You may be summoned to a criminal trial for your alleged assault offense. When this happens, you and the prosecution may present the Georgia criminal court with relevant evidence that supports your contrasting arguments. After hearing both sides of the story, so to speak, the court may make a final ruling on whether or not you are guilty of assault. More specifically, if they administer a guilty verdict, they may distinguish whether this is for simple assault or aggravated assault. To put it simply, you definitely do not want to face the consequences of the latter. With all that being said, please follow along to find out the circumstances in which you may be charged with aggravated assault and how a proficient Cobb County assault lawyer at Miller Law Firm, LLC can help prevent this from happening. 

When is it considered an aggravated assault offense in Georgia?

First, the state of Georgia considers simple assault to be when an individual attempts to violently injure another party or commits an act that gives another party reasonable fear of a violent injury. Notably, the operative word here is “attempts.”

Then, as the name suggests, aggravated assault is a crime that entails aggravated factors. That is, there is an increased level of danger, harm, and criminal intent, all of which go beyond the basic threat or attempted harm involved in simple assault. Therefore, more specific examples of what may elevate this crime include the following:

  • An individual uses or displays a deadly weapon during the act of assault.
  • An individual has the intent to rob, rape, or murder another party during the act of assault.
  • An individual uses an object during the assault that causes permanent damage or life-threatening harm to another party (i.e., strangulation).
  • An individual commits assault against another party with a firearm from inside a motor vehicle without any identifiable legal justification.

What are the different consequences of simple and aggravated assault?

If your charges are not upgraded and you are convicted of simple assault, you may face up to 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Here, it is worth mentioning that you may face additional consequences if, say, your simple assault was against a pregnant female, a certain household or family member, a public school employee, etc. However, this may not convert it to aggravated assault, but you may be ordered to pay increased fines of up to $5,000.

If you are unfortunately found guilty of aggravated assault, you may encounter felony punishments. Specifically, a prison sentence of one to 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000 in your near future. Then, depending on the aggravating circumstances of your incident, a mandatory minimum for imprisonment may be imposed. For example, if your actions were against an elderly individual, you may have to serve at least three years in prison. Or, if it is discovered that you had an intent to rape a child under 14 during this act (i.e., aggravated child molestation or assault), you may be ordered to 25 to 50 years, or even a life sentence, in prison. 

If you want a fighting chance at avoiding these harsh criminal consequences, you cannot go into your trial proceedings without legal representation in your corner. So please hire a talented Cobb County criminal defense lawyer from Miller Law Firm, LLC, at your earliest possible convenience.