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Aggravated Assault

What Is An Aggravated Assault Charge In California?

An aggravated assault charge involves one individual doing something hazardous to another individual. A simple assault charge is usually brought when one person acts in a threatening manner to another person, such as acting as if they are going to punch them.

The difference between assault and battery is that the battery requires physical contact, and assault does not. If you pulled out a gun and pointed it at somebody, that would be assault with a deadly weapon. To get to the level of aggravated assault, you would have to be doing something severe.

If you are charged with the violent crime of aggravated assault, you're going to want to get an attorney because it's not a very common charge. You would probably have a good argument that the charge should be reduced to simple assault.

Is Penal Code 245 Aggravated Assault a Felony?

Aggravated assault can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, but typically, the prosecutor would charge it as a felony. If you're convicted of a felony, you would lose your gun rights and your right to vote, and you would potentially be facing prison time.

Aggravated Assault Charge In California

If you're charged with aggravated assault, you should get an attorney, and you're going to want that attorney to look over everything to see if it makes sense for you to be charged with such a severe crime.

It's important to remember that you may have a valid defense to an aggravated assault charge. If you were acting in self-defense or to protect others, your actions may be justifiable. A skilled criminal defense attorney can help you present your side of the story and potentially avoid a conviction.

Your best bet is to let a qualified criminal defense attorney look over everything and get your version of events. The police don't always get the full story and the prosecutors end up making the decision to file the charge based on a one-sided account. Your attorney will review the evidence, interview witnesses, and build a defense strategy. This process can provide a more balanced view of the situation, potentially leading to a reduction or dismissal of the charges.

Difference Between Aggravated And Simple Assault In California

A simple assault is a misdemeanor charge and often involves behavior that is on the borderline between criminal conduct and non-criminal conduct. An aggravated assault charge means that you were attempting to cause serious bodily injury to another person.

If you did end up causing them severe bodily injury, then you could be charged with both aggravated assault and battery. Aggravated assault shows reckless conduct or an extreme indifference to human life.

For example, if you act like you're going to hit somebody but you stop short of hitting them, you might be charged with simple assault. If you're driving around recklessly in a crosswalk, nearly running people over, that would undoubtedly be an aggravated assault.

The difference between simple assault and aggravated assault has to do with how reckless the behavior was. Aggravated assault refers to knowingly and recklessly doing something that shows extreme indifference to human life and could cause significant bodily injury to another person. The legal consequences for aggravated assault are more severe, including potential loss of rights and significant prison time, making it crucial to have a strong legal defense.

Suppose you assault a law enforcement officer. In that case, you're going to put yourself in a much more difficult position because not only will you be charged with assault or aggravated assault, but you could also be charged with other crimes, depending on what the scenario is.

Certain charges relate only to police officers, but if you do anything to a police officer, that would be a crime. You won't necessarily be charged differently if you did it to another citizen. However, the prosecutors will look at your criminal activity more seriously due to their friendly relationship with the police.

Use Of A Weapon Enhancing Charges To Felony

Anytime you're using a weapon to commit an assault or any other type of crime, the prosecutors are usually going to add an enhancement to the charge. An enhancement is an additional charge or penalty added to the primary charge, in this case, aggravated assault. This can significantly increase the severity of the legal consequences, making it even more important to have a strong legal defense.

In California, for example, using a gun to commit a robbery will result in a 10-year enhancement to the robbery charge. That means ten years can be added to the sentence if convicted.

Assault with a deadly weapon is a serious crime in its own right, and you would be charged with that crime under Penal Code Section 245(a) as well as a special allegation related to your use of a weapon.

For example, if you fire a weapon and hit somebody, there's a 25-year special allegation for that. Anytime you use a gun to commit a crime, it's going to be a serious charge, and you're going to be facing multiple years in prison.

Penalties For Conviction Of Aggravated Assault

If you are charged with aggravated assault, the case will typically be charged as a felony, and you will likely be looking at prison time. Whether you get prison time or probation depends on how severe your conduct was and whether you have a prior criminal record.

The more serious the crime, the longer you'll spend in prison. Even if you get probation on a felony charge, you'll spend up to a year in Los Angeles County Jail.

Aggravated assault is serious business. If you're charged with this crime or other associated crimes, you will want to contact an attorney immediately. Please ensure the attorney gets your whole story so they can start taking action to mitigate the damage and put you in the best possible position.

If you cause damage to another person, you will likely be required to pay restitution. For example, if somebody loses a significant amount of money because of your actions, the prosecutors believe it's their job to ensure that the person is compensated.

In Los Angeles County, anybody convicted of a crime is also going to have to pay what's called a victim's restitution fund. Los Angeles County collects money for victims of crime and each criminal defendant who gets convicted pays into that fund.

There are alternative programs, but they're only available in unique situations. Aggravated assault is conduct that can seriously injure somebody and conduct that shows disregard for others.

Judges and prosecutors don't like that, and they severely punish that type of behavior. You would have to show that your conduct was an aberration and that it falls outside the range of behavior that the aggravated assault penalties are designed to protect against.

Your attorney would argue that this would put you in the best position. You can avoid going to jail or prison and try to get a deferred entry of the judgment or other related program.

Possible Defenses To Aggravated Assault Charges

You need to sit down with an attorney who is qualified to handle this type of offense and give them all the information. That doesn't mean the information that you think is relevant or that you think might help you—you've got to give them “the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

You must ensure that the attorney has a complete picture of what happened in your criminal case. Of course, there are defenses to an aggravated assault charge – there are defenses to any criminal charge – but your attorney can't pull those defenses out of thin air.

The defenses come from the facts and circumstances of the case. That's why it's crucial to give your criminal defense attorney a complete account of what happened so they can argue on your behalf and ensure that every aspect of your case is considered. If you have a defense, you want to assert it.

Whenever you talk to the police, you want to have your attorney there. You want to discuss what you'll talk about with your attorney, especially if it's a serious offense like an aggravated assault. You and your attorney will have to make a mutual decision that you want to talk to the police because you believe it's in your best interest.

You'll want to determine what benefit you may get if you talk. In Los Angeles County and state cases, cooperating with the police is rarely a good idea. They need to set up a system for people to cooperate. Cooperation is more likely beneficial in a federal than a state setting.

Any time you're going to speak to the police, you want to have your attorney there, but most of the time, it's a bad idea to talk to the police. You must ensure you don't say anything if you're in doubt. Tell the police you'd feel more comfortable if your attorney was present.

What Can a Criminal Defense Attorney Do To Help Me?

The most important thing that a criminal defense attorney can do if you're facing a serious charge such as aggravated assault is to ensure that the police, prosecutors, the judge, and the jury hear your side of the story.

They will be your voice and act as a buffer between you and law enforcement. They will ensure that you are treated fairly. They will assert all your rights and ensure that you get a not guilty verdict if that's what you deserve.

If you have a case where you have done something wrong, they will be the ones to negotiate with the prosecutors and raise all the mitigating factors related to you and your circumstances. In other words, they're going to be your champions.

If you're charged with aggravated assault, you should hire a criminal defense attorney, arm them with complete and accurate information, and then let them execute the plan so that you can get out of the criminal justice system as quickly as possible while protecting and preserving your rights, your freedom and your reputation.

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