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Assault, Family Violence & Aggravated Robbery

The most consequential issue in a violent-offense case is how the State chooses to classify it. A Richmond assault and aggravated robbery lawyer must challenge both the facts and the statutory classification built around them. 

Paul F. Tu Attorney at Law examines whether the evidence supports the charged offense, a lesser allegation, or no criminal liability at all. Call 713-774-2800 before giving police another statement or accepting restrictive bond conditions. The defense begins with the assault allegation, because intent, injury, and legal justification often determine whether the State can sustain any greater charge.

Assault Charges Require Proof of Conduct, Intent, and Injury

Texas assault law covers several forms of conduct, each with different elements and penalties. The State must prove the specific act alleged and the required mental state rather than rely only on the existence of an injury or confrontation.

Common assault charges include:

  • Assault causing bodily injury: Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing physical pain, illness, or impairment. This is generally a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
  • Assault by threat: Intentionally or knowingly threatening another person with imminent bodily injury. This is commonly charged as a Class C misdemeanor.
  • Assault by offensive contact: Making physical contact when the accused knew or reasonably should have known the other person would regard it as offensive or provocative. This is also generally a Class C misdemeanor.
  • Aggravated assault: Committing assault while causing serious bodily injury or using or exhibiting a deadly weapon. Under Texas Penal Code § 22.02, the offense is generally a second-degree felony but may become a first-degree felony in specified circumstances.

An accidental collision, an attempt to block a blow, or contact made while separating two people should not become intentional assault merely because someone was injured. Your top-rated Texas criminal defense attorney should examine who initiated the confrontation, whether the accused acted intentionally or recklessly, and whether the medical evidence supports the claimed injury.

Important defense issues include:

  • Whether the accused acted in self-defense or defense of another person
  • Whether the complainant initiated or prolonged the confrontation
  • Whether the contact was accidental
  • Whether both parties voluntarily participated in mutual combat
  • Whether photographs and medical records match the accusation
  • Whether 911 audio or body-camera footage contradicts the police report
  • Whether witness accounts changed over time

Texas permits force when a person reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to protect against another person’s use or attempted use of unlawful force. Your Texas defense attorney must place the accused’s actions within the full sequence of events rather than allow prosecutors to isolate one moment from everything that occurred before it.

Family Violence Charges Add Relationship-Based Consequences

Family violence is a legal classification based on both the alleged conduct and the relationship between the parties. Texas law applies the designation to qualifying family and household members, as well as people in a dating relationship.

The most common family violence charges include:

  • Assault causing bodily injury to a family or household member: Usually charged as a Class A misdemeanor for a first qualifying allegation.
  • Felony family violence assault: May be charged as a third-degree felony when the accused has a qualifying prior conviction.
  • Assault by impeding breathing or circulation: May become a third-degree felony when the State alleges pressure to the throat or neck or obstruction of the nose or mouth.
  • Continuous violence against the family: Under Texas Penal Code § 25.11, prosecutors may file a third-degree felony when they allege two or more qualifying assaults within twelve months.
  • Aggravated assault involving family violence: May be charged when the State alleges serious bodily injury or use or exhibition of a deadly weapon.

The criminal penalty is only one part of the exposure. A family violence allegation can also produce immediate restrictions before the charge has been resolved.

Those restrictions may include:

  • Removal from the shared home
  • Prohibition on communicating with the complainant
  • Restrictions on approaching the complainant’s home, workplace, or school
  • Limits on access to children or personal property
  • Firearm restrictions
  • Additional bond conditions
  • A magistrate’s emergency protection order

A family violence lawyer must defend the charge while addressing the restrictions affecting the client’s home, family, employment, and daily life. Paul Tu reviews 911 recordings, body-camera footage, photographs, medical records, messages, and witness accounts to determine whether police correctly identified the primary aggressor and whether the physical evidence supports the accusation.

The defense may focus on:

  • Self-defense or defense of another person
  • Mutual combat
  • An accusation unsupported by physical evidence
  • Medical findings inconsistent with alleged strangulation
  • Prior statements contradicting the complainant’s later account
  • Messages showing a motive to exaggerate or falsely accuse
  • Witnesses who observed the confrontation
  • Errors in identifying the parties’ legal relationship

A complainant cannot necessarily terminate the prosecution by requesting that charges be withdrawn. The defense must therefore develop independent evidence capable of exposing weaknesses in the State’s case.

Aggravated Robbery Requires Theft, Force, and an Aggravating Fact

Aggravated robbery is not simply an assault that occurred near property. The State must first prove robbery, including an intent to obtain or maintain control of property and the use of injury, threat, or fear during the commission of theft.

To obtain an aggravated robbery conviction, prosecutors must prove:

  • The accused was committing theft or acting with the intent to commit theft
  • The accused intended to obtain or maintain control of property
  • The accused caused bodily injury or threatened or placed another person in fear of imminent bodily injury or death
  • At least one aggravating circumstance under Texas Penal Code § 29.03

The statutory aggravating circumstances include:

  • Causing serious bodily injury
  • Using or exhibiting a deadly weapon
  • Causing bodily injury to, threatening, or placing in fear an elderly or disabled person

Aggravated robbery is a first-degree felony punishable by five to ninety-nine years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. That punishment makes it essential to challenge each element separately.

A Richmond aggravated robbery lawyer will investigate:

  • Whether property was actually taken or whether the State can prove theft intent
  • Whether the alleged force or threat was connected to obtaining or keeping property
  • Whether the accused was correctly identified
  • Whether the object allegedly used qualifies as a deadly weapon
  • Whether the accused possessed, used, or displayed the weapon
  • Whether the injury satisfies the definition of serious bodily injury
  • Whether surveillance footage or location data contradicts the accusation
  • Whether eyewitness identification was affected by stress, lighting, distance, or limited viewing time

The State may also rely on Texas party-liability law against someone who did not personally take property, injure the complainant, or display a weapon. Mere presence or association with another person does not establish criminal responsibility.

When party liability is alleged, the defense should determine:

  • Whether the accused intended to promote or assist the offense
  • Whether the accused solicited, encouraged, directed, aided, or attempted to aid another person
  • Whether the accused knew that a weapon would be used
  • Whether the aggravated conduct was reasonably foreseeable under the prosecution’s theory
  • Whether the accused withdrew before the alleged offense
  • Whether another participant acted independently

Surveillance footage, phone records, location evidence, receipts, witness timelines, fingerprints, and DNA may establish mistaken identity or show that another person controlled the weapon or property. These facts may support dismissal, reduction to a lesser charge, or acquittal.

Let a Richmond Assault Lawyer Cross Examine the Charge Itself

Paul F. Tu Attorney at Law provides personalized, trial-focused representation for clients facing assault, family violence, and aggravated robbery charges in Richmond and Fort Bend County. Call 713-774-2800 or contact us today to have the accusation, evidence, bond restrictions, and available defenses reviewed.