I think there may be a case of plea bargaining behind that, assuming it's true. Many prosecutors like to offer suspects the option of pleading to a minor crime

I think there may be a case of plea bargaining behind that, assuming it's true. Many prosecutors like to offer suspects the option of pleading to a minor crime with minor punishment versus going to trial for a more serious crime. In the ideal case, if the suspect is actually guilty, they save the prosecutors office time and money in actually preparing the case for trial, and the defendant gets a lesser punishment and doesn't spend their money on a trial defense either. In the less ideal case, say if the suspect is actually innocent but is not believed or can't prove it easily, the suspects are put in a tough position - plead guilty to something they didn't do, or a long and expensive trial with uncertain outcome. It gets particularly dubious when the prosecutors try to tilt the scales towards the plea side by threatening to go for the max punishment on the most serious crime they could possibly charge if the suspect chooses a trial. It sounds like this could be a case where this threat was carried out and the prosecutor is going for a knowingly over the top punishment to punish them for daring to not take a guilty plea.