Threat no laughing matter, judge rules
A McHenry County man who authorities say threatened to kill an acquaintance's children and grandchildren unless he paid him $50,000 faces up to 10 years in prison after a judge found him guilty this morning of a felony intimidation charge.
Rejecting Daniel Bailenson's claims the threat was just a prank gone bad, Judge Sharon Prather ruled that the Woodstock man intended to strike fear into a Bull Valley couple and force them to act on the demands.
"The defendant's message left on the (victims') answering machine threatening his children and grandchildren was extremely intimidating and chilling," Prather said.
Bailenson, 35, and his attorney declined comment as they left the McHenry County courthouse after the decision. He will remain free on bond until his June 20 sentencing.
The couple he threatened, Ken and Beverly Eriksen, said they are thrilled with the verdict.
"He is not a nice person," Beverly Eriksen said. "We're not vindictive, but if he were to walk out of here with a slap on the wrist, that would be an injustice to our whole family. That was a terrifying, terrifying day."
The verdict comes about three weeks after a one-day trial before Prather revolving around a December 2006 phone message Bailenson admits leaving on Ken Eriksen's voice mail.
Bailenson, who had been mired in a lawsuit with the couple over his unpaid debts, demands in the message that Ken Eriksen gather $50,000, go to a pay phone and call a number for further instructions. The message warns Eriksen that if he tells anyone about the demand, his children and grandchildren would be killed.
Eriksen did call police, however, and they tracked the call back to Bailenson, the owner of a failed teen club who was struggling financially.
At his March 24 trial, Bailenson testified that he never meant his threat to be taken seriously, but Eriksen and his wife said Friday it badly frightened them and their family.
"It's not funny," Ken Eriksen said. "You can't take something like that as a joke. You can't afford to."