Yes, you can be. Knowingly hiding or helping someone after they commit a felony, intending that they avoid arrest or punishment, makes you an accessory under Penal Code 32, which can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor. Destroying evidence, hiding stolen property and pressuring a witness are separate crimes. A deliberate lie to investigators can count as accessory help, while simply refusing to talk generally does not.
Which charge fits which kind of help?
The charge depends on what was actually done, when it was done and what the person knew at the time. The same act can fit more than one statute.
| What was done | Possible charge | How it is punished |
|---|---|---|
| Hiding the person, giving them a place to stay, driving them away, or getting rid of a car or weapon they used, after a felony | Accessory after the fact, Penal Code 32 | A fine up to $5,000, county jail up to one year, or a felony term under section 1170(h), under section 33 |
| Destroying, erasing or concealing a record or item that is about to be produced as evidence | Penal Code 135 | Misdemeanor |
| Concealing, selling or withholding property you know was stolen | Penal Code 496(a) | Misdemeanor if the value is $950 or less, unless the person has a prior conviction for certain grave offenses, such as murder, or for a registrable sex offense; above that, felony or misdemeanor |
| Telling police or a prosecutor that a crime happened when you know it did not | Penal Code 148.5 | Misdemeanor |
| Knowingly stating something false about a material matter under oath | Perjury, Penal Code 118 | Two, three or four years under section 1170(h), under section 126 |
| Trying to stop a victim or witness from reporting the crime or testifying | Penal Code 136.1 | County jail up to one year or state prison; two, three or four years with force, threats or other listed circumstances |
| Willfully resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer | Penal Code 148(a)(1) | County jail up to one year, a fine up to $1,000, or both |
Hiding the person or helping them get away
Accessory liability applies only after a felony. Under Penal Code 32, a person who "harbors, conceals or aids" someone who committed a felony, knowing about the felony and intending that the person "avoid or escape from arrest, trial, conviction or punishment," is an accessory. Help given after a misdemeanor does not fit this statute, although the evidence and witness laws below can still apply.
The help has to be active. In People v. Partee (2020), the California Supreme Court said the assistance must be "overt or affirmative," and it pointed to examples such as disposing of a vehicle the person used in a murder, and driving someone away from an attempted murder and helping hide the gun. By contrast, encouraging the person to run away and then hiding with them was held not to be enough. The full list of elements, and how the timing of the help is judged, is covered in what Penal Code 32 requires.
Help given before or during the crime raises a different question. Penal Code 31 treats people who "aid and abet in its commission" as principals in the crime itself, which carries the punishment for that crime rather than the accessory range. That is why the exact moment the help began matters; see when a getaway driver becomes an aider of robbery.
Destroying evidence or hiding stolen property
Penal Code 135 makes it a misdemeanor to willfully destroy, erase or conceal a record, digital image, video or other thing, knowing it "is about to be produced in evidence upon a trial, inquiry, or investigation," with the intent to keep it from being produced. Deleting messages or throwing an item away after learning of an investigation can lead to this charge, but the prosecution has to prove both the knowledge and the intent.
Getting rid of something the person used in the crime can also be the active help an accessory charge requires, as the vehicle and gun examples above show. If the item is stolen, Penal Code 496(a) separately covers anyone who "conceals, sells, withholds, or aids in concealing" property knowing it was stolen. That offense is a misdemeanor when the value is $950 or less, unless the person has a prior conviction for certain grave offenses, such as murder, or for an offense requiring sex offender registration, and above that amount it can be charged as a felony; see receiving stolen property charges.
Is lying to the police for someone a crime?
It can be, depending on what was said and why. California appellate courts have upheld accessory convictions based on deliberate false statements to investigators: a false alibi in People v. Duty (1969), a misleading account of a fatal shooting in In re I.M. (2005), and a false claim of having seen nothing unusual in People v. Plengsangtip (2007). The Supreme Court reviewed those cases in Partee, quoting the rule from Plengsangtip that a person who chooses to speak "may not affirmatively misrepresent facts concerning the crime" while knowing about the felony and intending to shield the person. Partee itself did not decide whether a false statement alone is enough.
Other statutes reach specific kinds of lies. Penal Code 148.5 makes it a misdemeanor to report to police or a prosecutor that a crime was committed "knowing the report to be false." Knowingly stating something false about a material matter under oath is perjury under Penal Code 118, punishable by two, three or four years under section 126; see perjury charges. A false statement to a federal agent is a separate federal question; see what to do after a false statement to a federal agent.
Pressuring a victim or witness not to report or testify
Penal Code 136.1 covers more than threats. Subdivision (b)(1) makes it a crime to attempt to prevent or dissuade a victim or witness from reporting the crime to a peace officer, so asking someone not to call the police can be charged even if they report it anyway, because the statute covers the attempt. Subdivision (a) covers knowingly and maliciously preventing or dissuading a witness or victim from attending or giving testimony.
Both subdivisions carry up to one year in county jail or a state prison term. Subdivision (c) raises the range to two, three or four years in state prison when the act is done knowingly and maliciously and involves force or a threat of violence, a conspiracy, a prior conviction under the same section, or money or other consideration at someone else's request. See witness intimidation charges.
Is staying silent a crime, and does family matter?
Generally, silence alone is not a crime. As the Court of Appeal put it in Plengsangtip, in language Partee quoted, "a person generally does not have an obligation to volunteer information to police or to speak with police about a crime." Partee held that even refusing to testify under a subpoena is not, by itself, accessory conduct. That refusal can still be punished as misdemeanor contempt of court under Penal Code 166(a)(6), and the witness in Partee was convicted of contempt.
A few statutes create narrow duties to speak. Penal Code 152.3 requires a person who reasonably believes they saw the murder or rape of a child under 14, or a forcible lewd act on a child under 14, to notify a peace officer, and failing to do so is a misdemeanor. That duty has exceptions, including for people related to the victim or the offender.
Being family does not change the accessory statute. Penal Code 32 contains no exception for parents, spouses or other relatives, so a relative who actively hides someone or helps them get away can be charged like anyone else. What courts have protected is passive conduct: in Shortridge v. Municipal Court (1984), quoted in Partee, the court said "[m]ere passive nondisclosure is not the type of activity which renders one an accessory," noting the dilemma parents would otherwise face.
For how the firm approaches charges like these, see its criminal defense page.