TDCAA Community
Offense

This topic can be found at:
https://tdcaa.infopop.net/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/157098965/m/4173040477

February 19, 2004, 15:54
dmoore
Offense
Defendants were sceen at a cemetary. The Ds left and kept driving by V's house, shooting finger and hollering obscence language. V went to the cemetary to see if anything had been done to her husband's grave (father of one of D's). V found that "I love U" was written on H's/F's grave but on the other side of grave there was a cross with the writing that "reserved for xxx, 200?. Bitch I promised to put you here! Die bitch it won't be too soon! Bitch what you sow you shall pay! All the Way to hell bitch and had an arrow pointing down." Ds names were written after this message. There was also a small ditch dug (looks like a small grave).

Any thoughts as to what offense has been committed? Harassment; Terroristic Threat--No offense just free speech issue????
February 19, 2004, 16:22
Mark Brunner
The threat lacks the immediacy of a true Terroristic Threat, where you must prove that the victim was in fear of imminent SBI.

This conduct certainly sounds like it meets 42.07(a)(2) Harassment: threat by writing in a manner likley to alarm the recipient to inflict bodily injury or a felony.

Good luck.
February 19, 2004, 17:00
JB
How about sec. 28.03, Criminal Mischief? Might be a state jail felony if damage done to place of human burial.
February 20, 2004, 11:20
Shannon Edmonds
Health and Safety Code Sec. 711.0311: "Desecration of Cemetary"

(a) A person commits an offense if the person acts without proper legal authority and knowingly:
* * *
(4) obliterates, vandalizes, or desecrates a plot or other repository of remains.

This is a 3rd degree felony. However, there is also another offense in 711.0311(c) that makes similar behavior only a Class C offense (I'm guessing that no prosecutors were actually consulted in drafting this language, because it's very confusing). Read it for yourself, and make sure you refer to the proper definitions in 711.001 when applying the law to your facts.

Good luck!

(an assist goes to Diane Beckham's "Texas Crimes 2003-2005" for helping me find this needle in the haystack).