The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 13: Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Chapter 029: Conspiracy

• §§ 1401-1403. Repealed. 1985, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 9.

• § 1404. Conspiracy

  (a) A person is guilty of conspiracy if, with the purpose that an offense listed in subsection (c) of this section be committed, that person agrees with one or more persons to commit or cause the commission of that offense, and at least two of the co-conspirators are persons who are neither law enforcement officials acting in official capacity nor persons acting in cooperation with a law enforcement official.

  (b) No person shall be convicted of conspiracy unless a substantial overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy is alleged and proved to have been done by the defendant or by a co-conspirator, other than a law enforcement official acting in an official capacity or a person acting in cooperation with a law enforcement official, and subsequent to the defendant’s entrance into the conspiracy. Speech alone may not constitute an overt act.

  (c) This section applies only to a conspiracy to commit or cause the commission of one or more of the following offenses:

  (1) murder in the first or second degree;

  (2) arson under sections 501-504 and 506 of this title;

  (3) sexual exploitation of children under sections 2822, 2823, and 2824 of this title;

  (4) receiving stolen property under sections 2561-2564 of this title; or

  (5) an offense involving the sale, delivery, manufacture, or cultivation of a regulated drug or an offense under:

  (A) 18 V.S.A. § 4230(c), relating to trafficking in cannabis;

  (B) 18 V.S.A. § 4231(c), relating to trafficking in cocaine;

  (C) 18 V.S.A. § 4233(c), relating to trafficking in heroin;

  (D) 18 V.S.A. § 4234(b)(3), relating to unlawful selling or dispensing of a depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, other than fentanyl, heroin, or cocaine;

  (E) 18 V.S.A. § 4234a(c), relating to trafficking in methamphetamine; or

  (F) 18 V.S.A. § 4233a(b), relating to trafficking in fentanyl. (Added 1985, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1989, No. 100, § 14; 2003, No. 54, § 2; 2011, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 9, 2012; 2013, No. 34, § 8; 2017, No. 62, § 6.)

• § 1405. Testimony of co-conspirator

  No person shall be convicted of conspiracy upon the testimony of a co-conspirator, unsupported by corroborating evidence. (Added 1985, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)

• § 1406. Defense

  It is a defense to a prosecution under this chapter that the defendant renounced his or her criminal purpose by:

  (1) conduct designed to prevent the commission of the crime agreed upon; or

  (2) giving timely notice to a law enforcement official of the conspiracy and of the defendant’s part in it; or

  (3) making a timely, positive statement to one or more of the other parties to the agreement that the defendant will not participate in the crime. (Added 1985, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)

• § 1407. Jurisdiction

  This chapter applies if:

  (1) the defendant while in this State conspires with another in this State; or

  (2) the defendant while in this State conspires with another who is outside this State; or

  (3) the defendant while outside of this State conspires with another who is in this State; or

  (4) the defendant while outside of this State conspires with another outside of this State and an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy is committed within this State by any conspirator. (Added 1985, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)

• § 1408. Venue

  A conspiracy may be prosecuted in the county or territorial unit in which any conspirator entered the conspiracy or in which an overt act was done in furtherance of the conspiracy. A court with jurisdiction over a conspiracy under this section also is a proper court for prosecution of any offense committed in furtherance of that conspiracy. (Added 1985, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 5.)

• § 1409. Penalties

  The penalty for conspiracy is the same as that authorized for the crime that is the object of the conspiracy. A sentence imposed under this section shall be concurrent with any sentence imposed for an offense which was an object of the conspiracy. (Added 1985, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; amended 2011, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 9, 2012.)