New Hampshire Conspiracy Lawyer
To be charged with a conspiracy, there must be more than one person involved in the planning and/or execution of the crime, and an overt act in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy to commit the planned crime must be taken by one of the people who planned to commit the crime.
Anytime two or more people plan to commit a crime, conspiracy may be added as a criminal charge in addition to the underlying crime itself. The plan itself is the crime – regardless of whether the crime is completed. If you have been charged with conspiracy, get in touch with a New Hampshire conspiracy lawyer. A skilled defense attorney can mount a solid defense for you.
Co-Conspirators
Because multiple people are charged with conspiracy charges, each conspirator requires their own attorney. Most conspiracy charges are made based on the testimony or statement of one of the co-conspirators.
Sometimes one of the co-conspirators cooperates with prosecutors in exchange for leniency in their own prosecution. Another way that the police can learn of a conspiracy is when one of the would-be conspirators withdraws from the conspiracy before the crime is committed, or the conspiracy consummated.
New Hampshire Conspiracy law RSA 629:3, Paragraph III provides that withdrawal from a conspiracy is a complete defense under the following circumstances: “It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this statute that the actor renounces his criminal purpose by giving timely notice to a law enforcement official of the conspiracy and of the actor’s part in it, or by conduct designed to prevent commission of the crime agreed upon”. N.H. RSA 629:3, III.
When arrested for a crime with a conspiracy charge, or even earlier if you learn that you may be a target of a conspiracy investigation, it is important that you retain a New Hampshire conspiracy attorney immediately.
Conspiracy Penalties and Sentences in New Hampshire
A conspiracy is a crime where multiple people get together to plan and carry out a criminal act. For example, three people meet and decide to rob a bank. The people devise a plan and rob the bank. The three people are charged with bank robbery and conspiracy.
Now, if the same three people devise the same plan, but get caught before they enter the bank wearing ski masks and holding empty pillow cases marked money they could be charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery, even though their plan was foiled.
Conspiracy crimes can be either or both a New Hampshire state and federal crime. Under New Hampshire law, the penalty for conspiracy to commit a crime can be just as harsh as the potential sentencing range for the crime itself.
The penalty for conspiracy is the same as that authorized for the crime that was the object of the conspiracy, except that in the case of a conspiracy to commit murder the punishment shall be imprisonment for a term of not more than 30 years.
Controlled Drug Act
Another common type of conspiracy charge is conspiracy to violate the controlled drug act. A few people may agree to chip in to purchase illegal drugs to get a better deal on the price, and then to sell some of the drugs.
If one of them makes an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, such as attempting to negotiate or buy the drugs, whether they complete that purchase or not, all of those who agreed to go in on it could be prosecuted for conspiracy to violate New Hampshire’s drug laws, and be subject to the same penalties as if they had completed the crime.
Words alone, agreeing to commit a crime, can be enough for a conspiracy charge to come down against you. Absent express consent, a conspiracy may also be inferred by the actions or behavior of the conspirators. Mere physical presence by itself is not enough to commit conspiracy.
How Law Enforcement Investigates Conspiracies
Someone accused of engaging in a criminal conspiracy many times is the subject of a law enforcement surveillance or sting operation. At any point during the investigation that they believe they can establish probable cause, law enforcement officials can obtain an arrest warrant for the suspects and charge them with conspiracy and an attempted crime or conspiracy and the crime.
Whether arrested at the planning stage or execution stage, the moment the plan is hatched and the overt act in furtherance mentioned above is taken, the conspiracy crime is committed.
Law enforcement efforts include monitoring social media. It is important not to place photos or statements on any social media accounts that could incriminate an individual. This includes their screen names and hashtags that they use on social media.
Talk to a Conspiracy Attorney Today
If you have been charged with criminal conspiracy in addition to an underlying crime, or as a stand-alone complaint or indictment, contact a New Hampshire conspiracy lawyer to schedule a consultation right away. The best evidence a conspiracy exists is for law enforcement to get one of the conspirators to turn against the others and reveal the scheme. Time is of the essence.