What Is an Attempted Crime in Arizona? (13-1001)
Charged with an attempt in Arizona under A.R.S. § 13-1001? You can be prosecuted for a crime that was never finished , but an attempt is punished one class lower than the completed offense, and these cases turn on intent. Get a defense attorney to review the evidence today.
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What is an attempted crime in Arizona?
In Arizona, an attempted crime under A.R.S. 13-1001 means you intentionally took a substantial step toward committing an offense, even if it was never finished. An attempt is generally punished one class lower than the completed crime, so an attempted class 3 felony is charged as a class 4 felony.
Most people assume that if a crime never happened, there is nothing to charge. Arizona law says otherwise. Under the state’s inchoate (preparatory) offense statutes, you can be prosecuted for taking steps toward a crime even when the final act is interrupted, fails, or is stopped by police. Attempt is the most common of these charges. This guide explains what an attempt actually is in Arizona, the exact rule that sets its punishment, how it differs from the related inchoate crimes, and the defenses that work in Arizona courts. For the broader picture of how the state builds these cases, see our criminal defense overview.
An attempt is a separate crime for trying to commit another crime. Under A.R.S. 13-1001, a person commits attempt when, acting with the culpability required for the underlying offense, they intentionally do or omit anything that is a step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in the commission of that offense. In plain terms, you do not have to finish the crime. You only have to intend to commit it and take a real step toward carrying it out.
The statute also covers two related situations: engaging in conduct that would be a crime if the circumstances were as you believed them to be, and doing anything intended to help another person commit an offense. What ties all three together is intent. Attempt is a specific-intent crime, which means the state has to prove you actually meant to bring about the completed offense, not that you were careless or reckless. That intent requirement is closely tied to Arizona’s culpable mental state rules, and it is often where these cases are won or lost.
The substantial step that turns a plan into a crime
The line between a legal (and not chargeable) thought and a criminal attempt is the substantial step. Arizona courts require conduct that is strongly corroborative of the person’s criminal intent, not mere preparation and not just talk. Buying a legal item, thinking about a crime, or even saying you want to do something is usually not enough on its own. The step has to move the plan meaningfully toward completion.
Examples that courts have treated as substantial steps include lying in wait for a victim, luring someone to a location, casing a building to be burglarized, or reaching for a weapon during a confrontation. The closer the conduct comes to the final act, and the more it confirms that the person meant to go through with it, the more likely a court is to call it a substantial step. Because this is a fact-intensive question, it is one of the most heavily litigated issues in any Arizona attempt case.
The one-class-lower rule and how attempt is punished
Here is the rule that surprises people the most. An attempt is generally punished one class lower than the offense the person was trying to commit. That downgrade is written directly into A.R.S. 13-1001(C). It does not make an attempt minor, because a class 2 felony attempt is still a class 3 felony with real prison exposure, but it does mean an attempt carries less punishment than the completed crime would have.
The statute lays out the full downgrade ladder. Each class of completed offense drops one level when it is only attempted:
- Attempt to commit a class 2 felony is a class 3 felony.
- Attempt to commit a class 3 felony is a class 4 felony.
- Attempt to commit a class 4 felony is a class 5 felony.
- Attempt to commit a class 5 felony is a class 6 felony.
- Attempt to commit a class 6 felony drops all the way to a class 1 misdemeanor.
- Attempt to commit a class 1 misdemeanor is a class 2 misdemeanor, and the ladder continues down through the lower misdemeanor and petty-offense levels.
One important exception sits at the very top of the ladder. An attempt to commit a class 1 felony (first-degree murder is the main example) is a class 2 felony under the statute rather than dropping through some higher tier. Because a class 1 felony is already the most serious classification Arizona has, the statute fixes attempted first-degree murder as a class 2 felony, which still carries some of the harshest sentencing in Arizona law. That is why attempted homicide and other attempted violent crimes are prosecuted aggressively even though technically no one died.
Attempt vs. solicitation, conspiracy, and facilitation
Attempt is one of four preparatory or inchoate crimes in Arizona. They all punish conduct before a crime is completed, but they are not the same, and prosecutors sometimes stack more than one against a single defendant. The biggest practical difference is how each one is classified compared to the target offense, because that controls the sentence. The table below breaks down the four side by side.
