Assault Crimes Lawyer In Beaumont, TX
Texas builds its violent crime charges from a short list of facts: how badly someone was hurt, who the person was, and whether a weapon was involved. This page covers those charges, their penalty levels and how a case moves through Jefferson County.
What Are Assault Crimes In Texas?
Assault crimes in Texas start with Penal Code § 22.01: causing bodily injury, threatening imminent bodily injury, or making offensive contact. Added facts raise the charge. A deadly weapon or serious injury makes it aggravated assault, a family relationship makes it family violence, and a child, elderly or disabled victim makes injury a felony.
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Define Assault Crimes In Jefferson County?
Most charges in this category grow out of the assault statute, Penal Code § 22.01. It covers causing bodily injury, threatening someone with imminent bodily injury, and making contact the other person would find offensive or provocative. Only the first is a Class A misdemeanor. The other two are fine-only Class C offenses.
The remaining charges take that base and add one fact, or they are separate statutes for narrower conduct. Each added fact is another element the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, which is also where a defense looks first.
Four questions sort the category:
- How serious was the harm, or was a weapon used? That path leads to aggravated assault
- How are the two people connected? A family, household or dating tie makes it a family violence case
- How old or how able was the person hurt? A child, an elderly person or a disabled person brings in a separate felony statute
- Was the person on duty? A public servant raises the level, and a peace officer or judge raises it further
Threats, reckless danger with a firearm and restraining a person each have their own statute, covered on the pages for those charges.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Assault Crimes In Texas?
The levels below run from a fine-only offense to a first degree felony. The level decides the court and whether a grand jury comes first. These are statutory limits, not predictions.
Fine only, no jail.
Up to a $4,000 fine.
Fine of up to $10,000.
- Threat or offensive contact
- Class C misdemeanor. A fine of up to $500 and no jail.
- Bodily injury assault
- Class A misdemeanor. Up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
- Terroristic threat, § 22.07
- Class B misdemeanor at the base level, higher depending on the target and the purpose of the threat.
- Deadly conduct, § 22.05
- Class A misdemeanor for reckless conduct. Third degree felony for knowingly firing a gun at people or toward a home, building or vehicle.
- Family violence assault
- Class A on a first bodily injury charge. Third degree felony with a qualifying prior or when breathing or circulation was impeded.
- Assault on a public servant
- Third degree felony. Second degree felony when the person was a peace officer or judge on duty.
- Aggravated assault, § 22.02
- Second degree felony, two to twenty years. First degree in a short list of circumstances.
- Injury to a child, elderly or disabled person
- State jail felony through first degree felony, depending on the harm and the mental state.
- Unlawful restraint and kidnapping
- Unlawful restraint begins as a Class A misdemeanor. Kidnapping is a third degree felony and aggravated kidnapping is a first degree felony.
A family violence conviction, even a Class A misdemeanor, triggers the federal firearm prohibition in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). Texas adds a five year restriction of its own under Penal Code § 46.04(b).
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Assault Crimes In Texas?
What happens to a person before any verdict?
What findings can outlast the sentence?
What if a crash caused the injury?
Are words alone ever a crime?
Why do cases involving children or elderly people differ?
Possible Defenses
How Can Assault Crimes Be Defended?
An attorney reviews what the state can prove, what the evidence shows and what the law allows. The questions differ by charge, but several recur. No result can be promised.
Chapter 9 of the Penal Code makes force justified in some situations, including self-defense and defense of others. When the evidence raises it, the state has to disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Deadly force is held to a stricter standard than ordinary force.
A charge is only as strong as its added fact.
Many assault felonies rest on a single element, such as serious injury, a weapon, a relationship or a victim's age. That element gets the closest look. If the state cannot prove it, the case may come back to a lower offense.
Evidence often includes 911 audio, body camera footage, medical records, photographs and messages.
The Added Fact
Can the state prove the injury level, weapon, relationship or victim status that raises the charge?
Self-Defense
Did the person reasonably believe force was immediately necessary?
The Mental State
Was the act intentional, knowing, reckless or an accident?
The Recordings
What do 911 audio, body camera and phone video show?
The Statements
Were statements at the scene given after proper warnings?
The Later Record
What would a plea or a finding mean for firearms, work and sealing?
Local Process
What Happens After An Assault Arrest In Jefferson County?
The early steps are the same statewide. The court, the prosecutor and the booking below are those of Jefferson County.
Booking And The Magistrate
After booking, a magistrate sets bond and conditions. In a family violence arrest the magistrate can also issue an emergency protective order.
Charging
A misdemeanor proceeds on a complaint and information. A felony must be indicted by a grand jury first.
Evidence And Settings
The defense can request the state's evidence under article 39.14, and the case is set for hearings, negotiation or trial.
