If you have been accused of being an accessory to a crime, you're probably wondering what's going to happen next. Being an accessory to a crime could have far-reaching consequences on your career as well as personal life. In this blog, we are going to go over the context of these cases and how they're usually handled to give you an idea of what you should expect. In addition, you will find out what actions you can take to defend yourself if you are ever charged with this offense. Read on to learn more.
What it Means to be an Accessory to a Crime
Anyone who assisted another person in committing an offense is considered an accessory. There are two categories of accessories:
- An accessory after the fact.
- An accessory before the fact.
The distinction between these two is usually the moment at which the accessory offered their assistance. An accessory before the fact is someone who helps an offender before an act is perpetrated. In many places, the legal system regards these individuals as though they are complicit in the base crime.
An accessory after the fact helps when the criminal act has already occurred. These offenses are often handled similarly to those for obstructing the administration of justice under criminal law. This results in a significant disparity in the possible penalties when convicted. In each situation, the accessory does not need to be present during the commissioning of the offense. They could still be an accessory even though they are miles away.
Accessory After-the-Fact Under California Penal Code 32
To be an "accessory after the fact" to a criminal offense implies that you assisted the offender after the offense was committed to help them avert legal consequences. While it is a less severe offense than aiding someone in the preparation or execution of a criminal act, this offense carries significant consequences. Some acts that could make you an accessory after the fact include:
- Providing a false alibi for a person who perpetrated an offense by claiming that you were at the same place or spotted them somewhere else outside of the location of the crime when the offense was being perpetrated.
- Allowing the perpetrator of an offense to take refuge inside your house.
- Allowing the individual to stow away stolen goods or cash on your premises.
Penal Code section 32 makes it illegal to give false information to law enforcement to conceal criminal activity. Being an accessory after the fact requires that you are aware that another individual perpetrated a felony, and that you assisted the offender in some manner following the commission of the offense to prevent their arrest or criminal prosecution.
Accessory Before the Fact
Helping or inciting another individual to carry out an offense makes you an accessory before the fact. If you provide any kind of assistance to a perpetrator of an offense during or before they commit it, you will be considered an accessory before the fact. However, in other states, accessories before the fact are people who assisted or facilitated the crime even though they weren't present.
In California, accessories before the fact are prosecuted under California's aiding and abetting statutes. These statutes stipulate that it is unlawful to aid another person in committing a crime. Some acts that qualify as an accessory before the fact include:
- Assisting in a heist by being the lookout.
- Supplying weapons for the commissioning of criminal activity, or
- Inciting another person to carry out the crime.
Standards of Proof For an Accessory to Crime Charge
What evidence must the state present to prove that an accused person was an accessory to a crime?
Accessory After the Fact
For the prosecution to be successful in obtaining a conviction, they must demonstrate that the following components were present at the commission of the offense in question:
- Someone had perpetrated a felony offense or was currently facing charges.
- The alleged accessory was aware of the other offense, or
- Was aware that they had been convicted or charged with a felony offense.
- The purported accessory after the fact helped, shielded, or sheltered the other offender.
- This was done by the alleged accessory to enable the other offender to avoid being apprehended, tried, found guilty, and punished for their crime.
Depending on how the main crime was committed, accessory after-the-fact crimes could take many different forms. A person who commits this offense could, for instance, assist the primary offender in concealing their actions, eliminating evidence related to their criminal activity, or assisting them in hiding.
Accessory Before the Fact
For accessory before the fact crimes, the elements the prosecution has to prove include:
- Someone perpetrated a crime.
- You were aware that the perpetrator had the intent to perpetrate the criminal act.
- You assisted the perpetrator in committing the act in question whether during or before the act was committed.
- Your actions enabled the offender to commit the offense.
You can't be found guilty of accessory before the fact unless the prosecution proves the forenamed elements beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Factors Considered By the Prosecutors
The prosecution also takes into account several elements relevant to the offender and the purported crime to find someone guilty of being an accessory to a crime. These elements include:
- If the accused was present when the act in question was committed.
- The defendant's proximity to the crime scene.
- The association between the principal and the accessory.
- How much the defendant knew about the main offense.
Aiding and Abetting
When someone aids a perpetrator before they execute the offense, they are considered an accessory before the fact. It is frequently referred to as aiding and abetting. The prosecution must also establish that the accessory before the fact didn't withdraw from the act.
Someone could be said to aid and abet under California's common law even if they did not physically aid the perpetrator. A person can be considered an accessory if they plan for an offense to be perpetrated and instigate, provoke, or urge another person to carry out the crime.
The defendant's presence at the scene of the crime indicates that they aided or abetted the act. But just because someone isn't there doesn't mean they weren't accessories to it.
The defendant's actions before or following the incident occurred, and also their association with the offender, are further considerations in assessing whether someone enabled the commissioning of the crime.
Sentencing Under California Laws
You can be prosecuted with either felonies or misdemeanors for being an accessory to a crime, even if the underlying offense was a felony. When deciding whether to prosecute you, the prosecutor could consider the following:
- The gravity of the offense.
- What have you done to assist the offender; and
- Whether you've had any criminal record.
According to Section 32 of the Penal Code (PC), being an accessory after the fact can result in either a misdemeanor or felony prosecution at the discretion of the prosecutor.
Penalties For Accessory to Crime Charges
Accessory charges have different penalties in each jurisdiction. To aid and abet a crime is often considered more serious than acting as an accessory after the fact. Most states have statutes that classify them as distinct offenses.
