SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Missouri’s sweeping safety bill, House Bill 495 goes into effect tomorrow, and with it comes a new statute that lawmakers hope will crack down on vehicle break-ins.

The statute adds second-degree burglary as an offense for entering a vehicle unlawfully with the intent to commit a theft, or any other felony. The bill states that this means a person intruding with any part of the body or a physical object connected to the body. If a person commits the offense while possessing a firearm at the time, or steals a firearm from the vehicle during the violation, they are guilty of a class C felony.

“Every year on August 28, statute amendments go into effect, and those often have a big effect on the criminal laws,” said defense attorney Adam Woody. “In this particular i

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