Demand, threat nets charge of extortion
SANDPOINT — What’s it called when a sex partner advises their counterpart mid-coitus that there will be a $400 charge for the encounter and threatens physical harm if the bill goes unpaid?
Attempted grand theft by extortion, according to court documents filed in the magistrate division of 1st District Court.
That’s the felony charge being brought against a Washington state woman accused of threatening to shoot a Clark Fork man who halted the sexual encounter and told her that he refused to pay. Jeannette Danielle Creamer, 43, of Olympia, is further charged with battery for allegedly grabbing the 28-year-old man by the neck in the dispute over the unpleasant matter of the bill.
The alleged victim told a Bonner County sheriff’s detective that he was drinking with Creamer at a Clark Fork bar on June 10 when they repaired to his residence and engaged in consensual sex, according to a probable cause affidavit. After refusing to pay, Creamer allegedly warned the man she was a former U.S. Marine and would shoot him with a pistol if he didn’t pay up, the affidavit said.
The alleged victim fled to the adjacent residence of a relative, who alerted authorities about the threat.
Charging documents allege that Creamer attempted to induce the man to pay the $400 tab by instilling fear that he would be shot if he didn’t. Bonner County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank added a charging enhancement that would tack a 15-year term onto the underlying sentence if convicted because she used a firearm during the commission of a felony, the criminal complaint states.
Creamer made an initial court appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Monday via video feed from the Bonner County Jail. She is being held in lieu of $15,000 bail and Judge Tera Harden entered an order forbidding Creamer from having any contact with the alleged victim, court records show.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Wednesday in magistrate court.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.