§ 22–3211.01. Directing organized retail theft.

(a) For the purpose of this section, the term "organized retail theft" means acting in concert with one or more other persons to commit theft, as described in § 22-3211, of any merchandise with a value greater than $1,000 aggregated over a 90-day period with the intent to:

(1) Sell, barter, or trade the merchandise for monetary or other gain; or

(2) Fraudulently return the merchandise to a retail merchant.

(b) A person commits the offense of directing organized retail theft if any person acts as an organizer by recruiting, directing, or coercing individuals to commit organized retail theft.

(c) A person who violates this section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be fined no more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, incarcerated for no more than 15 years, or both.

(d)(1) A conviction for directing organized retail theft merges with any other conviction for being an accomplice to theft under § 22-3211, an accomplice to shoplifting under § 22-3213, or an accomplice to burglary under § 22-801, or for criminal conspiracy under § 22-1805a, arising from the same act or course of conduct.

(2) For a person found guilty of 2 or more offenses that merge under this subsection, the sentencing court shall either:

(A) Vacate all but one of the offenses prior to sentencing according to the rule of priority in paragraph (3) of this subsection; or

(B) Enter judgment and sentence the actor for offenses that merge; provided, that:

(i) Sentences for the offenses run concurrent to one another; and

(ii) The convictions for all but, at most, one of the offenses shall be vacated after:

(I) The time for appeal has expired; or

(II) The judgment that was appealed has been decided.

(3) When convictions are vacated under paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection, the conviction that remains shall be the conviction for:

(A) The offense with the highest authorized maximum period of incarceration; or

(B) If 2 or more offenses have the same highest authorized maximum period of incarceration, any offense that the sentencing court deems appropriate.