If you have been charged or accused with assault or aggravated assault you need an attorney and you need to understand the charges. A Harris County Criminal Defense attorney explains the difference between assault and aggravated assault.
The differences between the two relate to the nature of the injury caused by the conduct and whether a deadly weapon was used. Aggravated assault is the more serious offense. A person is charged with aggravated assault instead of assault because either:
- the injury that resulted from the altercation was serious; or
- a deadly weapon was used during the offense
An assault is either a class A misdemeanor or a class C misdemeanor. It is a class A when a person:
- causes bodily injury to another person; or
Bodily injury is defined as “physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition.” The definition is relatively broad and covers most instances where a person hits, slaps, grabs a person, in other words, most physical altercations.
Assault is a class c misdemeanor when a person
- threatens another person with bodily injury; or
- causes physical contact with someone when they know or should have known that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative.
An aggravated assault occurs when a person has committed assault and:
- causes serious bodily injury to another; or
- uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the assault.
Aggravated assault is generally a second degree felony.
If you have been accused of assault or aggravated assault in Harris County, Brazoria County, or Galveston County you need an experienced criminal defense attorney to protect your rights and defend you against these charges. We have over fifty-years of combined experience defending Texans at Topek and Topek. Our defensive theories differs from case to case depending on the type of evidence the prosecutors have, the method they used for obtaining that evidence, and the evidence we can discover and develop. Every case is different. Please call us for a free consultation at 713-651-1444 or fill out an online contact form and an experienced criminal defense attorney will contact you shortly.