Boonton Township NJ police arrested a man for allegedly threatening a former tenant who owed him rent money.
The alleged victim in the case told the Boonton Township Detective Bureau that 52-year-old Albert DiCarlo threatened his life several times.
The victim had been a tenant who lived with Mr. DiCarlo. According to the victim, he and Mr. DiCarlo had argued repeatedly about rent money that Mr. DiCarlo believed was owed to him.
The victim told police that Mr. DiCarlo threatened to kill him. The victim said that, on at least one occasion, Mr. DiCarlo warned that he would send someone to break the victim’s legs.
Shortly after a warrant was issued for Mr. DiCarlo’s arrest, Boonton Township police officers placed Mr. DiCarlo under arrest.
Mr. DiCarlo has been charged with making terroristic threats.
In New Jersey, a person can be charged with terroristic threats if he threatens to commit any crime of violence with the purpose to terrorize someone else or if he threatens to kill someone else. The crime is governed by N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3. In this case, if Mr. DiCarlo is convicted of third degree terroristic threats, he could face a sentence of three (3) to five (5) years in NJ State Prison.
However, because intent is a crucial element of the charge, it might be possible for Mr. DiCarlo to argue that his statement that he would “kill” the alleged victim was not meant to be taken seriously.
For more information, see the NJ.com article entitled “Boonton Man Made ‘Terroristic Threats’ During Argument with Tenant, Police Say.“