The Challenge
A former civil engineer was arrested after allegedly making threatening phone calls to a local police station, including a threat to blow it up. The likely charge was criminal threats under Penal Code 422. As a felony, that charge is a strike. A threat involving explosives can also be charged under Penal Code 148.1. A conviction meant jail, a permanent record, and the end of any future work in his field. After the arrest, the case went to the District Attorney’s Office to decide whether to file.
Our Strategy
We did not wait for the first court date. We contacted the filing deputy at the District Attorney’s Office as soon as we were retained and presented the case for not filing: the context of the calls, our client’s background, and the mitigation that explained what had happened. The District Attorney rejected the case. No charges were filed, and our client never had to appear in court.
The Result
CHARGES REJECTED; CASE NEVER FILED
Your Case Belongs at the Southwest Justice Center.
Your Defense Belongs Here.
If you were arrested in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar, Lake Elsinore, Winchester, or French Valley, your future will likely be decided at the Southwest Justice Center (SWJC) on Auld Road. In these courtrooms, local knowledge is the ultimate advantage. Since 1999, Nic Cocis has been a weekly fixture in the SWJC, appearing before the same judges and negotiating with the same Riverside County prosecutors for over 25 years. We don’t just know the law — we know the specific nuances, procedural quirks, and judicial tendencies of the Southwest District. Whether you are facing a felony or a misdemeanor, you need a firm that treats the Southwest Justice Center as its home turf.
