Aggravated Assault In Georgia (How Long Will You Spend In Jail?)

Aggravated Assault Georgia - OCGA Aggravated Assault - Agg Assault OCGA - What Is Aggravated Assault - Charges For Aggravated Assault

What is aggravated assault in Georgia?

In this article, you’ll learn about:

  • the charges for aggravated assault
  • how much time you’ll spend in jail
  • whether it’s a felony or a misdemeanor
  • defenses against aggravated assault
  • aggravated assault statistics for Georgia
  • what makes assault aggravated

Let’s dig in.

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Key Points/Stats Header

  • Aggravated assault is attempting to cause serious bodily injury.
  • It’s usually done with a deadly weapon. 
  • You can get up to 20 years in jail for aggravated assault in Georgia. 
  • In a school zone, you’ll get up to 30 years in prison and $100,000 in fines. 

Overview of Aggravated Assault in Georgia

In this section, we’re answering:

  • what is aggravated assault
  • what makes assault “aggravated”
  • how many aggravated assault cases happen per year in Georgia

What Is Aggravated Assault?

Aggravated assault is attempting to cause harm with the intent to cause serious injuries.

“Serious injuries” are injuries severe enough to require:

  • medical attention
  • hospitalization

Some examples of these serious injuries include:

  • broken bones (i.e., skull fractures, spinal cord injuries, etc.)
  • deep lacerations (i.e., stabbing wounds)
  • internal injuries (i.e., strangulation injuries, gunshot wounds, concussions, etc.)
  • disfigurement

Aggravated assaults typically involve deadly weapons like:

  • guns
  • knives
  • brass knuckles

Read More: What Are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-Degree Murders

Assault Vs Aggravated Assault

How does assault compare to aggravated assault in Georgia?

Assault is an intentional act causing someone fear of imminent physical harm.

Aggravated assault is an intentional act causing fear of physical harm with a deadly weapon.

The most common assault charges in Georgia are:

  • a misdemeanor
  • up to $1,000 in fines
  • up to 12 months in Jail

The most common aggravated assault charges in Georgia are:

  • a felony
  • up to $5,000 in fines
  • up to 20 years in prison

Statistics of Aggravated Assault in Georgia

How often does aggravated assault happen in Georgia?

  • over the past 10 years, there have been 171,911 aggravated assaults
  • on average, there are 17,191 aggravated assaults per year in Georgia
  • for every 1,000 people, there are 3.82 aggravated assaults
  • the average rate of aggravated assaults is 5.13 per 1,000 people

Let’s look at how many aggravated assaults have happened per year.

These charts and table sets show us the data for 2011 – 2020.

This one shows us how many aggravated assaults happen per year in Georgia.

Number Of Aggravated Assaults In Georgia
Year# of Aggravated Assaults
201116,509
201217,252
201317,638
201417,619
201517,631
201616,813
201716,943
201818,083
201917,744
202015,679

This one shows us the rate of aggravated assaults per 1,000 people in Georgia.

YearRate of Aggravated Assaults per 1,000 People
20115.20
20125.50
20135.52
20145.45
20155.43
20165.29
20175.22
20185.44
20194.41
20203.82

Georgia Laws on Aggravated Assault

In this section, you’ll learn about:

  • the laws for aggravated assault in Georgia
  • the charges you’ll face
  • how much time you’ll spend in jail
  • what happens if you commit your crime in a school zone

OCGA Aggravated Assault

This is the Georgia law on aggravated assault.

It’s based on GA Code Title 16, Chapter 5, Article 1, Section 16-5-21.

It says that you commit aggravated assault in Georgia when you assault someone:

  • with the intent to murder, rape, or rob them
  • with a deadly weapon that’s likely or does result in serious bodily injury
  • by discharging a firearm from inside a car toward other people
  • by discharging a firearm into a dwelling with people in it
  • that is a peace officer (i.e., a police officer, an officer of the court, a probation officer, etc.)
  • by strangling someone

Charges For Aggravated Assault

The charges for a first-offense aggravated assault in Georgia are:

  • a felony
  • up to $5,000 in fines
  • up to 20 years in prison

For a second offense, you’ll get:

  • another felony
  • up to $10,000 in fines
  • up to 30 years in prison

Read More: Can You Bail Yourself Out Of Jail

What Is The Jail Time For Aggravated Assault?

The jail time for aggravated assault is up to 20 years in prison.

If there’s a deadly weapon involved, you could:

  • get a minimum of 10 years in prison
  • get up to 30 years in prison

Some examples of deadly weapons that increase your prison time are:

  • firearms
  • knives
  • blunt objects (i.e., hammers, clubs, bats, pipes, wrenches, etc.)
  • explosives
  • strangulation devices
  • electric shock devices (i.e., stun guns, tasers, cattle prods, etc.)
  • animal-borne devices (i.e., stun guns, pepper spray, tranquilizers, etc.)
  • motor vehicles (i.e., the assault happening on a public transit vehicle)

Read More: How Long Do You Go To Jail For Murdering Someone

Minimum Sentences For Aggravated Assault In Georgia

These are the minimum jail sentences you’ll get for the following situations. 