For instance, in California, the consequences of aiding and abetting convictions are similar to those of the base offenses. If the primary offense is punishable by five years in jail, then when you aid and abet you will be sentenced to a five-year prison sentence.
This rule does not apply if you are an accessory to murder.
When you are found guilty of an accessory after the fact offense as a felony, you could spend a maximum of five thousand dollars in fines and/or 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in state prison. An accessory after the fact crime charged as a misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of three hundred sixty-four days in jail and a maximum fine of five thousand dollars.
With such severe punishments possible, it is crucial to consult an expert criminal defense attorney to obtain legal counsel on the best course of action.
Fighting the Charges
Those who are charged with being accessories to crimes can put forward some legal defenses. Only a seasoned criminal defense lawyer can be able to tell you which option is best for your situation. The following are a few common examples:
You Acted Under Duress
Your criminal defense attorney can effectively defend you if you are charged with being an accessory to a crime if you thought your security was in jeopardy. You cannot be considered an accessory when the individual who perpetrated the crime threatened you and you had a good reason to believe they would follow through on their threat if you didn't assist them.
Withdrawal
You cannot be considered an accessory to a crime when you withdraw yourself from taking part in the offense before it was committed, and in doing so: 1) notified the other parties of your withdrawal, and 2) did all in your power to avoid the execution of the offense.
Take, for instance, the scenario in which you and your friend have devised a plan to burglarize a shop but, on your way there, you change your mind and inform your companion that you don't want to go through with the plan. They ignore your attempts to convince them against committing the crime despite your best efforts. You inform law enforcement about the burglary anonymously.
In this instance, you have complied with all requirements for withdrawing from criminal activity. You've done enough to prevent the crime from happening by calling the authorities with details of the burglary. However, the court would contend that only going home after trying to dissuade your companion was insufficient to stop the criminal act from happening.
No Knowledge
You may not have been aware that you had been aiding someone in evading detention, prosecution, and conviction for a serious crime when you didn't know that they had committed an offense.
Mental Impairment
The acts that a sensible individual would or wouldn't engage in in a given scenario are commonly used as a benchmark by the legal system to determine what constitutes ethical and lawful conduct. A person who is incapable of thinking or acting sensibly could be under the influence of an intoxicant, for example, alcohol or any other substance, a mental disease, or a medical condition that impairs how well they think. Your lawyer may contend that you did not have the mental ability to willfully perpetrate an offense, even though the impairment was only temporary.
You Were Only a Spectator
You can not be considered an accessory to a crime when you have witnessed an offense being carried out but choose not to alert the authorities since you didn't want to get involved. You had no intention of aiding the offender in evading the authorities; rather, you just want to go about your day.
Lawfully, you are not required to provide the police with any information. You are legally required to present and give testimony if you've been summoned to testify in a deposition or court.
However, even if law enforcement officers request you to go in for interrogation, you aren't obligated to provide them with your contact details or to describe to them what you saw. The best course of action in such a situation would be to respectfully decline or request the presence of your attorney.
No Felony was Committed
In California, some offenses are regarded as wobblers. They can therefore be prosecuted as either misdemeanors or felonies. If you deliberately assisted the perpetrator before or after a criminal act had already been committed and they were charged with a felony, you could be found guilty of being an accessory. However, you can be prosecuted for obstructing justice when the offense is filed as a misdemeanor.
Accessory-Related Offenses
A person accused of being an accessory to a crime could also be charged with other additional offenses. This list is by no means exhaustive:
Aiding And Abetting Under California Penal Code 31
Assisting another person in the commission of a crime in California can result in your arrest and prosecution. For example, when you know that a friend of yours is going to rob a store and you assist with organizing the criminal act by agreeing to conceal the getaway vehicle along with a portion of the goods stolen in your basement, you risk being prosecuted as the crime's principal, which implies that you can be convicted with armed robbery.
Obstructing Justice Under Penal Code 148
You cannot be accused of being an accessory to a crime when the offense was a misdemeanor, like petty theft. However, you can be accused of obstructing justice.
If, for instance, an acquaintance steals a motorbike and keeps it inside your home, and its value is $950 or less, you have assisted your friend to commit petty theft. As a result of assisting a friend to conceal the bike and evade arrest, you could be prosecuted for obstructing justice.
What Happens When You Assist Someone After They Have Committed a Premeditated Murder? Will I also be Prosecuted For Murder?
If you know that another individual has committed an offense, you shouldn't aid that person in evading justice.
You could be charged with accessory after the fact offense but not with murder when you were unaware of their plans to kill someone but they requested your assistance after the crime had been committed. You should have assisted in the preparation or execution of the offense to be prosecuted with the actual criminal offense.
It's crucial to understand the difference between these two situations because you may be accused of murder when you volunteered to assist someone after they had committed murder and you were aware they were going to kill someone before the offense was committed.
For instance, if a relative visits your home and requests that you conceal them when they have already murdered someone and you promise to do so before actually doing so, you can't be prosecuted for murder. However, you could be prosecuted for acting as an accessory after the fact in the crime.
Find a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
If you're found to be an accessory to a crime, you could be subject to serious legal repercussions. An accessory could be subject to the same repercussions as the offender, including probation, fines, and jail time, based on the specifics of the offense. If the accessory's actions were especially serious, they could potentially face worse consequences than the principal. If you are charged with being an accessory to a crime, finding work, a place to live, or getting a loan could be challenging after a conviction.
As a result, it is crucial to seek the counsel of a qualified criminal defense attorney if you are facing these charges. At The Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney, we can try to reduce the possible repercussions of a conviction and guide you in understanding your legal rights and alternatives. Call us today at 310-564-2605.
