Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity

From the Law Office of Alison Grinter in Dallas, Texas

1 Degree
2 Statute(s)
3 Caselaw
4 Collateral Consequences
5 Notes

Degree

The degree of punishment for organized criminal activity depends on the crime(s) that the conspiracy commits or attempts to commit. Only certain crimes can be used to prove Organized Criminal Activity. See the statute below for the list.

Basically, Organized crime is one degree higher than the most serious listed crime that is committed, except that if the most serious crime is a Class A Misdemeanor then the Organized Crime is charged as a Third Degree Felony (the state jail felony level is skipped).

Just conspiring to commit an offense that is part of Organized Criminal Activity is the same degree as the most serious crime the person conspired to commit.

Statute(s)

Sec. 71.02. ENGAGING IN ORGANIZED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.

a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination or as a member of a criminal street gang, he commits or conspires to commit one or more of the following:
(1) Murder, Capital Murder, Arson, Aggravated Robbery, Robbery, Burglary, Theft, Aggravated Kidnapping, Kidnapping, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault, Forgery, Deadly Conduct, Assault punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, Burglary of a Motor Vehicle, or Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle;
(2) any Gambling offense punishable as a Class A misdemeanor;
(3) Promotion of Prostitution, Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution, or Compelling Prostitution;
(4) unlawful manufacture, transportation, repair, or sale of firearms or prohibited weapons;
(5) unlawful manufacture, delivery, dispensation, or distribution of a controlled substance or dangerous drug, or unlawful possession of a controlled substance or dangerous drug through forgery, fraud, misrepresentation, or deception;
(6) any unlawful wholesale promotion or possession of any obscene material or obscene device with the intent to wholesale promote the same;
(7) any offense under Subchapter B, Chapter 43, depicting or involving conduct by or directed toward a child younger than 18 years of age;
(8) any felony offense under Chapter 32;
(9) any offense under Chapter 36;
(10) any offense under Chapter 34 or 35;
(11) any offense under Section 37.11(a);
(12) any offense under Chapter 20A; or
(13) any offense under Section 37.10.
14) any offense under Section 46.06(a)(1) or 46.14.

Text of subsection as amended by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1130, Sec. 1

(a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination or as a member of a criminal street gang, he commits or conspires to commit one or more of the following:
(1) murder, capital murder, arson, aggravated robbery, robbery, burglary, theft, aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, forgery, deadly conduct, assault punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, burglary of a motor vehicle, or unauthorized use of a motor vehicle;
(2) any gambling offense punishable as a Class A misdemeanor;
(3) promotion of prostitution, aggravated promotion of prostitution, or compelling prostitution;
(4) unlawful manufacture, transportation, repair, or sale of firearms or prohibited weapons;
(5) unlawful manufacture, delivery, dispensation, or distribution of a controlled substance or dangerous drug, or unlawful possession of a controlled substance or dangerous drug through forgery, fraud, misrepresentation, or deception;
(6) any unlawful wholesale promotion or possession of any obscene material or obscene device with the intent to wholesale promote the same;
(7) any offense under Subchapter B, Chapter 43, depicting or involving conduct by or directed toward a child younger than 18 years of age;
(8) any felony offense under Chapter 32;
(9) any offense under Chapter 36;
(10) any offense under Chapter 34 or 35;
(11) any offense under Section 37.11(a);
(12) any offense under Chapter 20A;
(13) any offense under Section 37.10; or
(14) any offense under Section 38.06, 38.07, 38.09, or 38.11.

Text of subsection as amended by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1357, Sec. 2

(a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination or as a member of a criminal street gang, he commits or conspires to commit one or more of the following:
(1) murder, capital murder, arson, aggravated robbery, robbery, burglary, theft, aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, forgery, deadly conduct, assault punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, burglary of a motor vehicle, or unauthorized use of a motor vehicle;
(2) any gambling offense punishable as a Class A misdemeanor;
(3) promotion of prostitution, aggravated promotion of prostitution, or compelling prostitution;
(4) unlawful manufacture, transportation, repair, or sale of firearms or prohibited weapons;
(5) unlawful manufacture, delivery, dispensation, or distribution of a controlled substance or dangerous drug, or unlawful possession of a controlled substance or dangerous drug through forgery, fraud, misrepresentation, or deception;
(6) any unlawful wholesale promotion or possession of any obscene material or obscene device with the intent to wholesale promote the same;
(7) any offense under Subchapter B, Chapter 43, depicting or involving conduct by or directed toward a child younger than 18 years of age;
(8) any felony offense under Chapter 32;
(9) any offense under Chapter 36;
(10) any offense under Chapter 34 or 35;
(11) any offense under Section 37.11(a);
(12) any offense under Chapter 20A;
(13) any offense under Section 37.10; or
(14) any offense under Section 42.10.

(b) Except as provided in Subsection (c) of this section, an offense under this section is one category higher than the most serious offense listed in Subdivisions (1) through (10) of Subsection (a) of this section that was committed, and if the most serious offense is a Class A misdemeanor, the offense is a felony of the third degree, except that if the most serious offense is a felony of the first degree, the offense is a felony of the first degree.

(c) Conspiring to commit an offense under this section is of the same degree as the most serious offense listed in Subsection (a) that the person conspired to commit.
(d) At the punishment stage of a trial, the defendant may raise the issue as to whether in voluntary and complete renunciation of the offense he withdrew from the combination before commission of an offense listed in Subsection (a) and made substantial effort to prevent the commission of the offense. If the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence the offense is the same category of offense as the most serious offense listed in Subsection (a) that is committed, unless the defendant is convicted of conspiring to commit the offense, in which event the offense is one category lower than the most serious offense that the defendant conspired to commit.
Added by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 922, ch. 346, Sec. 1, eff. June 10, 1977. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 2373, ch. 587, Sec. 1 to 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1981; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 782, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 555, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 761, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 318, Sec. 24, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 189, Sec. 9, eff. May 21, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 685, Sec. 8, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 641, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1162, Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1163, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 153, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1130, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1357, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2009.