Practice Areas

• Accessory After the Fact
• Arson
• Assault & Battery
• Battery on a Peace Officer
• Assault with a Firearm
• Battery
• Assault with a Deadly Weapon
• Bail Review & Reduction
• Carrying a Concealed Weapon
• Child Endangerment
• Conspiracy
• Criminal Threats
• Domestic Violence
• Driving with A Suspended License
• Drug Possession
• Marijuana Possession for Sales
• Drug Possession for Personal Use
• Drug Possession for Sale
• DUI Defense
• I've been arrested for DUI. What happens to my Driver's License?
• DUI Under 21
• The 'Rising Blood Alcohol' Defense
• Attacking the Breath Test
• The "No Driving" Defense
• I've been arrested & cited for DUI? What happens next?
• Attacking the Blood Test
• Elder Abuse
• Embezzlement
• Expungements
• Hit and Run
• Housing Violations
• Juvenile Defense
• License Defense
• Nursing License Defense
• Murder
• Police Misconduct Litigation
• Pre-Filing Investigations
• Professional & Vocational License Defense
• Prostitution
• Public Intoxication
• Sex Crimes
• Indecent Exposure
• Solicitation of Prostitution
• Rape
• Theft Charges
• Robbery
• Purse Snatching
• Burglary
• Petty Theft
• Embezzlement
• Identity Theft
• Three Strikes Law
• Vacating Convictions
• Deportable Offenses: Vacating Your Guilty Plea to Avoid Deportation
• Vandalism
• Vehicular Manslaughter
• Warrant Recall
• Weapons Charges
• Witness Intimidation

Criminal Threats

What is a criminal threat?
You may be charged with a criminal threat if you have issued a verbal, written or electronical communication to a person containing a threat of immediate harm. The threat must carry the intent to cause harm and it must actually create fear in the person threatened.

Criminal threats are taken very seriously by prosecutors in this state. With the advent of laws against cyber-stalking and zero tolerance policies against “cyber-bullying” in schools and colleges, prosecutors take these cases extremely seriously.

Even if you have not actually inflicted any physical harm or injury on the victim, or did not follow through on your threats, the very fact that you communicated the threat is, in and of itself, against the law. It is not something to handle lightly and it is not recommended that you represent yourself in something as serious. You require the services of an aggressive, experienced and knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer.

Our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers have a combined experience of more than 50 years defending persons accused of criminal threats. Our founding partners, Bruce McGregor and Robert Ernenwein, are former Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys. Robert Ernenwein, one of our Co-founders, is Certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. Robert Ernenwein and Bruce McGregor have both been named “Super Lawyers” by Los Angeles Magazine. Robert Ernenwein has appeared as a legal analyst on multiple cable news programs, including Fox News. The experience and capabilities of the lawyers at McGregor & Ernenwein are unmatched.

Our extensive experience and knowledge give us the tools we need to successfully challenge criminal threats charges.

What is the punishment for a conviction of this crime?

If you are convicted of criminal threats in California, you may be facing up to three years in the state prison. Under the Three Strikes Law, a criminal threat conviction is a “Strike” in your criminal record. 1129.7(c)(38) So make no mistake about it. “Criminal Threats” is a very serious crime.

What does the prosecutor have to show to prove my guilt of this crime?

The prosecutor must prove that you:

1) willfully threatened to kill or inflict great bodily harm on the victim;
2) you issued a verbal or written threat, including by electronic device (e.g., e-mail, text message, social networking site, chat-room, etc.)
3) you intended the communication to be understood as a threat;
4) your threat was...”unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific”
5) you actually caused the victim to be “reasonably ... be in sustained fear for his or her own safety or for his or her immediate family's safety.”

What can your lawyers do to defend me against these charges?

Our lawyers can thoroughly review the discovery in your case and see if a defense or defenses are available. Based on the facts of your case, we may be able to argue that the alleged threat was conditional, that it was qualified in some way and therefore no longer “unconditional.” We may also be able to argue that your communication could not reasonably have been understood to be a threat, and that the context of your words revealed some innocent or, at the very least, non-criminal purpose or characteristic. Also, we may be able to argue that there was no immediacy or imminency in the threat, that it was a generalized, rather than specific, threat.

There may be constitutional issues related to how the communication was discovered. Did the police comb through your phone, e-mail or other communication tool or device without a warrant? If so, we may be able to successfully challenge the evidence in court based on violation of your Fourth Amendment right to privacy in your person and papers.

If the person making the accusation has a grudge or resentment against you, and there is no written memorialization or evidence that the threat was uttered, we may be able to successfully argue that the accusation was based on a motive to lie and that you never made the threat in the first place.

Moreover, because Cal. Pen. Code §422 is a “wobbler,” we may be able to convince the prosecutor, or motion the court, to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor.

There is a host of issues we can evaluate based on our analysis of the police reports, witness statements and other evidence on file. Based on our findings, we may be able to successfully thwart a criminal prosecution in court, or otherwise weaken the case against you.

Our lawyers represent clients throughout Southern California, including Alhambra, Arcadia, Artesia, Avalon, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bell, Bell gardens, Bellflower, Beverly Hills, Burbank, Calabasas, Carson, Cerritos, City of Industry, Claremont, Commerce, Compton, Covina, Cudahy, Culver City, Diamond Bar, Downey, Duarte, Eagle Rock, East Los Angeles, El Monte, El Segundo, Gardena, Glendale, Glendora, Hawaiian Gardens, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Park, Inglewood, Inland Empire, Irwindale, La Canada Flintridge, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, La Puente, La Verne, Lakewood, Lancaster, Lawndale, Lomita, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Lynwood, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Marina Del Rey, Maywood, Monrovia, Montebello, Monterey Park, Norwalk, Palos Verdes Estates, Paramount, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Playa Del Rey, Pomona, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rosemead, San Dimas, San Fernando, San Gabriel, San Marino, Seal Beach, Santa Clarita, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Monica, Seal Beach, Signal Hill, South El Monte, South Gate, South Pasadena, Temple City, Torrance, Vernon, Watts, Walnut, West Covina, West Hollywood, Westlake Village, and Whittier.

Call us immediately at 877-338-4489 for your free consultation.

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