison do not exempt inmates from compliance with the laws of the State of Montana.

Gollehon urges this Court to reject the application of the burglary statute to this situation due to the unique circumstances which exist in a prison. Because prisoners are required to be in certain authorized areas only and are not allowed the same liberties that the general population enjoys, he contends that different concepts must be employed when an inmate ventures into unauthorized areas of the prison.

The law provides that a person is liable for burglary only when he or she unlawfully enters an occupied structure with the purpose to commit an offense therein. Section 45-6-204(1), MCA. The fact that an inmate may be in an unauthorized area of the prison does not, by itself, constitute a burglary. However, if he or she enters that area for the purpose of committing an offense, an inmate should be as liable as anyone else for the consequences of that act. Although this Court has not previously addressed burglary in the context of a correctional facility, our decision is consistent with the holding in People v. Pringle (N.Y.App.Div.1983), 96 A.D.2d 873, 465 N.Y.S.2d 742, in which a New York court addressed a similar situation. After considering language in the burglary statute defining "building" as a structure consisting of "two or more units separately secured or occupied," that court held that a nurse's station within a prison was a "building" for purposes of the burglary statute. The factor deemed decisive was that the nurse's station was an independent unit within the prison building with its own secure entrance. Pringle, 96 A.D.2d 873, 465 N.Y.S.2d at 743. Here, D Block is similarly an independent area of the maximum security unit which is separately secured. Because Gollehon entered that area for the purpose of committing an offense, we conclude that he is appropriately chargeable with burglary.
We hold that the District Court correctly concluded that Gollehon could be charged with burglary for his unauthorized entry into D Block during the September 1991 riot.

The judgment of the District Court is affirmed.

TURNAGE, C.J., and HARRISON, GRAY, HUNT, NELSON and WEBER, JJ., concur.
Mont.,1993.
State v. Gollehon
262 Mont. 293, 864 P.2d 1257
END OF DOCUMENT