The court agreed that Penal Code section 422 (terrorist threat) requires that the threat be “made verbally,” i.e., that defendant orally make some noise or sound that was capable of conveying meaning. However, the court found substantial evidence of a verbal statement where an officer testified a witness said defendant put his finger to his lips, made a “shushing” noise, and then drew his finger across his throat while the witness was being interviewed by the police. The court also found the defendant’s actions to be an “unequivocal statement” under the statute and one which conveyed an immediacy to the threat.
Case Summaries