Aggravated Assault Lawyer In Conroe, TX
Aggravated assault is an assault the state says went further, either because the injury was serious or because a deadly weapon was used or shown. That single allegation carries a range of up to twenty years, and this page covers the elements, the penalties, the defenses and the court process.
What Is Aggravated Assault In Texas?
Aggravated assault under Texas Penal Code § 22.02 is an assault that causes serious bodily injury or involves the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon. It is a second degree felony, with two to twenty years in prison, and a first degree felony in listed situations such as an assault on a public servant on duty.
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Define Aggravated Assault?
Under Penal Code § 22.02, the state must first prove an assault under § 22.01: bodily injury, a threat of imminent bodily injury, or offensive contact. Then it must prove one more thing, and either of these will do:
- The assault left another person with serious bodily injury
- A deadly weapon was used or exhibited while the assault took place
The two theories rest on different evidence. The injury theory is built on medical records. The weapon theory is built on what witnesses say they saw in someone's hand and on whatever was recovered afterward. A case can be charged on either or both.
Serious bodily injury is a legal definition, not a description.
Penal Code § 1.07 reaches an injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of a bodily member or organ. A trip to the emergency room does not meet it automatically. A fracture that heals fully or a cut closed with stitches may or may not qualify, and the medical evidence decides.
A deadly weapon does not have to be built as one. Anything capable of causing death or serious injury in the way it was used can qualify.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Aggravated Assault In Texas?
Every aggravated assault is a felony. Section 22.02(b) raises the base level in a narrow set of situations. These are statutory limits, not predictions for any one case.
Fine of up to $10,000.
Fine of up to $10,000.
- Base level
- Second degree felony. Two to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
- First degree situations
- Listed in § 22.02(b). They include a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury to a family member, household member or dating partner; an assault on a public servant lawfully discharging an official duty; retaliation against a witness, informant or person who reported a crime; and a small number of others.
- First degree range
- Five to ninety-nine years or life, and a fine of up to $10,000.
- Deadly weapon finding
- An affirmative finding in the judgment limits the community supervision a judge can order and affects parole eligibility. See 3G offenses.
- Collateral effects
- A felony conviction is a permanent record and restricts firearm possession. A family relationship adds the consequences described on the family violence page.
The charge on the arrest report is not always the charge that is indicted. A grand jury can indict on aggravated assault, on a lesser offense, or decline to indict.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Aggravated Assault In Texas?
Does showing a weapon count if no one was hurt?
How does a parking lot argument become aggravated assault?
Can the charge come back down to a misdemeanor?
Why does a deadly weapon finding matter so much?
Does self-defense still apply if a weapon was involved?
Possible Defenses
How Can Aggravated Assault Be Defended?
Because the whole felony depends on one extra element, that element draws the closest review. If proof of serious injury or a deadly weapon falls short, what is left may be a misdemeanor assault that a jury can be asked to consider as a lesser offense.
An attorney goes through the hospital records, any recovered object, each statement and the video, then asks what the state can really show. No result can be promised.
Justification applies to felonies too.
Chapter 9 of the Penal Code allows force, and in some circumstances deadly force, to protect oneself or another person. Deadly force carries stricter requirements, and the evidence on what the person reasonably believed becomes the center of the case.
When a gun was fired toward a house or car and no one was hit, the state can charge deadly conduct instead of, or beside, aggravated assault. When the alleged weapon is a vehicle, see the vehicular assault page.
Lasting Impairment
Does the medical record describe a protracted impairment, or an injury that was treated and healed?
The Object
Did anyone see it, and was it ever recovered or photographed?
Manner Of Use
Was it used in a way capable of causing death or serious bodily injury?
Justification
Does Chapter 9 apply, including the stricter rules for deadly force?
The Recordings
Do scene video and the 911 call match the written statements?
Identification
Is the person accused the person who acted, and is the identification reliable?
Local Process
What Happens After An Aggravated Assault Arrest In Montgomery County?
Booking, grand jury review and discovery follow Texas law. Every aggravated assault is a felony, so the case is handled at the felony level in Montgomery County.
Arrest, Booking And Bond
After booking, a magistrate sets bond and conditions. In a family case an emergency protective order can also issue.
Grand Jury Review
The case is presented to a grand jury, which can indict on aggravated assault, indict on a lesser offense, or decline to indict.
District Court
Arraignment, discovery under article 39.14 and pretrial motions come first. The case then ends in a dismissal, a plea, or a trial before a judge or jury.
