(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any conduct constituting an attempt to commit a violation of the terms of this code.
(B) A person shall be deemed guilty of an attempt to commit a violation of this code if, acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for commission of the violation, he or she:
(1) Purposely engages in conduct which would constitute the violation if the attendant circumstances were as he or she believed them to be;
(2) When causing a particular result is an element of the violation, does or omits to do anything with the purpose of causing or with the belief that it will cause the result without further conduct on his or her part; or
(3) Purposely does or omits to do anything which, under the circumstances as he or she believes them to be, is an act or omission constituting a substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in his or her commission of the violation.
(C) Conduct shall not be held to constitute a substantial step under this section unless it is strongly corroborative if the actor’s purpose to commit a violation of the code. Without negativing the sufficiency of other conduct, the following, if strongly corroborative of the actor’s purpose to commit a violation of the code, shall not be held insufficient as a matter of law:
(1) Lying in wait, searching for or following the contemplated victim of the violation of the code;
(2) Enticing or seeking to entice the contemplated victim of the violation of the code to go to the place contemplated for the commission of the violation;
(3) Reconnoitering the place contemplated for the commission of the violation of the code;
(4) Unlawful entry of a structure, vehicle or enclosure in which it is contemplated that the violation of the code will be committed;
(5) Possession of materials to be employed in the commission of the violation of the code, which are specially designed for the unlawful use or which can serve no lawful purpose of the actor under the circumstances; and/or
(6) Soliciting an innocent agent to engage in conduct constituting an element of the violation of the code.
(D) When the actor’s conduct would otherwise constitute an attempt under divisions (B) or (C) of this section, it is an affirmative defense that he or she abandoned his or her effort to commit the violation of the code or otherwise prevented its commission, under circumstances manifesting a complete and voluntary renunciation of his or her purpose to commit the violation. The establishment of a defense does not, however, affect the liability of an accomplice who did not join in the abandonment or prevention.
(E) Within the meaning of this section, renunciation of purpose to violate the code is not voluntary if it is motivated, in whole or in part, by circumstances, not present or apparent at the inception of the actor’s course of conduct, which increase the probability of detection or apprehension or which make more difficult the accomplishment of the purpose to violate the code. Renunciation is not complete if it is motivated by a decision to postpone the conduct designed to violate the code until a more advantageous time or to transfer the effort directed at violation of the code to another but similar objective or victim.
(Prior Code, § 6-354) Penalty, see § 10.99