Any person who gives, mails, sends, or causes to be sent any false or facsimile of a weapon of mass destruction to another person, or places, causes to be placed, or possesses any false or facsimile of a weapon of mass destruction, with the intent to cause another person to fear for his or her own safety, or for the personal safety of others, is guilty of a misdemeanor. If the person’s conduct causes another person to be placed in sustained fear, the person shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year or in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years and by a fine of not more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000). For purposes of this section, “sustained fear” has the same meaning as in Section 11418.5.

(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 606, Sec. 6. Effective September 17, 2002.)