Terroristic Threats

Terroristic threat offenses often include legal issues that must be analyzed and potentially challenged or litigated in Court. Many times there are pre-trial motions that may be relevant and should be filed before the case ever proceeds to trial. The evidence in these cases are typically the statements of the charged individual, but those statements may be made in multiple different forms of communications – over the internet, via email, via text message, on a voice mail – just to name a few. Each of these modes of communicating the alleged threat may present a potential for challenging the admissibility of the statements or the manner in which they are going to be presented.

Further, there are other defenses that have evolved from the case law relating to Terroristic Threats charges that may be relevant to you or your loved one’s pending matter.

If you have been charged with a Terroristic Threats offense in West Chester, Chester County, or the surrounding areas in Pennsylvania, contact West Chester criminal defense lawyer Michael DiCindio to schedule your free initial consultation and discuss your case today.

18 Pa.C.S. § 2706. Terroristic threats.

(a) Offense defined.–A person commits the crime of terroristic threats if the person communicates, either directly or indirectly, a threat to:

(1) commit any crime of violence with intent to terrorize another;

(2) cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly or facility of public transportation; or

(3) otherwise cause serious public inconvenience, or cause terror or serious public inconvenience with reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience.

(b) Restitution.–A person convicted of violating this section shall, in addition to any other sentence imposed or restitution ordered under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9721(c) (relating to  sentencing generally), be sentenced to pay restitution in an amount equal to the cost of the evacuation, including, but not limited to, fire and police response; emergency medical service or emergency preparedness response; and transportation of an individual from the building, place of assembly or facility.

(c) Preservation of private remedies.–No judgment or order  of restitution shall debar a person, by appropriate action, to  recover from the offender as otherwise provided by law, provided  that any civil award shall be reduced by the amount paid under  the criminal judgment.

(d) Grading.–An offense under subsection (a) constitutes a misdemeanor of the first degree unless the threat causes the occupants of the building, place of assembly or facility of  public transportation to be diverted from their normal or customary operations, in which case the offense constitutes a  felony of the third degree.

(e) Definition.–As used in this section, the term  “communicates” means conveys in person or by written or electronic means, including telephone, electronic mail,  Internet, facsimile, telex and similar transmissions.