State v. Warner

The question is whether a metal signpost is a burglar’s tool so as to render defendant vulnerable to the charge of burglary in the first degree.

Defendant was convicted of burglary in the first degree and he appeals. He broke into a locked barn by prying a hasp and padlock from the barn door with a Northwest Natural Gas Company signpost. The signpost was a seven and one-half foot long steel I-beam with a yellow warning sign to mark underground cable still attached at the top. The Court of Appeals affirmed. 67 Or App 251, 677 P2d 733 (1984). We reverse.

Burglary in a building other than a…