Greenwich First Degree Assault Lawyer

Under Connecticut law, first-degree assault is anytime somebody causes serious physical injury to another person with the intent to actually cause serious physical injury, with an additional aggravating factor present.

If you have been charged with such a crime, it is crucial that you consult with an attorney immediately. A Greenwich first-degree assault lawyer can gather all the necessary evidence needed to assist in reducing or dismissing any penalties associated with your charge.

Elements of a First Degree Assault Charge

There are different ways that a person could commit a first-degree assault, one of which is by means of a deadly weapon. To bring forward this charge, an individual must have the intention to cause serious physical injury, actually cause serious physical injury to another person, and there also has to be an aggravating circumstance in addition to those two things.

The aggravating circumstances can mean the assault was carried out by means of a deadly weapon, or that there are two or more people that are involved in the assault. That is how something generally escalates from a second-degree assault to a first-degree assault. A Greenwich first-degree assault attorney can assist an individual in understanding the elements of their charge.

What Are Examples of Assault with a Weapon?

An example of assault with a weapon would be when somebody uses a gun, for example, and they shoot another person but do not kill them. That individual would also shoot them in the part of the body where they were not trying to kill the person, but just to try to seriously hurt them. If an individual shoots someone in the leg, that would be a first-degree assault because that person would be causing serious physical injury using a gun.

Another way this charge happens is when somebody uses a knife, a bat, a crowbar, or some sort of weapon that is not necessarily a conventional weapon but is used to hurt somebody. The weapon an individual chooses is one that could cause death and serious physical injury. A Greenwich first-degree assault attorney can help to lessen or dismiss any penalties associated with a first-degree assault charge.

Assault Without a Weapon

First-degree assault without a weapon occurs when an individual is simply trying to cause serious physical injury, with an aggravating circumstance present, which is more than just regular physical injury. This individual will want to cause some sort of an impairment or pain that is more than just a superficial injury. A person has to actually hurt somebody to a degree where it creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious disfigurements or a health condition that will have a lasting effect.

This can happen when a person knocks somebody out or causes a concussion or serious disfigurement by virtue of the way in which somebody commits the assault. The scenario where that happens often is when somebody not only hurts another person but when the other person is unconscious or already incapacitated or defenseless and the person continues to beat them.

Can a Group of People Be Charged?

An individual can also get themselves in the position of being in the first-degree assault range when there is a group beating. This is when a group of people beat another person and cause serious physical harm. An experienced Greenwich first-degree assault attorney can assist in defending such an allegation.

Work With a Greenwich First-Degree Assault Attorney

First-degree assault is one of the most serious charges a person can face, and the second most serious degree of a crime when talking about Class B Felonies. The fact that somebody charged with first-degree assault is facing up to 20 years in prison and the mandatory minimum of five years means that there is going to be a lot at stake. Having a Greenwich first-degree assault lawyer that is experienced and effective is essential to making sure that every piece of the case is adequately investigated and thoroughly defended. Call today.

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