Defendant with Aggravated Assault charges receives Pre-Trial Intervention
An associate from my office, Keith G. Oliver, just finished representing an individual charged with Aggravated Assault in the second degree. The incident stemmed from an alleged argument between him and the mother of his children. The mother of his children alleged that the defendant struck her several times in the face with a closed fist and choked her until her sister and mother could come to the rescue. Based on the victims version of the facts, the Prosecutor’s office indicted the defendant and charged him with second degree aggravated assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant:
Attempted to cause serious bodily injury to another, or caused such injury purposely or knowingly or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life recklessly causes such injury;
Serious Bodily Injury has been defined as:
An injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of function of any bodily member or organ.
If convicted of aggravated assault in second degree, the Defendant could be sentenced up to ten years in a New Jersey State Prison and he would be required to serve at least 85% of his sentence before he could become eligible for parole pursuant to the No Early Release Act.
A review of the discovery by Mr. Oliver revealed that the state would have a very difficult time sustaining their burden of proving serious bodily injury. It became apparent to Mr. Oliver that the State’s only opportunity to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt would have to fall under the “attempted” to cause serious bodily injury. It was abundantly clear that their was no serious bodily injured sustained in this case. However, a lesser included offense of second degree aggravated assault, is aggravated assault in the third degree. Under this aspect of the statute, the state would need to prove a much lesser version of injury, i.e. significant bodily injury. This coupled with the conflicting witness statements, Mr. Oliver had the defendant apply for the Pre Trial Intervention (“PTI”) program. Traditionally, PTI is not available for anyone charged with a crime of the first or second degree nor with a violent crime. However, based on the facts of the case, Mr. Oliver was able to convince the Judge and Prosecution that the defendant deserved the opportunity to participate in this program. This program will afford the defendant the opportunity to walk away from these felony criminal charges without a criminal record. Therefore, if the Defendant completes the terms as required by the Judge his current felony charges will be outright dismissed.
Aggravated assault is a very serious crime in New Jersey and if not defended properly, could resort in life changing repercussions. Therefore it is imperative that you hire a Bergen County aggravated assault defense attorney. The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall is an experienced Bergen County Criminal Defense Firm. We have over 100 years of experience on staff, including over twenty-five years of prior prosecuting experience. If you or someone you know has been charged with a criminal offense in Bergen County, we can help. Please feel free to contact any one of our Bergen County Offices for a free initial consultation with any one of our eight criminal defense attorneys on staff.