The four inchoate crimes in Arizona
Sources: A.R.S. 13-1001 (attempt), 13-1002 (solicitation), 13-1003 (conspiracy), 13-1004 (facilitation)
| Offense | What it punishes | How it is classified |
|---|---|---|
| Attempt A.R.S. 13-1001 |
Intentionally taking a substantial step toward committing the crime yourself. | Generally one class lower than the completed offense (attempted class 3 felony = class 4 felony). |
| Solicitation A.R.S. 13-1002 |
Asking, commanding, or encouraging another person to commit the offense. | Roughly two classes lower than the target crime (soliciting a class 1 felony = class 3 felony). |
| Conspiracy A.R.S. 13-1003 |
Agreeing with one or more people to commit the crime, usually with an overt act toward it. | The same class as the most serious offense that is the object of the agreement. |
| Facilitation A.R.S. 13-1004 |
Knowingly providing another person the means or opportunity to commit the offense. | The lowest exposure, generally two or more classes lower than the target crime. |
This chart shows classification only, not the full sentencing range for any specific charge. Because conspiracy carries the same class as the target crime, it is often the most serious of the four. Verify current classes against the linked statutes, and see our Arizona conspiracy guide for how that charge works.
The takeaway is that these four charges are not interchangeable. An attempt punishes what you did toward the crime yourself; solicitation punishes asking someone else to do it; conspiracy punishes the agreement; and facilitation punishes helping. Because conspiracy under A.R.S. 13-1003 carries the same class as the completed crime, being charged with conspiracy is usually more dangerous than being charged with an attempt at the same offense.
Why people get charged when the crime was never completed
Prosecutors file attempt charges for a simple reason: Arizona law lets them punish the intent plus the action, not just the result. If police interrupt a crime, if a plan fails on its own, or if an undercover operation ends before the final act, the state can still charge attempt. It is also a common fallback when the evidence of a completed crime is weak. A prosecutor who is not confident a jury will convict on the finished offense may charge the attempt as a safer alternative or add it alongside the main count.
Attempt also shows up heavily in sting and controlled-buy cases, in interrupted burglaries and robberies, and in domestic and violent-crime situations where an act was started but not finished. The charge gives prosecutors leverage in plea negotiations, because a defendant facing both a completed count and an attempt count has more to lose. Understanding why the state chose to file an attempt is the first step in figuring out how to attack it.
Defenses to an attempt charge in Arizona
Because an attempt has two required parts, intent and a substantial step, the defense usually targets one or both. These are the arguments that come up most often in Arizona attempt cases.
- Abandonment and renunciation. A.R.S. 13-1005 provides a defense when a person voluntarily and completely renounces their criminal intent and abandons the effort before the crime is completed. A genuine change of heart, not one forced by a greater chance of getting caught, can defeat an attempt charge.
- No substantial step. If the conduct was only preparation, talk, or an ambiguous act that does not strongly confirm criminal intent, it may not rise to a substantial step at all. This is the single most litigated issue in attempt cases.
- No intent. Attempt requires specific intent to commit the target crime. If the state cannot prove you actually meant to complete that offense, the charge fails, regardless of how the situation looked.
- Legal impossibility and mistaken facts. While factual impossibility is generally not a defense in Arizona, a genuine legal impossibility, where the intended act would not actually be a crime, can be. These arguments are technical and fact-specific.
- Identity, entrapment, and unlawful search. Standard defenses still apply. If police created the crime through entrapment, misidentified who took the step, or gathered evidence through an illegal search, the attempt case can collapse with the underlying proof.
Realistic outcomes in Arizona courts
Because an attempt sits one class below the completed offense, it often creates room to negotiate that a completed charge would not. A first-time defendant facing an attempted low-level felony may be eligible for probation, diversion, or a plea to a reduced charge, especially where intent or the substantial step is genuinely in dispute. On the other end, an attempted violent felony can still carry mandatory prison, so outcomes swing widely based on the class involved and the strength of the evidence.
In practice, the most common resolutions fall into a few buckets: dismissal or reduction where the substantial step is weak, a plea to the attempt in exchange for dropping a completed count, probation on lower-class attempts for defendants with little or no record, and contested trials where intent is the central question. No lawyer can promise a specific result, but the class of the attempt and the quality of the intent evidence are the two factors that shape almost every outcome. Getting a defense attorney involved early, before charges are even finalized, is often what keeps a case in the more favorable range.
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Why Tamou Law Group for Criminal Defense
Every criminal case in Arizona is decided by what the State can prove, and the State proves less when the defense starts early. We get into cases before charges are filed whenever we can, and we build them on evidence rather than argument.
Results across the spectrum
Our published results include armed robbery and sexual assault cases dismissed, reckless driving dismissed, diversion on drug and theft charges, probation with no jail on aggravated DUI, and a second-degree murder charge reduced. Every case is different, and these show how we fight.
