The Colorado Crime Of Menacing 18-3-206

To understand the Colorado Criminal Code and more specifically the charge or charges in the Complaint and Information or Grand Jury Indictment against you – you need TWO things.

I. You Will Need To Understand The Actual Statutory Crime With Which You Have Been Charged

– The statute, as of 2016, appears first on this page.

II. You Will Also Need To Understand How The Jury Or Judge Reads The Elements – ( a jury instruction “breakout” of the necessary parts or list of things that makes up the crime)

– The Jury Instructions for most of the main forms of the crimes with which individuals are charged – appears after a reprint of the statute defining the crime.

The Colorado Statute Defining The Crime Of Menacing 18-3-206

18-3-206.  Menacing.

(1)   A person commits the crime of menacing if, by any threat or physical action, he or she  knowingly places or attempts to place another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. Menacing is a class 3 misdemeanor, but, it is a class 5 felony if committed:

(a) By the use of a deadly weapon or any article used or fashioned in a manner to cause a person to reasonably believe that the article is a deadly weapon; or

(b)  By the person representing verbally or otherwise that he or she is armed with a deadly
weapon.

The Colorado Jury Instructions For The Crime Of Menacing 18-3-206

MENACING

The elements of the crime of menacing are:

1.   That the defendant,

2.   in the State of Colorado, at or about the date and place charged,

3.  knowingly,

4.  by any threat or physical action,

5.  placed or attempted to place another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury.

[6. and that the defendant’s conduct was not legally authorized by the affirmative defense[s] in Instruction[s]   .] MENACING – INTERROGATORY (USE, OR SUGGESTED USE, OF A DEADLY WEAPON

If you find the defendant not guilty of menacing, you should disregard this instruction and sign
the verdict form to indicate your not guilty verdict.

If, however, you find the defendant guilty of menacing, you should sign the verdict form to
indicate your finding of guilt, and answer the following verdict question on the verdict form:

Did the menacing involve the use or suggested use of a deadly weapon? (Answer “Yes” or “No”)

The menacing involved the use or suggested use of a deadly weapon only if:

1. the defendant committed the menacing by the use of a deadly weapon or any article used or
fashioned in a manner to cause a person to reasonably believe that the article was a deadly weapon,
or by representing verbally or otherwise that he [she] was armed with a
deadly weapon.