Aggravated Assault Lawyer in Tempe, AZ

Tempe's city prosecutors are not on this case. Their Criminal Division describes its job as misdemeanors committed in Tempe, so a felony assault from a Tempe address leaves Fifth Street behind. Usually the Maricopa County Attorney's Office picks it up. A smaller group of state felonies is brought instead by the state Attorney General, for example when the conduct crossed into another county, when state investigators led the work, or on referral from the County Attorney. We handle these matters whichever office brought the charge.

What makes it a felony is written in the complaint. Aggravated assault is a felony because the State has alleged one of the circumstances listed in A.R.S. 13-1204. Typical ones: a serious physical injury; a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument; a broken bone; substantial though temporary disfigurement; or a victim covered because of their job, such as a police officer. Take the circumstance out and what remains is a misdemeanor, which in Tempe goes to the city court. See Tempe assault.

Tempe Police usually keep the investigation when the incident is inside city limits. The Investigations Division lists a Violent Crimes Section with day and night Violent Crimes units, a Homicide unit and a Criminal Apprehension and Surveillance Team, beside a Major Crimes Section that includes Family Crimes. Its Police Analytics Bureau lists Forensic Services and a Real-Time Operations Center. On Arizona State University land, the investigating officers can come from ASU's own police department, which holds original jurisdiction there and whose officers carry state certification.

Booking and the first judge. The Tempe Police directory includes a Detention Facility. Once the county jails someone on a felony, the first court appearance is at the Intake, Transfer and Release center on 28th Drive, which the Superior Court describes as a round-the-clock site with four courtrooms. Rule 4.1 puts a 24-hour ceiling on the wait between arrest and that appearance, after which the person is released. Because this is a felony, counsel attaches, and hiring your own lawyer remains an option throughout.

What that judge orders follows you home. Section 13-3967 lets the court limit travel and forbid having deadly weapons while the case is pending, and some charges bring a no-contact order with the alleged victim. Treat each term as a court order from the moment you leave.

Some Tempe felony assaults are not charged right away. Officers can write up the incident and send it on, and at the County Attorney's office a Pretrial Division handles intake, charging and preliminary hearings. Weeks of quiet may only mean the charging review is still going, and a lawyer gathering evidence during that gap has room to work.

Dangerousness is the allegation to watch. The statute calls an offense dangerous when a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument was fired, used or brandished, or when someone intentionally or knowingly caused serious physical injury. A dangerous finding under 13-704 means prison, and those sentencing ranges apply only if the State charges the allegation and it is then admitted or proven. It can be fought separately from the assault itself.

Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. After a felony assault conviction, Arizona bars firearm possession under 13-3101 until the right is restored, and federal law bars it after any conviction punishable by more than a year. A dangerous offense cannot be set aside under 13-905. Section 13-603(C) makes restitution for the victim's full economic loss mandatory on conviction, and in an injury case that number can be large. If you are not a U.S. citizen, talk to an immigration lawyer before any plea.