The Ventura Criminal Threats Defense Attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been successfully representing clients charged with criminal threats for well over 30 years. Our attorneys have the skill and expertise to provide you with the best possible defense and outcome in your case.

What Is A Criminal Threat?

A “criminal threat” according to California Penal Code Section 422 is when you:
• Willfully threaten to kill or physically harm someone;
• That person is thereby placed in a state of reasonably sustained fear for his/her safety or for the safety of his/her immediate family;
• The threat is specific and unequivocal; and
• You communicate the threat verbally, in writing, or via an electronically transmitted device.

To prove that you committed a criminal threat, the prosecutor must show the following:

• You willfully threated to kill or physically harm a person;
• You made the threat orally or in writing;
• You intended your statement to be a threat and intended that it be communicated to the victim;
• The threat was clear, immediate, unconditional, and specific that it communicated to the victim a serious intention and the immediate prospect that it would be carried out;
• The threat actually caused the victim to be in sustained fear for his/her own safety of the safety of his/her immediate family; and • The victim’s fear was reasonable.

What Punishment Could I Face?

Your potential criminal threats conviction could either be a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the severity of the threat and whether there are prior threats. The prosecutor has discretion to determine whether to charge you with a misdemeanor or felony.
If you are convicted of misdemeanor criminal threats, you could face up to one year in county jail.

If you are convicted of felony criminal threats, you could face up to three years in state prison. Your felony conviction constitutes a strike under California’s Three Strikes Law. You may also lose your right to vote or own a gun. Due to the seriousness of a felony charge, you should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at Wallin & Klarich immediately.

What Are My Defenses?

The skilled criminal defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have a long history of successfully defending clients charged with criminal threats. We will work hard to seek to get your charges dismissed based on the countless legal defenses in these cases, such as:

• The threat was not specific, but was vague or ambiguous;
• The recipient of the threat could not have reasonably feared for his/her safety;
• The recipient of the threat wasn’t actually in fear;
• The recipient’s fear was merely fleeting or momentary; or • You only made a threatening gesture and did not convey your threat verbally, electronically or in writing.

In some cases, the accuser is making a false allegation and there is no threat at all. This happens in cases more often than you would think.

The Ventura Criminal Threats Defense Attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been successfully representing clients charged with criminal threats for well over 30 years. We have offices in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and Victorville. Our attorneys have the skill and expertise to provide you with the best possible defense in your case. Call us today at (888) 280-6839 for immediate assistance. We will be there when you call.