MARK E. LEWIS v. UNITED STATES., 138 A.3d 1188

On March 13, 2014, Mark Lewis slept at Lavonda Brown’s apartment; Brown placed a wallet containing $736 under her pillow.
The next morning Lewis left the apartment after going into the bedroom; Brown later found her wallet displaced and the money missing and reported the theft.
On March 20, 2014 Brown called Lewis about the missing money; Lewis denied taking it and said: “I’ll smack the s out of you” and “get you fed up.”
At a bench trial the court credited Brown’s testimony and convicted Lewis of second-degree theft and attempted threats under D.C. law.
Lewis appealed, arguing (1) the threats conviction required proof of a threat to ‘‘serious bodily harm’’ (a higher degree than bodily harm), and (2) the theft conviction rested on insufficient evidence because no one saw him take the money.
The trial court’s credibility findings were upheld; the D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed both convictions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether misdemeanor threats under D.C. Code § 22-407 requires threatening "serious bodily harm"	Prosecution: statute requires proof that words would cause ordinary hearer to fear bodily harm (no need to import a heightened "serious" injury definition)	Lewis: words did not threaten "serious bodily harm" as defined in aggravated assault cases, so insufficient for attempted threats conviction	Court: statute requires threat of "bodily harm," not the aggravated-assault level "serious bodily injury;" affirmed attempted threats conviction
Sufficiency of evidence for second-degree theft when no eyewitness saw the taking	Prosecution: circumstantial evidence (wallet placement, amount, opportunity, Lewis’s departure and later threats) proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt	Lewis: conviction cannot stand because no one actually saw him take the money	Court: circumstantial evidence and credited testimony were sufficient; affirmed theft conviction

Joiner-Die v. United States, 899 A.2d 762 (discussion of elements of misdemeanor threats)
Griffin v. United States, 861 A.2d 610 (previous phrasing using "serious bodily harm" in threats context)
Gurley v. United States, 308 A.2d 785 (earlier interpretation noting statute proscribes threat to do "bodily harm")
Postell v. United States, 282 A.2d 551 (early case explaining threat must be taken seriously by the ordinary hearer)
Nixon v. United States, 730 A.2d 145 (definition of "serious bodily injury" in aggravated assault context)
Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (speech-based threats communicate a serious expression of intent to commit unlawful violence)