Aggravated Battery Causing Great Bodily Harm with a Deadly Weapon

Aggravated battery is a serious charge. It involves illegal and intentional striking or touching of someone else against that person's will. Ordinarily, battery is a first-degree misdemeanor for which you may face up to one year in jail; it may be possible not to serve any jail time for a first-degree misdemeanor, however, depending on your past criminal history and the circumstances. However, if you are convicted of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm with a deadly weapon, there is a strong likelihood that you will be incarcerated. You should retain a Clearwater battery defense lawyer as soon as possible. At Hanlon Law, we have substantial experience protecting the rights of the accused.

Aggravated battery can be charged under Florida Statutes section 784.045 when the prosecutor believes that they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you intentionally touched or struck someone else, and you knowingly or intentionally triggered great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to that person, or you used a deadly weapon, or you battered a pregnant woman when you knew or should have known of her pregnancy.

When a battery involves a deadly weapon, and great bodily harm was done, the potential penalties that you face are very serious. While beyond a reasonable doubt is a tough standard, it is crucial to retain an experienced Clearwater criminal attorney to provide a strong defense. The risk of significant prison time is high with these types of charges.

What counts as a deadly weapon? Anything that is threatened or used in a way that would probably produce great bodily harm or death is a deadly weapon under the statute. An obvious example of a deadly weapon is a gun or a knife. However, other items such as a car or a broken bottle can be treated as deadly weapons as well.

Aggravated battery is usually a second-degree felony. This means that you may face a maximum of 15 years in prison or on probation and a maximum of $10,000 in fines. However, if what is being charged is aggravated battery causing great bodily harm with a deadly weapon, you may face first-degree felony charges. For example, if you are charged for trying to forcibly rape someone by beating him or her and holding him or her at gunpoint, you could be charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm with a deadly weapon in addition to a sex crime.

Moreover, if the deadly weapon at issue is a gun or rifle or other firearm, you may face enhanced penalties under the 10-20-Life law. The 10-20-Life law has been reworked, but traditionally it required a judge to impose mandatory minimum sentences in the case of certain crimes, including aggravated battery. This means that the judge did not have discretion to sentence you to less than the mandatory minimum in almost all cases.

Under the 10-20-Life law, the mandatory minimum sentence would ordinarily be 10 years in prison if you possessed a firearm or destructive device while perpetrating an aggravated battery that caused great bodily harm. If you actually discharged the firearm in connection with an aggravated battery in which you caused great bodily harm, you could be sentenced to a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. If the prosecutor were able to show beyond a reasonable doubt that you fired a firearm during the aggravated battery, and somebody was killed or suffered great bodily harm because of it, you could face a minimum of 25 years and up to life in prison. However, this law has been altered, such that mandatory minimum sentences no longer apply to aggravated assault, and there may be other nuances in your case that make it essential to ask a lawyer about the potential sentence that you are facing.

Each aggravated battery case is unique, and the defense strategy that we use will therefore depend on the individual circumstances of the case, including which kind of deadly weapon the prosecutor alleges you used and which kinds of injuries the victim sustained. In some cases, it is appropriate to assert the Stand Your Ground defense, based on where the aggravated battery took place and whether we can plausibly argue that you were threatened first. In other cases, we may be able to argue that the instrument that you used should not be considered a deadly weapon within the law's meaning. In other cases, we may be able to argue that the injuries that the victim sustained did not constitute "great bodily harm."

If you have been charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm with a deadly weapon, you should retain a knowledgeable Clearwater attorney right away. Will Hanlon has aggressively represented the accused since 1994. You can call Hanlon Law at 727.897.5413 or complete our online form.