Broward DUI Lawyer Blog

The Palm Beach Post recently reported that a man tried to assault deputies after being pulled over for a traffic violation.

Aggravated assault charges in West Palm Beach and throughout Florida are serious felonies and require the aggressive defense of an experienced West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyer.

According to the story, the 25-year-old defendant was allegedly speeding on Genessee Avenue and Wabasso Drive in West Palm Beach when deputies attempted to pull his dark-colored SUV over.

When a deputy pulled him over, he noticed the man allegedly reach toward something in the center console of the vehicle. The report states that after he was pulled out of the SUV, he allegedly resisted arrest.

The newspaper article cites the Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy report, but doesn't explain how allegedly reaching toward the center console means he attempted to use a bat against them. The article states he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and fleeing police.

While resisting arrest and fleeing police are also charges that must be well-defended in court, aggravated assault is the most serious of the three that this defendant faces. According to Florida Statute 784.021, aggravated assault is defined as:

"An assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill or with an intent to commit a felony." A person who commits an aggravated assault is guilty of a third-degree felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison. An assault, as defined in the previous chapter of Florida law, is "an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act which creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent."

In cases of aggravated assault or assault in Florida, the state must show that a person threatened another person and intended to do violence. Simply because there was a bat in the driver's front seat and he reached in that direction may not constitute proof that an assault was committed. The man may have been reaching for something else.

But most charges of assault or aggravated assault aren't committed against law enforcement officers during traffic stops. In most cases, this charge is brought when tempers flare between two people. Proving that an act created a "well-founded fear" in another person simply at their word may not be enough to prove the case. Self-defense is sometimes applicable as well as proving the alleged victim is the actual perpetrator.

Hiring an experienced and aggressive West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Attorney means properly defending all aspects of the charges, including working to exclude key evidence and disputing the words of witnesses and law enforcement. Putting together a sound defense strategy and exploring all options to best resolve the case are critical.