In what circumstances will a defendant be held liable for threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend?

In People v. Gaut (2002) 95 Cal.App.4th 1425, a defendant in the county jail routinely called his former girlfriend and left messages threatening to kill her. (Id. at pp. 1428-1429.) The girlfriend feared that the defendant would send someone to her home to harm her because the defendant said, "'Somebody gone [sic] come see you.'" (Id. at pp. 1428, 1432.) The defendant contended that the evidence was insufficient because he was incarcerated at the time of the threat and therefore, unable to carry it out. (Id. at p. 1431.) The court disagreed and held that the surrounding circumstances, including the defendant's violent history with his former girlfriend, supported the judgment. (Id. at pp. 1431-1432.)

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