- Where it is filed
- Misdemeanors are filed in one of the Jefferson County Courts at Law. Felonies go to a grand jury and, if indicted, are heard in the district courts at the Jefferson County Courthouse on 1085 Pearl Street.
- Who prosecutes
- Felonies are prosecuted by the Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney's Office. Misdemeanors are handled by prosecutors in Jefferson County.
- Who makes the arrest
- Beaumont Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Port Arthur Police Department, Nederland Police Department, Port Neches Police Department, or Groves Police Department.
- Where you are booked
- Arrestees from every law enforcement agency in the county are booked into the county's jail system.
- If the case is appealed
- the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
- Federal firearm charge
- Filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division, separate from the county courts.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After An Assault Accusation?
These steps are general information, not advice for any one person.
Read Your Bond Conditions
Follow every no-contact or stay-away term, even if the other person reaches out.
Do Not Discuss The Facts
Statements to officers, the other person or friends can become evidence.
Preserve Your Evidence
Keep messages and photographs, and note the names of anyone who saw what happened.
Ask About Firearms
A protective order or conviction can restrict them, so ask before selling or moving any.
Note Every Court Date
A missed setting can lead to a warrant and a bond problem.
Stay Off Social Media
Posts about the incident or the other person can be used by the state.
Pick the page for your charge to see its elements, penalties and defenses, and talk to a lawyer before making a decision that cannot be undone. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about assault charges in Jefferson County.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 22: Assaultive offenses
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 20: Kidnapping and unlawful restraint
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 9: Justification, including self-defense
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: Punishment ranges
- Texas Family Code Chapter 71: Family violence definitions
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 17: Bail and emergency protective orders
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: Discovery of the state's evidence
- Texas Government Code Chapter 411: Orders of nondisclosure
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Beaumont trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Assault Charges
Assault Charges We Handle In Beaumont
Assault
Three offenses share one statute, from a fine-only Class C to a felony when the facts or the person involved change.
Aggravated Assault
An assault plus serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon. A second degree felony, and first degree in a narrow set of cases.
Vehicular Assault
Not a Texas statute by that name. A crash that hurts someone is charged under a different law, and which one decides the range.
Deadly Conduct
Reckless danger to another person is a Class A misdemeanor. Firing a gun at people or toward a building or vehicle is a third degree felony.
Family Violence
An assault between people in a family, household or dating relationship, with a protective order, firearm limits and a finding that stays on the record.
Injury To A Child, Elderly Or Disabled Person
A felony at every level, graded by the injury and the mental state, and chargeable for a failure to act as well as for an act.
Kidnapping
Unlawful restraint, kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping are three levels of one idea, from a Class A misdemeanor to a first degree felony.
Terroristic Threats
A threat of violence can be a crime without any contact. The level runs from a Class B misdemeanor to a third degree felony.
Common Questions
Assault Crime Questions People In Beaumont Ask
Which courts hear assault cases in Jefferson County?
A Class A or Class B misdemeanor assault is filed in one of the Jefferson County Courts at Law that carry misdemeanor dockets. A felony such as aggravated assault or kidnapping goes to a grand jury and, if indicted, to a district court. The courts, the clerks and the Criminal District Attorney's Office are all in the courthouse on Pearl Street in Beaumont.
Is a first assault charge in Beaumont, TX always a misdemeanor?
Not always. Assault under Penal Code § 22.01 is a misdemeanor unless an enhancing fact is present. Causing bodily injury is a Class A misdemeanor. Threatening imminent injury, or offensive contact, is a fine-only Class C. A first offense can still be a felony, for example when the person hurt was a public servant on duty.
What separates assault from aggravated assault in Beaumont, TX?
Aggravated assault under Penal Code § 22.02 is an assault plus one added fact: serious bodily injury, or the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon. That fact lifts the offense to a second degree felony, with a range of two to twenty years, and moves the case from a County Court at Law to the district courts.
What turns an assault into a family violence case in Jefferson County?
The relationship between the two people does. Texas Family Code Chapter 71 covers relatives, household members, people who share a child, and current or former dating partners. A finding of family violence is entered in the judgment, and it affects firearm rights and later eligibility for sealing the record.
Which agencies make assault arrests in the Beaumont area?
Arrests can come from the Beaumont Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS, and the police departments of Port Arthur, Nederland, Port Neches and Groves. After an arrest the person goes before a magistrate, who sets bond and any conditions, which can include no contact with the complaining witness.
Can an assault charge in Beaumont, TX affect the right to own a gun?
A conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence triggers the federal prohibition in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), and Penal Code § 46.04(b) adds a five year state restriction after a Class A family violence assault. A felony conviction brings the felon-in-possession rules. Bond conditions and protective orders can also restrict firearms while the case is open.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
Your Freedom Is Our Fight
Bond conditions in an assault case can begin on the day of arrest. Call or request a consultation to go over where the case stands.
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