Felony Criminal Threat: Case Dismissed After Preliminary Hearing

Our client was charged with making a felony criminal threat (Penal Code § 422(a)) after an altercation with a gas station clerk who claimed he threatened her with a firearm. The charge carried serious consequences, including a potential strike under California’s Three Strikes Law. After uncovering significant investigative failures by law enforcement and litigating the case through preliminary hearing, the judge dismissed the case in its entirety.

According to police, the incident began when the client pulled into a gas station and became involved in a verbal dispute with the on-duty store clerk. The clerk later told officers she believed the client had a gun and said he would shoot her. Officers detained the client at the scene and arrested him for making a criminal threat. Our client repeatedly asked officers to review the gas station surveillance footage, which he said would prove that no threat occurred and that he never brandished a weapon. Despite these repeated requests, made more than ten times, police never obtained or reviewed the video.

We took the case to preliminary hearing and filed a motion under California v. Trombetta, arguing that the police’s failure to collect readily available surveillance evidence violated the client’s due process rights. We cross-examined the investigating officers and demonstrated that they had every opportunity to obtain the video but simply chose not to.

The court agreed. Finding the failure to preserve critical evidence unjustifiable, the judge dismissed the case. The client avoided a felony, avoided a strike, and walked out of court cleared of all charges.