Criminal law and Dinner
Tom and Mary Smith are having dinner at the La Grande Fromage restaurant. During dinner, Tom gets into an altercation with the waiter, arguing over the quality of the waiter's "snail-like slow service." When the discussion with the waiter escalates, Tom threatens to "knock the waiter's teeth in." He says this in a calm tone and with a slight grin but Mary and several patrons overhear it. The waiter, feeling insulted and angry, retreats to the kitchen to retrieve the food order for the couple, saying "You better speed it up in here. That table in there is understandably irritated." He then proceeds to serve a few other customers, all the while thinking about Tom's threat. He says to the restaurant host "I am not going to let that guy get away with this." He then goes to his restaurant locker in the restroom and retrieves a pistol he keeps on the top shelf. He walks back into the dining room, calmly walks up behind Tom, and says "You are going to pay for your rudeness, pal." He then fires the pistol, all the while laughing hysterically because he knows the gun is empty. Several patrons scream and an elderly woman falls unconscious, having had a heart attack from the scare. The waiter is restrained and the police are called. The waiter is arrested. Tom, who is uninjured, and Mary get a free meal from the restaurant.
Based on the above fact pattern, please locate a criminal statute from your home state that would apply to the waiter.
- Explain the elements of the crime.
- Apply the elements to the fact pattern.
- Make sure to give the citation to the statute that you locate.
After answering the above questions, please respond to three of your classmates.