Penal Law § 165.65

Criminal possession of stolen property; corroboration · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 165.65 Criminal possession of stolen property; corroboration.

1. A person charged with criminal possession of stolen property who participated in the larceny thereof may not be convicted of criminal possession of such stolen property solely upon the testimony of an accomplice in the larceny unsupported by corroborative evidence tending to connect the defendant with such criminal possession.

2. Unless inconsistent with the provisions of subdivision one of this section, a person charged with criminal possession of stolen property may be convicted thereof solely upon the testimony of one from whom he obtained such property or solely upon the testimony of one to whom he disposed of such property.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/165.65

In plain English

(1) A person who helped steal the property cannot be convicted of possessing it solely on an accomplice’s uncorroborated testimony; other evidence must tend to connect the defendant to the possession. ★
(2) Unless that rule conflicts, a possession conviction may rest solely on testimony from the person who supplied the property or received it from the defendant.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.