Aggravated assault charges in Georgia carry between one and twenty years in prison and harsh fines. Adam Levin Law is dedicated to fighting serious cases.
What Is an Assault?
People often confuse the terms assault and battery. Simply said, while it’s necessary that insulting or offensive physical contact exists for the crime to be defined as a battery, assault only occurs when someone’s words, actions, or behavior fall short of making physical contact.
However, threatening or attempting to cause serious bodily injury to another person in a way that person feels afraid of violence can result in an assault charge.
When it comes to assault and battery in Georgia, these crimes can include simple assault, aggravated assault, simple battery, battery, and aggravated battery.
What Constitutes Aggravated Assault?
One of the most common allegations of violence in Georgia is aggravated assault. It’s a serious charge even though it’s common.
The basic elements of aggravated assault are that a person assaults another person with either one of the objects or intents listed below:
- With the intent to murder, rape, or rob
- With a deadly weapon
- With an object that chokes or could choke someone
- By discharging a gun or another type of weapon from a car in the direction of another person.
Hands and feet can be considered deadly weapons under Georgia’s aggravated assault statute (See Walker v. State, 298 Ga. App. 265 2009). But there are specific pleading requirements that may subject your indictment to a demurrer.
Common Penalties in Aggravated Assault Cases
As opposed to a simple assault which is a misdemeanor, aggravated assault is a felony crime. Prison sentences range from 1 to 20 years for most variants of aggravated assault crimes.
However, bear in mind that in certain circumstances, a harsh mandatory minimum sentence can be imposed. So aggravated assault involving discharging a firearm from a vehicle or committed in a public transport station or a vehicle can trigger a three or five-year minimum prison sentence, depending on the circumstances surrounding the case.
Also, the minimum sentence can significantly increase if the alleged victim is a police officer, firefighter, emergency health worker, or any one of a few other favored/protected groups of people.
In addition, an individual can be convicted of aggravated assault if the prosecution proves that they committed a misdemeanor assault and any of the circumstances mentioned above apply.
Also, it’s not necessary for the state to prove that a person was injured to prove a charge of aggravated assault. So merely pointing a gun at another person in a threatening manner without justification could trigger the 1 to 20-year sentence range for aggravated assault.
In addition to fines that can go to $100,000, the court can also impose restitution to the victim as another penalty for aggravated assault. In that case, the defendant has to reimburse the victim for any expenses they suffered from the crime.
How Can Our Law Firm Help?
Although every case is unique, if you are facing aggravated assault charges, it can be a good idea to find criminal defense lawyers who have experience with these types of cases. They may be able to tell you which defense can be the best option. Aggravated assault is a serious crime that requires a serious defense. At Adam Levin Law, that is exactly what you can get.
Depending on the facts of your case, you may be able to raise a claim of self-defense, which will require a detailed investigation and thorough pre-trial litigation. There may be demurrers that I can file to attack the charging document in your case. And you may have other defenses revealed when we obtain discovery.
I have successfully represented clients facing aggravated charges in numerous counties throughout Georgia. Give me a call at 404-850-1856 to talk about defending you against a charge of aggravated assault.
