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Assault with a Deadly Weapon in Raleigh

If you were arrested for an alleged assault with any kind of deadly weapon in the Research Triangle, it is in your best interest to exercise your right to remain silent until you have legal representation. The Coolidge Law Firm aggressively defends individuals charged with all kinds of violent crimes in Holly Springs, Knightdale, Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, and many surrounding areas of Wake County.

David Coolidge is an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Raleigh who also represents students at such local colleges as North Carolina State University, Shaw University, Duke University, and Meredith College. Call us today to have our attorney review your case and help you understand all of your legal options during a free initial consultation.

Attorney for Assault with a Deadly Weapon in Raleigh

Simple assault is typically a misdemeanor offense in North Carolina, but criminal charges can often be enhanced to a felony offense if an alleged offender utilizes a deadly weapon in the commission of an assault. State law does not provide a statutory definition of what constitutes a deadly weapon, but courts in North Carolina have long interpreted the term as meaning any object capable of causing death.

Many simple assault cases turn into assault with a deadly weapon when prosecutors feel there is enough evidence to merit the enhanced charges, but felonious assault with deadly weapon charges requires the alleged victim to have suffered a serious injury or the alleged offender to have had intent to kill. It can be exceptionally difficult for any prosecutor to prove an alleged offender’s intent beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Overview of Assault with a Deadly Weapon Crimes in North Carolina

• Which types of crimes can people be charged with for alleged assaults involving deadly weapons?
• What are the possible punishments if convicted?
• Where can I find more information about assault with a deadly weapon in Raleigh?

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Assault with a Deadly Weapon Charges in Raleigh

Chapter 14, Article 8 of the North Carolina General Statutes establishes several different kinds of assault offenses. Some of the assault crimes involving deadly weapons that alleged offenders may be charged with include:

• Maliciously assaulting in a secret manner — Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-31, it is a Class E felony for an alleged offender to in a secret manner maliciously commit an assault and battery with any deadly weapon upon another by waylaying or otherwise, with intent to kill such other person, notwithstanding the person so assaulted may have been conscious of the presence of his adversary.

• Felonious assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflicting serious injury — North Carolina General Statute § 14-32 makes it a Class C felony for an alleged offender to assault another person with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and inflict serious injury. If an alleged offender assaults another person with a deadly weapon and inflicts serious injury or assaults another person with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, the alleged crime is a Class E felony.

• Aggravated assault or assault and battery upon a handicapped person — Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-32.1, it is a Class F felony if an alleged offender uses a deadly weapon or other means of force likely to inflict serious injury or serious damage to a handicapped person (handicapped person is defined as a person who has a physical or mental disability, such as decreased use of arms or legs, blindness, deafness, mental retardation or mental illness, or infirmity).

• Assault with a firearm or other deadly weapon upon governmental officers or employees, company police officers, or campus police officers — North Carolina General Statute § 14-34.2 makes it a Class F felony for an alleged offender to commit an assault with a firearm or any other deadly weapon upon an officer or employee of the state or of any political subdivision of the state, a company police officer certified, or a campus police officer, in the performance of his or her duties.

• Assault or affray on a firefighter, an emergency medical technician, medical responder, and hospital personnel — Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-34.6, it is a Class H felony if an alleged offender uses a deadly weapon other than a firearm in the commission of an assault upon any of the following persons who are discharging or attempting to discharge their official duties: An emergency medical technician or other emergency health care provider; a medical responder; hospital personnel and licensed healthcare providers who are providing or attempting to provide health care services to a patient in a hospital; or a firefighter.

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Assault with a Deadly Weapon Penalties in Raleigh

North Carolina utilizes a “structured sentencing” system when deciding the punishments for convicted offenders. Under this sentencing model, the nature of the alleged crime and the alleged offender’s criminal history play important factors in determining that person’s possible sentence.

Depending on the level of felony offense, judges may sentence offenders to one of three types of punishments. An active punishment involves a prison or jail sentence, an intermediate punishment involves a sentence of supervised probation that may also include other special conditions (such as special probation, drug treatment court, house arrest with electronic monitoring, community service, substance abuse assessment, or others), and a community punishment is any sentence other than an active punishment, assignment to drug treatment court, or special probation.

In felony cases, the felony punishment chart also includes a “prior record level” in which an alleged offender’s prior criminal record factors into the level that person is classified under. The table also provides three different sentencing ranges for each slot: a mitigated range is used for cases with mitigating factors, an aggravated range is used for cases with aggravating factors, and a presumptive range is used for cases with an equal amount of or no mitigating factors and aggravating factors.

If an alleged offender is convicted of one of the assault with a deadly weapon offense listed above, that person would be subject to the following possible sentences:

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North Carolina Assault with a Deadly Weapon Resources

North Carolina Division of Public Health | Injury and Violence Prevention Branch — The North Carolina Injury and Violence Prevention Branch collects and analyzes injury data, implements programs to prevent injuries and violence, and coordinates and assists groups working to prevent injury and violence to address the problem comprehensively. Visit this website to learn more about some of the branch’s surveillance and prevention activities. You can also review various kinds of data, find reports, and learn more about different types of prevention.

State v. Strickland, 290 N.C. 169 (N.C. 1976) — On June 17, 1976, the Supreme Court of North Carolina ruled that a plastic bag used with the intent to suffocate another person to death constituted a deadly weapon. The Court wrote, “A deadly weapon is not one which must kill but one which under the circumstances of its use is likely to cause death or great bodily harm.” The Court cited State v. Smith, 187 N.C. 469, 121 S.E. 737 (1924), a case in which the Supreme Court of North Carolina wrote:

Any instrument which is likely to produce death or great bodily harm, under the circumstances of its use, is properly denominated a deadly weapon. S. v. Craton, 28 N.C. p. 179. The deadly character of the weapon depends sometimes more upon the manner of its use, and the condition of the person assaulted, than upon the intrinsic character of the weapon itself. S. v. Archbell, 139 N.C. 537; S. v. Sinclair, 120 N.C. 603; S. v. Norwood, 115 N.C. 789.

Where the alleged deadly weapon and the manner of its use are of such character as to admit of but one conclusion, the question as to whether or not it is deadly within the foregoing definition is one of law, and the Court must take the responsibility of so declaring. S. v. Sinclair, supra. But where it may or may not be likely to produce fatal results, according to the manner of its use, or the part of the body at which the blow is aimed, its alleged deadly character is one of fact to be determined by the jury. S. v. West, 51 N.C. 505; Krchnavy v. State, 43 Neb. 337. A pistol or a gun is a deadly weapon (S. v. Benson, 183 N.C. 795); and we apprehend a baseball bat should be similarly denominated if viciously used, as under the circumstances of this case. S. v. Brown, 67 Iowa 289; Crow v. State, 21 L.R.A. (N.S.), 497, and note.

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Contact Raleigh Assault with a Deadly Weapon Defense Lawyer

Were you recently arrested in the greater Research Triangle area for an alleged assault with a deadly weapon? Do not say anything to authorities until you have legal counsel. Contact the Coolidge Law Firm today.

Raleigh criminal defense attorney David Coolidge fights to protect the rights of people all over Wake County, including Wendell, Zebulon, Morrisville, Raleigh, Rolesville, and Wake Forest as well as students at such institutions of higher learning as Wake Technical Community College (Wake Tech), William Peace University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). You can have our lawyer provide a complete evaluation of your case when you call (919) 239-8448 or fill out the contact form below to take advantage of a free, confidential consultation.

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