People v. Pena

In People v. Pena, 224 Mich App 650, 656; 569 NW2d 871 (1997), the defendant and two others assaulted a young woman. Witnesses to the assault testified that the defendant told the victim that she would kill her if she said anything to the police. The defendant in Pena claimed that the threat was minor and that it did not fall within the scope of conduct which the Legislature sought to punish. The Pena Court rejected that argument, holding: Contrary to defendant's claim, threatening a victim with harm if the victim reports a crime to the police is not a "minor threat." Rather, we conclude that the demand by defendant that the victim not talk to the police was an offense contemplated by the extortion statute because the act demanded was of such consequence or seriousness that the statute should apply. Pena, supra, at 656-657.