Aggravated Assault FAQs

In Arizona, there are three ways you can commit an assault:

1. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing another person to experience physical injury;
2. Intentionally placing another person in fear of an immediate injury; or
3. Knowingly touching another person with the intent to provoke, injure or insult them.

An aggravated assault is simply a more serious version of assault. An assault becomes an aggravated assault if one or more aggravating circumstances apply. The list of aggravated circumstances is provided in A.R.S. § 13-1204 and discussed in more detail below.

Yes. There are several different ways that an assault can become an aggravated assault. Perhaps the most obvious way to get charged with an aggravated assault is to cause another person to experience serious physical injury by assaulting them. However, the following will also turn an assault into an aggravated assault, even if the victim wasn’t hurt:

• Using a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument to assault someone;
• Using an object that resembles a deadly weapon to commit an assault;
• Committing an assault while the victim’s freedom of movement is restricted;
• Entering another person’s home with the intent to assault them;
• Assaulting a minor who is under 15 years old;
• Assaulting someone who has an order of protection against you;
• Assaulting a police officer, firefighter, healthcare worker, prosecutor, park ranger, or member of any other protected class; or
• Disarming a police officer.

In each of these situations, the victim doesn’t need to experience even the slightest injury for you to be charged with aggravated assault.

There are many defenses to aggravated assault charges. Which defense applies in your case will depend on the sub-section you’ve been charged under. For example, if you face aggravated assault charges for causing serious physical injury, one of the most common defenses is that the victim didn’t actually suffer serious physical injury.

There are also defenses that can apply to any aggravated assault case. For example, the prosecution needs to prove you intended to either hurt someone or put them in fear of being injured. Thus, if your actions were unintentional, you cannot be convicted of assault.

Another example of an aggravated assault defense is self-defense or defense of others. It is not a crime to engage in what would other be an aggravated assault if you were defending yourself or another person. However, your actions must be reasonable and proportionate to the threat you faced.