Under Florida law the difference between being charged with assault vs. aggravated assault is huge. The penalties for aggravated assault in Florida are a lot more severe, often including jail or prison. Also, if you are convicted, or plea to aggravated assault, will have a permanent criminal record. Aggravated assault makes you ineligible for a seal or expungement of your criminal record.
So what elevates a regular assault to an aggravated one?
There are two factors:
- A deadly weapon was used in the course of the assault, or
- There was an intent to commit a felony (meaning the assault occurred during a burglary, robbery, rape, attempted murder, etc.)
Thankfully there are a number of defenses available to you if you’ve been accused of aggravated assault in Florida. One of the effective ones that we’ve seen success with in a number of cases is self defense based on Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
Take the case of one of our former clients, Armando, for example.
Armando was pulling into a gas station and came very close to hitting another vehicle that was not in its lane. He had heated words with the driver and then parked his car to go into the convenience store to pick up a few items. As he got out of his car, he noticed the two men from the other car fast approaching him. They were cursing and making threatening gestures.
Outnumbered, Armando felt threatened and holstered his gun to his hip. (He had a concealed weapon permit for the gun and was hoping the visual effect of seeing the gun would help to avoid any kind of confrontation with these guys).
Armando had a few more words with the men, but that was it. He then went into the convenience store to order food. As he was waiting for his food inside the store, a cop came in and approached Armando. The two men outside told the cop that Armando had waved the gun at them, and that they were afraid he was going to shoot.
He was handcuffed immediately, arrested for aggravated assault taken directly to jail and booked. Of course his gun was confiscated during the arrest process.
The prosecution filed charges of aggravated assault against Armando because his gun was considered a deadly weapon. So now, he was looking at prison if convicted, and a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
When Armando hired Rossen Law Firm, we were able to prove that Armando was acting in self defense under Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law. He was at a gas station at night and two big guys were approaching him in a threatening manner. He feared his life was in danger and took necessary means to protect himself.
The an assault lawyer was able to get the aggravated assault charges against him were dropped, and his gun was returned to him.
Learn more about the 3 elements of an Aggravated Assault crime:
Free Aggravated Assault Criminal Defense Strategy Session in South Florida
We handle aggravated assault cases of all types. We know how to protect your rights and provide you with a personalized and aggressive defense to your criminal charges.
Rossen Law Firms offers FREE strategy sessions so you know how we’ll fight to get the best possible outcome on your case. Unlike most law firms, we don’t put a time limit on this meeting.