As a crime, menacing isn’t as widely known as assault. Many people even tend to confuse these two crimes. However, for you to be accused of assault, you must actively harm a person. On the other hand, a simple threat or an attempt to injure another person can get you charged with menacing in Colorado.
If this occurs, your first step should be to hire a qualified lawyer that will take your charges seriously. Next, you’ll need to prepare rock-solid defense to beat those charges. Here’s what can and can’t be a part of that defense.
What Can Serve as a Defense Against a Menacing Charge in Colorado?
Not Carrying a Deadly Weapon
In Colorado, menacing can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on your specific circumstances. Deadly weapons play a huge role in elevating this crime to a Class 5 felony. In worst-case scenario, this felony can land you in prison for up to three years or get you a hefty fine of up to $100,000.
But remove the deadly weapon from the equation, and you’re more likely to face a misdemeanor menacing. In this case, you’d only be at risk of going to jail for up to six months or paying up to $750 in fines.
One look at the massive difference between these punishments, and it becomes clear why your first goal should be to prove you didn’t carry a deadly weapon when encountering the alleged victim.
Carrying a Non-Deadly Weapon
Not all weapons are treated equally by the Colorado law. The Colorado Revised Statute 18-1-901 defines “deadly weapons” as:
- A firearm (loaded or unloaded)
- A knife
- A bludgeon
- Any other weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance (animate or inanimate) capable of producing death or serious bodily injury (for example, metal tools, baseball bats, chainsaws, blow torches, etc.)
By this definition, even everyday objects, like rocks and bricks, can be considered deadly weapons when used to cause serious harm.
If you can prove that the weapon you had on your person at the time of the incident is non-deadly or non-lethal (pepper sprays, tasers, etc.), this might affect the charges and legal consequences you’ll face.
Not Making Statements as Threats
Let’s take weapons, be it deadly or non-deadly, out of the picture. You can still get charged with menacing based on your words alone, as long as they’re perceived as a threat. However, there’s another requirement that you can use to your advantage.
To be found guilty of menacing, it must be proven that you’ve made the perceived threats knowingly.
So, as part of your menacing defense, you can claim that it wasn’t your intention to threaten or instill fear in the alleged victim.
Acting in Self-Defense
Let’s say you did use a weapon or physical force or threaten the alleged victim during the incident. Did you do it to protect yourself against imminent harm? If so, you might be able to argue you acted in self-defense and that the “victim” was actually the aggressor.
According to the Revised Colorado Statute 18-1-704, people can use physical force to defend themselves (or a third person) from what they deem to be imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person. But keep in mind that your degree of force must be reasonable for the situation you find yourself in.
Lacking Intent to Instill Fear
The best-case scenario is that you didn’t use a weapon, physical force, or threatening words. Instead, the alleged victim has simply misconstrued your actions as threatening. For instance, you might’ve been shining a pen light, which someone mistook for a rifle scope, or reaching for your phone, which was seen as reaching for a weapon. If something similar took place in your situation, your lawyer can use it to poke holes in the prosecution’s case.
What Can’t Serve as a Defense Against a Menacing Charge?
Being Intoxicated
So, you had a few drinks and said or did some things you regret. Can alcohol get you off the hook? Unfortunately, no. In the State of Colorado, being intoxicated won’t help your case when facing a menacing charge. In fact, it could only harm your case, which is why your lawyer won’t share this fact with the jury.
Threatening Someone With Weapon Without the Weapon Present
Let’s say you threaten someone you’re going to shoot them but have no firearm on you. Are you safe from a menacing conviction? Absolutely not. Not having a weapon in this situation won’t save you since you still made a direct threat knowingly. Similarly, wielding an unloaded gun can also get you convicted if your intent was to scare the alleged victim.
Build a Strong Legal Defense
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to a menacing case. It all depends on your specific circumstances. But hire a skilled criminal defense lawyer, and they’ll find a way to leverage the factual details to build a persuasive defense that can secure your freedom.
