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Our Experienced Raleigh Criminal Defense Team handles Assault & Battery charges across Wake County

Presenting a strong defense against violent assault charges

North Carolina has a broad spectrum of assault crimes. Assault and battery offenses range from misdemeanor Simple Affray (N.C.G.S 14-33(c)) to felony Assault with A Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury (N.C.G.S. 14-32). All assaults are punishable by time in jail or prison. Every assault conviction can affect your employment, housing, education, and future. If you are charged with any kind of assault in Wake County, contact our Criminal Defense Team for guidance and help. Call now for a free consultation.

There are many forms of assault and battery charges. Simple affray is a related assault charge that is often related to public disturbances. An affray is a crime that is committed when a person voluntarily engages in a fight with another person in a public place to the terror of the public.  Engaging in a fight does not necessarily mean that the person charged landed or even threw a punch.  Instead, you can be convicted for simple affray by merely agreeing to fight or provoking and encouraging a fight through words.  Simple Affray is a class 2 misdemeanor and carries a potential sentence of up to 60 days in jail.  Note that if aggravating factors such as serious injury or the use of a deadly weapon are found, the charge can quickly turn into an Aggravated Misdemeanor Affray, a class A1 misdemeanor with a potential sentence of 150 days in jail.

Simple assault in Wake County

While they sound similar, the charge of simple assault is different from the charge of simple affray. A simple assault is a class 2 misdemeanor and carries a potential sentence of up to 60 days in jail.  To be charged with assault, it is not necessary to actually touch another person.  In fact, you can be convicted of assault for merely acting like you are going to make unwanted contact with another person.  Likewise, you can convicted for merely touching a person, however slightly, it that touching is unwanted.

The charge of Assault on a Female applies only to men who are at least 18 years old on the date of offense and who commit an assault on a female.  However, this addition of gender requirements escalates the normal class 2 misdemeanor of Simple Assault to a class A1 misdemeanor. As an A1 misdemeanor, the crime caries a potential sentence of 150 days in jail.  An A1 misdemeanor is the highest-class misdemeanor, just shy of a felony charge.

Aggressive legal defense for felony assault charges

There are also a number of assaults that qualify as felonies. These assaults include Assault Inflicting Serious Bodily Injury, Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting Serious Injury, and Assault with a Deadly Weapon with the Intent to Kill. Sometimes, these assaults are referred to as alphabet assaults due to their acronyms, such as AISBI, AWDWISI, and AWDWIK. There are many variation of these felony assaults, each of which carry substantial potential prison sentences. If you or a loved one is charged with felony assault, you need an experienced, trustworthy attorney for a proper defense. Do not hesitate to contact our team for a free consultation.

If you’ve been charged with an assault crime, you need to know your legal rights and defenses.  Defenses range from the broad and general category, such as your right to defend yourself against an attack, down to very specific rules such as your right to use deadly force against an attacker who forcefully removes you from your home or vehicle.  Defenses can also be found when the alleged victim consents to the assault such as a participant in a sport like mixed martial arts or when a person acts in defense of another.  Because your legal defenses will be different in every case depending on the facts and circumstances alleged against you, you need an experienced Criminal Defense team who can educate you on your rights and walk you through the criminal process step by step.  Call our team now to stop worrying and start putting your rights to your defense where they belong.

For a committed defense, call North Carolina criminal law attorneys who will fight for you

Call The Criminal Defense Team of Hatch, Little & Bunn, LLP at 919-714-4306 or contact us online to schedule your consultation at our Raleigh, North Carolina office.

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