United States v. Jackson
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
560 F.2d 112 (1977)
Robert Jackson and codefendants planned an armed bank robbery with guns, ammunition, masks, and a disguised car license plate, and on an initial date they surveilled the bank in person but aborted the plan when too many customers were inside. Ten days later, after a cooperating participant tipped off the FBI, the group returned to the bank in the same car with the same weapons, drove around it, and were beginning to approach when FBI agents surrounded and arrested them with the guns, ammunition, and masks still in the car. The defendants were convicted of conspiracy and attempted armed robbery, and appealed, arguing their conduct amounted only to mere preparation rather than a criminal attempt.
Whether defendants who assembled weapons and disguises, aborted one attempt due to crowding, and then returned with the same equipment and began driving toward the bank before being stopped by police engaged in conduct amounting to a substantial step toward robbery, rather than mere preparation.