Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

There are certain vocations that are only suited for those who like to live dangerously; astronaut, matador, assassin, and Chicago Cubs fan to name a few. Well, now that “the ice cream wars are heating up” in Washington state according to Marysville police Commander Robb Lamoureux, you can add ice cream vendor to that list. The latest incident to plague the mean streets of Everett, Washington came two Sundays ago when one ice-cream vendor threatened the life of another vendor with a steak knife, letting her know that if she brought her truck on his turf again he would kill her. The man cited an unwritten code that exists among ice cream vendors about where they sell their product as the cause of his frustration. The source article cited below was sure to note that the man was arrested, charged with second-degree assault, and did not seem to be in Good Humor about the situation. (insert rimshot)

In Tennessee, the offending vendor would likely be charged with aggravated assault because he intentionally caused the victim to fear death or bodily injury by using or displaying a deadly weapon. This offense constitutes a Class C felony in Tennessee and is punishable by three to fifteen years of incarceration.

Although this blog article is mostly humorous, things can become serious pretty quickly when a defendant faces a charge as serious as the one described. When facing such a charge, a defendant will need the assistance of a capable criminal defense attorney who can work to help the defendant prove that such an assault never occurred or possibly arrange alternative forms of sentencing for the defendant should he or she could be convicted of the charge, possibly enabling the defendant to avoid incarceration.

Source: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100615/NEWS01/706159908/0/FRONTPAGE