A lot of people don't realize that aiding and abetting
a crime subjects you to the same penalty
as you would face if you would have actually
been the principal committing the crime.
In the state of Nevada, an aider and abettor
is treated as a principal.
Aiding and abetting is helping, counseling,
or encouraging somebody to commit a crime.
A typical example of aiding and abetting would be,
a friend decides that they're going to rob a bank.
They ask you to drive the vehicle.
You agree to drive the vehicle, but you
say I'm not going inside the bank.
Some people think that if they're only
driving the vehicle, they could not possibly
be charged with bank robbery.
But that's not true.
If you assist someone, for example, by driving get-away.
You are actually assisting them in the commission of the crime.
And therefore, under Nevada law, and also under federal law,
you would be held accountable for bank robbery
even if you just drove they get-away car.
Additionally, you could be found accountable
for any crime that could be a natural and probable
consequence of the commission of the crime
that you attended to aid and abet.
For example, if you knew that your friend was going in
to rob a bank with a gun and somebody got shot,
you could not only be charged with bank robbery,
but you could be charged with murder if that person died.
Just because you're in a vehicle and somebody
commits a crime in your presence, that does not
mean that you're legally accountable.
So mere presence is a defense to a charge
of aiding and abetting.
Additionally, mere knowledge without assistance
is not a crime.
So if you know somebody is going to commit a crime
and you don't do anything to stop it,
but you don't do anything to help or assist them,
then you would not be guilty of aiding and abetting.
Of course in all circumstances, it's incumbent upon the state
to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were knowingly
and intentionally aiding and abetting a crime
in order to find you guilty.