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Our team includes former prosecutors and law enforcement officers, so we know how the State builds a case and where it breaks down. Michael Tamou handled roughly 500 cases a year at the public defender’s office before founding the firm.
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Published results in this area
| Case | Charges | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| State v. D.O. | Armed robbery and aggravated assault (A.R.S. 13-1904, 13-1204) | Dismissed |
| State v. W.N. | Sexual assault and sexual abuse (13-1406, 13-1404) | Case dismissed |
| State v. C.K. | Reckless driving and racing (28-693, 28-708) | Case dismissed |
| State v. N.K. | Possession of narcotic drugs (13-3408, 13-3415) | Diversion |
| State v. L.S. | Aggravated DUI (28-1383) | Probation, no jail |
| State v. F.N. | Second-degree murder (13-1104) | Reduced charge |
Anonymized outcomes from our case results page. Every case is different; past results do not guarantee a future outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is attempted suicide a crime in Arizona?
No. Arizona does not criminalize suicide or attempted suicide, so a person cannot be charged under the attempt statute for harming or trying to harm only themselves. Assisting another person’s suicide is treated separately under Arizona’s homicide statutes, but the attempt itself, directed at oneself, is not a crime.
What is the punishment for an attempted class 2 felony in Arizona?
Under A.R.S. 13-1001(C), an attempt to commit a class 2 felony is charged as a class 3 felony, one class lower than the completed crime. That is still a serious felony with potential prison exposure. The exact sentence depends on your prior record and any aggravating or mitigating factors in the case.
Can you be charged with attempt if the crime was impossible to complete?
Usually yes. In Arizona, factual impossibility, for example an empty pocket in an attempted theft, is generally not a defense, because you still intended the crime and took a step toward it. True legal impossibility, where the act you intended would not actually be a crime, can be a defense, but those situations are narrow and fact-specific.
Is attempt the same as conspiracy in Arizona?
No. Attempt under A.R.S. 13-1001 punishes taking a substantial step toward a crime yourself and is generally one class lower than the target offense. Conspiracy under A.R.S. 13-1003 punishes an agreement between people to commit a crime and carries the same class as the completed offense, which usually makes it the more serious charge.
Does changing your mind stop an attempt charge?
It can. Arizona recognizes a renunciation or abandonment defense under A.R.S. 13-1005 when a person voluntarily and completely gives up their criminal plan before the crime is finished. The change of heart has to be genuine, not driven by a higher risk of getting caught or a decision to wait for a better time. Proving it is fact-intensive.
Can you be charged with both attempt and the completed crime?
Prosecutors sometimes file both an attempt count and a completed-offense count, especially when the evidence of completion is uncertain. You generally cannot be convicted and sentenced for both the attempt and the completed version of the same act, but charging both early gives the state negotiating leverage. A defense lawyer can move to narrow or consolidate the counts.
Is attempted sexual abuse a felony in Arizona?
Yes. Attempting a sex offense is charged one class lower than the completed crime under A.R.S. 13-1001, but because Arizona sex offenses carry their own strict sentencing and registration rules, an attempted sex crime remains a serious felony with lasting consequences. Anyone facing this type of charge should speak with a defense attorney immediately.
What counts as a substantial step in an attempt case?
A substantial step is conduct that strongly confirms your intent to commit the crime, beyond mere preparation or talk. Lying in wait, luring a victim, casing a target, or reaching for a weapon can qualify. Buying a legal item or simply thinking about a crime usually does not. Whether a step is substantial is a fact question that Arizona courts litigate closely.
Do you have to intend the crime to be convicted of attempt?
Yes. Attempt is a specific-intent crime, so the state must prove you actually meant to commit the completed offense, not that you acted carelessly or recklessly. If the prosecution cannot establish that intent, the attempt charge fails even when your conduct looked suspicious. Intent is frequently the central battleground in these cases.
Can you get probation for an attempted crime in Arizona?
Sometimes. Because an attempt is one class lower than the completed offense, lower-class attempts are more likely to be probation-eligible, particularly for first-time defendants. However, attempts on serious or violent felonies can still carry mandatory prison. Eligibility depends on the class of the attempt, your record, and the specific facts, so have a lawyer review your exposure.
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Case Results Disclaimer: The results described on this page are based on specific facts and circumstances and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee future results. No attorney-client relationship is formed by viewing this page or submitting a contact form until a written fee agreement has been signed. Tamou Law Group, PLLC is licensed to practice law in the State of Arizona. This website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