- Where it is heard
- Heard in the district courts at the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Center on 207 W Phillips St, after a grand jury returns an indictment.
- Who prosecutes
- The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, on the second floor of that same building.
- Who makes the arrest
- Conroe Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Montgomery County Constables, Precincts 1 through 5, Willis Police Department, Shenandoah Police Department, Oak Ridge North Police Department, Magnolia Police Department, Splendora Police Department, or Roman Forest Police Department.
- Where you are booked
- The Montgomery County Jail at 1 Criminal Justice Drive, run by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
- If the case is appealed
- Appeals go to the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After An Aggravated Assault Charge?
A felony accusation deserves caution starting on day one. What follows is general information and does not fit every person.
Say Nothing About The Facts
Anything said to police, the other person or friends can become evidence.
Preserve Evidence
Keep photographs, messages and witness names, and delete nothing.
Follow Bond Conditions
A violation can lead to revocation of bond and new charges.
Keep Your Own Medical Records
If you were hurt too, treatment records can matter to a justification claim.
Watch The Grand Jury Stage
An indictment, a lesser charge or a no bill changes what the case looks like.
Avoid Social Media
Posts and photographs can be used by the state.
Speak with a lawyer before making a statement or entertaining a plea offer, because a felony judgment and a deadly weapon finding both last for years. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about an aggravated assault charge in Montgomery County.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 22: Assault and aggravated assault
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 1: Definitions of serious bodily injury and deadly weapon
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 9: Justification, including deadly force
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: Felony punishment ranges
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 42A: Community supervision and deadly weapon findings
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 20: Grand jury
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: Discovery of the state's evidence
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Conroe 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.
Related Assault Charges
Other Assault Charges Handled In Conroe, TX
The difference between aggravated assault and the charges around it often comes down to one line in the offense report. See the full Assault Crimes defense overview for Conroe.
Assault
One statute, three kinds of accusation, and a range that runs from a fine-only ticket to a felony.
Vehicular Assault
Not an offense by that name in Texas. An injury crash is charged under one of four statutes, and the one chosen sets the range.
Deadly Conduct
Creating a risk of serious injury with no one needing to be hurt: a Class A misdemeanor, or a third degree felony when shots are fired.
Family Violence
An assault or threat between family, household members or dating partners, with protective orders, firearm limits and a finding that stays on the record.
Injury To A Child Or Elderly Person
A felony at every level, graded by the harm and the mental state, and chargeable for failing to act as well as for acting.
Kidnapping
Unlawful restraint, kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping: three levels of one idea, separated by intent, deadly force and purpose.
Terroristic Threats
A threat of violence made with a listed purpose: Class B at the base, and up to a third degree felony depending on the target and the intent.
Common Questions
Aggravated Assault Questions People In Conroe Ask
Is aggravated assault a felony in Conroe, TX?
Aggravated assault under Texas Penal Code § 22.02 is a second degree felony, punishable by two to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Section 22.02(b) raises it to a first degree felony, five to ninety-nine years or life, in listed situations such as an assault on a public servant lawfully discharging an official duty.
What counts as serious bodily injury in a Montgomery County aggravated assault case?
Penal Code § 1.07 defines serious bodily injury as bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ. Whether an injury meets that definition is a fact question, and the medical records and testimony about recovery are the main evidence.
Does aggravated assault require that someone was hurt in Conroe, TX?
The deadly weapon version does not require any injury. An assault by threat becomes aggravated assault when the person used or exhibited a deadly weapon during it. Displaying a firearm while making a threat can therefore be charged under § 22.02 even though no one was touched.
Can an aggravated assault charge in Montgomery County end as a misdemeanor?
Misdemeanor assault is a lesser included offense, so a jury that finds the assault proven but not the serious injury or deadly weapon element can convict of the lesser offense. A reduction can also come through a plea agreement, which depends on the prosecutor's discretion and the evidence in the file. Neither outcome can be promised.
Can you get probation for aggravated assault in Conroe, TX?
Eligibility depends on who decides punishment and on whether the judgment contains an affirmative deadly weapon finding. A finding limits the community supervision a judge can order and affects parole eligibility. Aggravated assault is not itself on the list of 3G offenses, but the finding can produce similar restrictions, so the wording of any agreement matters.
What is a deadly weapon in a Conroe, TX aggravated assault case?
Penal Code § 1.07 defines a deadly weapon as a firearm, anything manifestly designed or made for inflicting death or serious bodily injury, or anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. Under the last part, an ordinary tool, bottle or vehicle can qualify depending on how it was used.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
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