By Arica Frisbey of Sanilac Broadcasting
A Caseville woman faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine after she was found guilty of one count of Malicious Use of a Telecommunication Service by a Huron County jury on January 31, 2023.
Erica Konke, age 29, was before the 73B District Court on Tuesday for a half-day trial on a charge stemming from an investigation last July by Caseville Police. On July 6, 2022, Huron County Dispatch received a call from a woman stating that someone was pounding on her apartment door at 6:00 a.m.
After speaking with the victim, Caseville Police Chief Debra Hopkins determined that the individual pounding on the door was Konke, and promptly contacted Konke and informed her that the victim no longer wanted to have any contact with her.
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The next day, Konke sent a series of threatening, harassing messages to the victim via Facebook Messenger, which the victim reported to Chief Hopkins. When Chief Hopkins spoke with Ms. Konke again later, Konke admitted that she in fact did contact the victim even after being warned not to.
The defendant was arraigned in September on a stalking charge, a misdemeanor with up to a year in jail as a penalty, before it was later amended to a charge of Malicious Use of a Telecommunication Service.
Tuesday’s trial featured evidence such as testimony from the victim and Chief Debra Hopkins and the threatening and harassing messages sent by Konke via Facebook Messenger. After 30 minutes of deliberation, a jury of five women and one man found Konke guilty as charged.
Sentencing will take place before Judge David Herrington on February 16, 2023.
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