  • 3 years: Shooting at a motor vehicle. 
  • 3 years: Assault against household family members. 
  • 5 years: Shooting at teachers or kids in a school safety zone. 
  • 5 years: Shooting in a school zone, at a peace officer, or an officer of the courts. 
  • 10 years: Shooting at a public safety officer (i.e., police officer)
  • 25 years: Aggravated assault with the intent to rape a child under 14 years of age. 
  • 50 years: Aggravated assault with raping a child. 

Aggravated Assault In A School Zone

Committing aggravated assault in a school safety zone increases the charges you’ll receive.

For an aggravated assault in a school zone, you’ll get:

  • up to 20 years in prison
  • up to $100,000 in fines

Let’s say that you committed aggravated assault:

  • in a school zone
  • against someone under the age of 14 years of age

In this case, you’d get:

  • up to 30 years in prison
  • up to $100,000 in fines

Common Aggravated Assault Cases in Georgia

Aggravated assault cases are serious charges brought on someone who:

  • physically attacked someone with a weapon
  • caused serious bodily harm to someone

Examples of Aggravated Assault Cases in Georgia

Some examples of aggravated assault cases are someone:

  • shooting someone else with a gun
  • stabbing someone with a knife
  • strangling someone
  • hitting someone with a blunt object
  • threatening another person with a deadly weapon
  • threatening someone with serious bodily injury
  • committing sexual assault
  • shooting into a vehicle or a home
  • attempting to cause an explosion

Read More: Rights Police Don’t Want You To Know About

Common Legal Elements of Aggravated Assault Cases

Legal elements are legal justifications of a crime that prove a legal claim.

They are the facts, evidence, and legal theories for a case.

In this case, it’s what makes someone’s actions get categorized as aggravated assault?

There are only two elements for aggravated assault charges in the state of Georgia:

  1. intentional, unlawful threat to do violence with the ability to carry the threat out
  2. creating a well-founded fear in the other person that the threat is imminent

Aggravated Assault Defense Strategies in Georgia

These are the defense strategies that your criminal defense lawyer will use in your case.

Common Defense Strategies Used in Aggravated Assault Cases

Here are common defense strategies your criminal defense attorney will use:

  • Self-defense: arguing that you acted in self-defense against someone.
  • Lack of Intent: arguing you didn’t intend to cause them bodily harm.
  • Insanity: claiming you weren’t mentally fit to understand the consequences of your actions.
  • No Contact: claiming you never had contact with the victim.
  • Alibi: providing evidence you were not present at the scene.
  • Consent: claiming the victim consented to physical contact.

Your criminal defense lawyer will tailor your defense to your case.

They will try to challenge the prosecutor’s criminal charges they are bringing against you.

They will also bring in witnesses to testify against the offense of aggravated assault.

Witnesses can include people who may have witnessed the situation, like:

  • law enforcement (i.e., police officers, correctional officers, etc.)
  • school personnel
  • family members

Read More: What To Do If Someone Threatens To Kill You

How An Attorney Can Help

An aggravated assault attorney will:

  • review the evidence against you
  • come up with a defense for your case
  • negotiate with the prosecution
  • give you legal advice

Their goal with your criminal case is to:

  • get you the minimum sentence possible
  • keep you from serving the maximum sentence
  • reduce aggravated assault to simple assault (if possible)
  • keep more serious crimes and violent crimes from being on your criminal records
  • reduce your prison sentence as much as possible
  • turn a felony offense into a misdemeanor offense (if possible)

FAQs About Aggravated Assault In Georgia

These are the most common questions we get about an aggravated assault in Georgia.

Is Aggravated Assault A Felony?

Yes, aggravated assault is a felony.

Is Pushing Someone Assault?

Yes, pushing someone could be assault.

It could be an act of battery, which is a form of criminal assault.

What Is The Difference Between Assault And Battery?

Assault is the threat of violence or an attempted physical act.

Battery is the actual physical act of violence.

These are both felony convictions.

Simple battery and assault are misdemeanors.

But, aggravated battery and assault are felony convictions under Georgia criminal law.

Is Slapping Someone Assault?

Yes, slapping someone is considered assault.

Slapping someone is a simple battery.

But gets considered assault if there was intent to cause bodily harm or fear.

What Happens When You Press Charges On Someone For Assault?

The accused person will get arrested and taken into police custody.

They could face criminal charges after the court system’s investigation.

If convicted, they will face jail time, fines, community service, and/or probation.

How Long After Assault Can You Press Charges?

In Georgia, you have two years to press charges for assault.

How Long Can You Go To Jail For Assault?

In Georgia, you can go to jail for up to 20 years for assault.

Is Assault A Misdemeanor?

An assault can be a misdemeanor, depending on the severity of the situation.

Is Verbal Assault A Crime?

Verbal assault is not a crime.

But it can get considered a form of harassment of threatening someone.

These can land you with criminal charges.

Lawyer For Aggravated Assault In Georgia

If you are facing a conviction of aggravated assault in Georgia, fill out the form on this page.

Our criminal defense attorneys have the experience you need to defend your rights.

This way, you don’t:

  • get wrongfully convicted
  • spend decades in jail needlessly
  • never see your family members or loved ones again
  • get wrongfully accused by police officers

You deserve a fair trial in the criminal justice system.

Our Atlanta law firm can provide you with that.

Fill out the form for your free consultation. 

Talk soon.

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