Can a defendant be convicted of only one count under section 654 of the California Criminal Code for threatening to kill?

Although appellant argues that he may be convicted of only one count, to the extent he is suggesting that he could be sentenced for only one count, he is also unpersuasive. Section 654 generally prohibits multiple punishments for a single criminal act. Section 654, subdivision (a), provides in relevant part: "An act or omission that is punishable in different ways by different provisions of law shall be punished under the provision that provides for the longest potential term of imprisonment, but in no case shall the act or omission be punished under more than one provision." But section 654 does not apply when a defendant commits the same violent act against multiple victims. "A defendant who commits an act of violence with the intent to harm more than one person or by a means likely to cause harm to several persons is more culpable than a defendant who harms only one person. . . . Section 654 is not '. . . applicable where . . . one act has two results each of which is an act of violence against the person of a separate individual.'" (Neal v. State of California (1960) 55 Cal.2d 11, 20-21.)

A violation of section 422 is "an act of violence" within the meaning of the multiple victim exception. (People v. Solis, supra, 90 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1023-1024 [holding a criminal threat to be an act of violence and noting that the infliction of mental terror is as deserving of moral condemnation as the infliction of physical injury].)⁵ Even

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