Attempted Murder, or something of the sort

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California.

Alright... Well where to begin...

I am 19 years old, and my friend has, to put it lightly, an insane ex girlfriend. It all started the night of the 30th at around 3am where she wanted to speak with my friend through my phone. I told her he was busy, working, and I didn't have the minutes or battery for her to argue with him. She kept texting, and eventually began to say how much she hated me, and started with threats. Here are a few direct quotes:

"You're the only person in this world that I would love to shoot in the ****ing head. If you died, I would be so happy."

I said, "You cant be serious"

She replied, "Yeah, and I couldn't be more serious. I would love to kill you, and if I could get away with it I would."

Those were a few of the many mean and threatening text messages (and yes, I saved them all!)

That afternoon, about 2:30pm, I picked up my friend to go to work together. There is a road that comes from his house that looks like:

_________________
|
|
|
|
|
|

I was driving on the top road, needing to make a left hand turn, and she was coming down the road to his house unannounced. I was about 10 feet from the "intersection" when I commented on seeing her driving. I slowed down to about 5-10 mph and got over to the right, just in case she decided to take the turn a little wide. There were no stop signs, and I was preparing to make my left hand turn onto the road, when I look over, and she locks eyes with me and doesn't turn or brake. She tbones my car going about 25mph, I hit my head on the metal roofing of my car (convertible), and I received a concussion. I didn't pass out, but immediately after her car stops, she jumps out of her car and begins hitting my window, kicking my car, and trying to get into my door, while saying she is going to kill me. My friend gets out of the car to try and get her off and calm her down, no force or anything, just talking.

Of course, I'm on the phone with 911 at this point.

She continued coming back once in awhile, threatening to **** me up and end my life etc etc. After about 10 minutes, she gets in her car and leaves. Not before telling my friend that they will never believe what I say, and that she is just going to say it was an accident.

She then calls my friend and leaves a voice mail saying, "You can't go against me on this. This can't happen to me, I can't get in trouble for this. Tell the cops you weren't there, say you didn't see anything. Please. Please. I have to lie about this."

That, was of course saved as well.

She even told my friend on the phone later that she did mean to hit me, but we have no hard evidence of that.

40 minutes later after the cops took our statements, pictures, spray painted crash scene etc, the girl called my phone and said she was heading back with her dad. The cops excused us after we were done so we didn't have to deal with them once we got there.



That's basically everything I am looking at now. My main concern is that she is a minor, 17 years old with 6 months until her 18th birthday.

I'd really like to know what charges that we are looking at here.

Attempted Vehicular Manslaughter?
Terrorist threats?
Attempted Murder?

I'm hoping that with all of this evidence I have against her, that I can have a solid case. My worst fear is that somehow she gets away with this and only receives a slap on the wrist. This is something far too serious for that.

She has had multiple speeding tickets, and was actually one point away from losing her license, as well as being expelled from High School due to violent behavior.

Do you think I have a chance with this? Can she be tried as an adult?

And most of all, what kind of sentencing could we be seeing for both minor and adult scenarios?


Thanks for taking the time and reading, I appreciate any and all help!

You have pretty much zero input as to what, if any, criminal charges get filed against her. That's the District Attorney's job (with the help of the police).

As far as civil damages go, you are entitled to the following:
- cost to return your car to the condition it was in just prior to the accident;
- cost of your medical bills;
- cost of any time you lost from work/school;
- cost for your "pain and suffering" (depending on the extent and duration of your injuries);
- incidental costs (i.e. rental car, taxi to doctor's appt, etc.)
- punitive damages* (see below)

Start collecting your proof of damages (bills, receipts, canceled checks, etc.) now as you will eventually be needing them no matter how this plays out.

NB: I think you'd have a good case for punitive damages here as you seem to have pretty good evidence with those voice mails of a prior intent to cause harm. Two problems though. First is that even if you're awarded them, no insurance on the planet is going to pay for it, so unless little miss Battering Ram is independently wealthy, it's mostly a moral victory. Second is that because insurance doesn't cover punitives, you can only get them via a lawsuit, which, depending on how good her insurance company is at paying you, is something you might not need to resort to.

Either way, good luck.

You Are Guilty said:

You have pretty much zero input as to what, if any, criminal charges get filed against her.

Click to expand...

So there is a chance that she could get away without any criminal charges getting filed?

Zooropa1310 said:

So there is a chance that she could get away without any criminal charges getting filed?

Click to expand...

A chance? Absolutely. Probably not a good chance though.

You can try contacting the investigating officer, getting the name of the ADA who it's been referred to, and calling the ADA to find out what they're planning on doing.

If the police have all of this information - statements, recordings, etc., then there is a good chance that she can be charged with assault with a deadly weapon (PC 245) - a felony. Attempted murder would be a stretch, and criminal threats would seem a stretch unless she made the threat immediately prior to the attack.

As was suggested, contact the officer investigating the incident and ask your questions of him. Sometimes a case that SEEMS simple to the outside observer becomes muddied when they start investigating.

- Carl