Georgia Rapper Charged with Conspiracy After 400 Pounds of Marijuana Discovered

News came in last week that Atlanta rap artist, Ralo (Terrell Davis), was arrested on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana at the Peachtree DeKalb Airport. He allegedly flew in over 400 pounds of marijuana on a private jet into the small airport. 

According to reports, the county charges were dropped as a result of this situation being apart of a federal investigation. Ralo is reported to be affiliated with a gang known as “Famerica,” and there have been multiple raids throughout Southwest Atlanta in the past week.

Although the charges were dropped on the state level as Ralo is facing federal charges, let's look at what conspiracy to commit a crime is in Georgia because it falls into the category of Crimes Involving Other Parties in Georgia and that can be even more complicated.

What is conspiracy to commit a crime in Georgia?

Conspiracy to commit a crime in Georgia is one of few criminal offenses where the crime does not actually have to be completed in order for someone to be guilty of the offense. The goal with the offense of conspiracy is to prevent heinous and serious crimes from taking place in the first place. Georgia is not the only state to have a conspiracy law - most states have them, just punishments and statute language change. 

The Georgia Code defines conspiracy to commit a crime in Georgia as:

“when a person together with one or more persons conspires to commit any crime and any one or more of such persons does any overt act to effect the object of the conspiracy” (O.C.G.A. §16-4-8).

According to Georgia Courts, there must be an agreement or even just a mere tacit understanding between at least two people that they will commit a crime. This means that in order to be convicted of conspiracy, the accused person or persons must actually be actively working on the arrangement to commit a crime. 

If the state of Georgia finds the accused person guilty of conspiracy to commit a crime and he or she is convicted, then there are three different options for penalties. 

1. If the conspiracy was to commit a felony, then the the accused will be punished as if they were convicted of a felony. This means imprisonment of anywhere from one year to one half of the maximum period of the felony crime they were conspiring to commit. 
2. Second, if the conspiracy was to commit a misdemeanor, then the accused will be punished as if they were convicted of a misdemeanor. 
3. If the conspiracy was to commit a crime that could be punishable by a life sentence or by death, the punishment will only be for imprisonment between one to ten years. 
   
   

If you or a loved one has been charged with conspiracy in Georgia, contact a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer today. We can walk you through the judicial process and determine what Georgia Criminal Defenses apply to your particular case as well as what your best options are.