In Texas, most types of assaults or “acts of violence” are criminalized under Title 5, Chapter 22 of the Texas Penal Code. This Chapter addresses the crimes of assault, sexual assault, aggravated assault, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, and injuries to children, the elderly, and the disabled. For the purpose of this post, we’re going to focus on aggravated assault under Section 22.02 of the Texas Penal Code. We wanted to dedicate a blog to aggravated assault because it’s one offense that everyday people without criminal records are charged with.
Aggravated Assault Defined
Under Sec. 22.02, a person commits the offense of aggravated assault when he or she does any of the following:
- Causes serious bodily injury to another person, and this includes the person’s own husband, wife, or child, or
- While committing an assault, uses or exhibits a deadly weapon.
Aggravated assault is usually charged as a felony of the second degree; however, it’s charged as a felony of the first degree if the perpetrator used a deadly weapon while committing an assault, which resulted in serious bodily injury and the victim was a family member, or the offense was against a public servant, such as a police officer, while he or she was performing their public duties. Aggravated assault is also a first-degree felony if the victim was a witness, an informant, a potential witness, or someone who reported a crime. Suppose you were charged with aggravated assault as a second-degree felony. In this case, you would face 2 to 20 years in prison, or a fine not to exceed $10,000, or a fine and imprisonment. That’s a very long time, especially if you got into a heated altercation and acted in self-defense! To learn more about the penalties for aggravated assault as a felony of the second degree, see Sec. 12.33 of the Texas Penal Code. For a high-caliber defense in Plano and Dallas, contact The Zendeh Del Law Firm, PLLC!