Weston Assault Investigations

An assault investigation in Weston is typically conducted by the Weston Police Department, and they will usually receive a report by someone walking into the station or by a phone call. If they get a phone call they will send an officer out to talk to the parties involved and take statements of the parties and any third party witnesses. They typically make an arrest on the spot in those types of investigations.

Judges and prosecutors are hesitant to let these cases go easily. You should not expect an assault case to be quick, because that is not how they are handled in Connecticut. If you are facing an investigation into your assault charge in Weston, it is important to work with an assault lawyer who can protect your rights after your arrest and during your trial.

Dealing With An Investigation

Someone facing an investigation into their assault charge in Weston should contact an experienced attorney as soon as they can, to get someone who can walk them through the next steps and start preparing the defense right away. The second thing that they should do through their attorney is to file a motion to preserve any electronic evidence. This could include text messages or emails between the person being charged and the person complaining, especially if they talked about the allegations at all.

There might evidence there to demonstrate the person’s innocence. Other electronic evidence can include surveillance footage, especially in a case where self-defense might be relevant. If there is a video, it could be important to preserve to make sure it is not overwritten, to show that the alleged victim was actually the initial aggressor. The next thing would be to put in a discovery request to try to get the alleged victim’s medical records. Especially when they are alleging a serious physical injury, the defense needs to ensure it is actually is a serious physical injury, because otherwise the person should be charged with a felony.

Compiling Evidence

It is especially important to take these steps quickly when dealing with assault investigations in Weston, because electronic surveillance footage usually gets overwritten really quickly, often in 30 days. You want to preserve this if you can show the defendant was not the initial aggressor or acted in a self-defense. When determining evidence that is normally collected in an assault case, the witness statements collected by the police would be presented, as would medical records if there is some type of actual physical injury. This would apply for surveillance footage as well, or the defense attorney can subpoena that on their own. If there are surveillance videos, usually the police or the defense attorney can try to get it to assist in the investigation process.

Pre-Trial Release

If somebody is able to make bond post arrest, they will be released, and they will be given a court date after their arrest. If the charge is domestic violence related, the court date will be the next business day. If it is not domestic violence related, it will be sometime within the next 14 days. If the person has a bond and is unable to post that bond and is kept in police custody, they will be brought to court on the next business day for their arraignment in front of the judge.

In almost all cases, the judge will issue a protective order on the day of the arraignment. They usually have the opportunity to contact an attorney either before they are arrested, if they are trying to get a statement, as they are being arrested, or directly after. Weston police will usually allow them to make a phone call to an attorney to try to get legal advice right away.