Soliciting a felony in Colorado
Under Section 18-2-301 of the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) you commit
criminal solicitation when:
- You attempt to persuade another person to commit a felony, or
- You offer your services or the services of a third party as either a principal or accomplice to commit a felony;
AND
- You intend to promote or facilitate the commission of that crime, under circumstances strongly corroborative of that intent.
A key difference between solicitation and conspiracy is that for the crime of conspiracy to take place, there must be an agreement between at least two people to commit a crime and an overt act in furtherance of that agreement. In the offense of
criminal solicitation, on the other hand, the motive or intent of the person solicited is irrelevant to the question of whether the person soliciting the crime has violated the solicitation statute.
And to be guilty of criminal attempt, you must engage in
conduct constituting a substantial step toward the commission of the offense. This differs from both solicitation and conspiracy, neither of which require anything more than statements (albeit ones made with intent to facilitate or engage in a crime).
The important thing to note is that each of these offenses requires the proof of at least one fact not required by the other. For instance, a conspiracy may be committed without the inducement required for the crime of solicitation.
Solicitation, on the other hand, may be committed without the parties ever reaching an agreement or without any overt act in furtherance of the crime solicited.
CO - Kelsey Berreth, 29, Woodland Park, Teller County, 22 Nov 2018 - #13 *ARREST*