Understanding California Conspiracy Charges

Even if the crime didn’t take place, you can still be charged with this crime.

Understanding California Conspiracy Charges

Picture this scenario: you’re hanging out with your friends when you all decide that it would be fun to rob a bank. You all agree to commit the crime, and your friend even hops on his phone to buy ski masks from Amazon. You thought that it was just a joke — until you were arrested for a crime. Is this legal?

Under California law, it is a crime to agree with one or more other person to commit a crime, and one of the parties to the agreement commits an act in furtherance of that crime. It doesn’t matter if the criminal act ever took place. The agreement + overt act are enough to be charged with a crime. In the above example, you wouldn’t have been charged with a crime just for agreeing to rob a bank. But once a member of your group took a step towards that crime (buying ski masks to hide your identities, then you may be charged with the crime of conspiracy.

There are three elements to a conspiracy charge in California:

  • You agreed with another person or more than one person to commit a crime;
  • One of the parties to your agreement took an “overt act” to advance the agreement; and
  • At least one of the overt acts was committed in California.

According to a criminal defense attorney in Riverside, CA, to be charged with this crime, you must have actually agreed to commit the crime and had an intent to do so. If you were part of the group that made the agreement, but didn’t agree yourself, you did not engage in the conspiracy. Similarly, if you never had an intent to commit the crime — if you thought that everyone was joking — then it is not considered a conspiracy.

Even if you have entered into this type of agreement, you are not guilty of the crime of conspiracy if you withdrew from it — as long as you communicate that withdrawal before someone commits an overt act. In the example above, if you told your friends that you didn’t want any part of a plan to rob a bank before the ski masks were ordered, that may be sufficient.

The penalty for a conspiracy charge will be based on whether the crime that you intend to commit was a felony or a misdemeanor. If the intended crime is a felony, then you may be punished by whatever the penalty is for the underlying crime. If you conspire to commit a misdemeanor crime, then conspiracy may be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.

Like many other California crimes, conspiracy is a serious offense that may carry with it a substantial prison term and/or steep fines. For this reason, it is important to hire a criminal defense attorney in Riverside, CA who understands the law and how to apply the law to the facts of your specific case.

At the Chambers Law Firm, we represent clients throughout Southern California who have been charged with a range of offenses. Contact us today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation with a member of our team.

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