Florida Laws on Aggravated Assault With a Firearm
In Florida, aggravated assault is defined as assault with a deadly weapon in committing a felony, but without the intent to kill. If the deadly weapon used in the assault was a firearm, then a specific crime of aggravated assault with a firearm is recognized in section 784.021 of the Florida legal code, and carries a heavier sentence than a simple aggravated assault.
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Felony in the Third Degree
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In Florida law, section 784.011 of the legal code defines assault as being a threat to violently harm another person. The threat has to be credible, meaning that the person who was assaulted must have reasonably believed that the aggressor had the ability to carry out the threat. The person who was assaulted also must believe that the threat of attack is actually imminent. Aggravated assault means assault with a deadly weapon, and section 784.021 (2) states that aggravated assault is classified as a third degree felony and punishments handed out to persons found guilty of third degree felonies are defined in other sections of the Florida legal code.
Burden of Proof
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For a defendant to be convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm in Florida, certain elements of the alleged crime must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant must have intentionally threatened another person by word or action. The threat must also be unlawful. For example, if you issue a threat to a person as part of an act of self defense, this is not considered to be an unlawful threat. The defendant must have pointed the firearm at the victim of the assault, so that the victim really believed that there was a chance of death or significant injury. The defendant must also have intended to commit the aggravated assault. Intent might be demonstrated, for example, when during an argument following a traffic incident, one of the persons involved consciously takes a firearm out of the glove compartment of his or her car and threatens the other person with it.
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Legal Defense
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Florida statute section 776.012 allows a defendant to escape conviction on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm if the defendant is able to prove that he or she was using nondeadly force as an act of self defense. If the defendant had reason to believe that he or she was in immediate danger of bodily harm, for example, and pointed a firearm at the attacker in order to make that attacker back down, then this might be a defense. However, the use of the firearm must be proportionate to the threat, and the court will take many factors into account. A two hundred and fifty pound man might find self defense difficult to prove if he was verbally assaulted by a 110 pound woman.
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References
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