Defending You Against First-Degree Assault Charges
First-degree assault in Colorado is the most serious assault that can be filed in our state today. According to the law, you can be charged with first-degree assault if with intent to cause serious bodily injury to another person, you cause serious bodily injury to someone by means of a deadly weapon.
Assault in the first degree is considered a Crime of Violence (COV) in Colorado and is a mandatory sentencing crime. That means it can carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to 32 years in state prison (DOC) with a guaranteed five years of parole to follow. Did you know that if you are sentenced to prison in Colorado on a violent crime that statistics show the parole board will require you to serve at least 75% of your sentence before it considers you for parole?
That means if you receive the minimum of 10 years on a first-degree assault in Denver, you are still looking at spending roughly the next 7.5 years in state prison. How old will your children be when you get out? Where will your wife or husband be? Will you ever be able to have a career or serious job and a home again?
Don’t play with fire; hire the right criminal defense lawyer so you have no regrets. We are there for you to answer your questions and meet with you for a free consultation. Many defense attorneys tell you they are qualified and when you ask them in person, they have handled less than 10 or 20 assault cases in their careers.
Felony assault charges are serious and we recommend your charges be handled by the Denver criminal law firm that has “been there and done that” countless times. Call Shazam Kianpour & Associates, P.C., today at 720-407-2582.
What Is the Difference Between First-Degree Assault and Second-Degree Assault in Colorado?
Well, first of all, first-degree assault in Denver carries up to twice the maximum prison time than second-degree assault in Denver. There are many technical differences between these two felony assault charges in Colorado and the exact statute that you are charged under needs to be reviewed by a qualified Arapahoe assault attorney so the differences can be explained in detail.
We have seen bail set often in amounts exceeding $100,000 in these types of assault cases. Judges are not messing around. They realize that somebody got injured and may be laid up in a hospital bed, and they are not interested in retaliatory crimes or further charges and injuries happening. Sometimes as a condition of bond, you have to wear an ankle monitor.
There will be a mandatory protection order issued pursuant to CS 18-1-1001 and you may be required to check in with the court system’s “pretrial services” program weekly. Many people are required to go in and “drop a UA” which is a drug or alcohol test. Others have to get rid of their gun collection, or move out of their homes if the assault is charged as a charge of domestic violence.
Can You Help Me Beat My First-Degree Assault Case?
Sometimes the answer is yes, and other times the answer is no. The truth is that each assault case in Colorado is different and has completely different facts, circumstances and history. Sometimes your best bet is trial, other times, you should be seriously considering a plea bargain so you can have your life, family and career back in short order. And if your attorney doesn’t have the guts to tell you what he or she can do for you, and what he or she thinks is best for you, then he or she should probably not be on your list of candidates that you are considering hiring as your attorney.
Other times, it will be tough to tell at first because it takes time to get all the police reports, hospital medical diagnoses for the injured party, and witness interviews. A qualified felony assault attorney in Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson County, or any other Colorado county, should have enough experience and aggressiveness where he or she can look you straight in the eye and tell you it will take time and that you need to be patient for your own sake.
You are not hiring us to lie to you and tell you all will be well, you are hiring us to be the single most important person in your immediate future who has the ability to reassure you, calm you down, yet get in the trenches and fight for you with all the skill and ability that helped you trust us in the first place. That is why you have been reading this, and that is why you should stop reading, pick up the phone, and call us at 720-407-2582.
We will take the time to talk to you, to listen to you, and to plan your defense together, instead of ordering you around. Shazam Kianpour & Associates, P.C., is a qualified group of criminal defense and Denver assault defense lawyers that knows the ropes, knows the laws, and understands the justice system and its pitfalls. Call us today and begin your journey to justice. Why us? Because when you need us, we are there for you.