What Happened and What the State Can Prove Are Two Different Things.

Assault and violent crime allegations are aggressively prosecuted in Texas – sometimes without a cooperative complaining witness. A conviction can place your freedom, record, and future at serious risk.

But an accusation doesn’t determine the outcome.

In most violent crime cases, law enforcement arrives after the event has occurred. Officers reconstruct what happened from witness statements, observations at the scene, and accounts that may be incomplete, one-sided, or simply wrong.

At Denuna & Westbrook, PLLC, we apply a disciplined, trial-focused defense to all assault and violent crime cases. We focus on what the evidence actually shows, whether the investigation captured the full story, and whether the State can prove every required element beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assault and Violent Crime Charges in Texas

Texas law covers a broad range of offenses that may be classified as violent crimes, from misdemeanor assault to serious felony allegations carrying prison time. Understanding exactly what you’re charged with and what the State is required to prove is the starting point for every defense.

Class C Assault

Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.01, the lowest-level assault offense involves allegations of offensive or provocative physical contact. A Class C Assault carries no jail exposure and is punishable by fine only (up to $500). But a conviction still creates a criminal record and may carry consequences far beyond the immediate case.

Class A Assault

Most assault cases are charged as Class A misdemeanors under Texas Penal Code Section 22.01. These allegations involve claims that a person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly caused bodily injury to another. “Bodily injury” is broadly defined as physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. As a result, relatively minor physical contact can still support a Class A charge. The punishment range is up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.

Aggravated Assault

Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.02, Aggravated Assault is one of the most serious and most commonly prosecuted felony offenses in Texas. These charges involve allegations that a person caused serious bodily injury to another or used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the assault.

The term “deadly weapon” covers more than firearms. Knives, vehicles, tools, and other objects may qualify if used in a manner capable of causing serious bodily injury or death. Aggravated Assault is a Second-Degree Felony carrying two to twenty years in prison. When the alleged victim is a public servant or the assault occurs in a family violence context, the charge may be elevated to a First-Degree Felony, carrying five to ninety-nine years or life.

Assault of a Public Servant or Peace Officer

Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.01(b), what would otherwise be a Class A misdemeanor assault becomes a Third-Degree Felony carrying two to ten years in prison when the alleged victim is a public servant lawfully discharging an official duty. Public servants include peace officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, security officers, and emergency room personnel. No serious bodily injury is required. No deadly weapon is required. The element that elevates the offense is entirely the victim’s status and circumstances of the contact.

Under Section 22.01(b-2), a more serious enhancement applies specifically to peace officers and judges. Assault against a peace officer or judge lawfully discharging an official duty is a Second-Degree Felony carrying two to twenty years in prison. Many officers are unfamiliar with this newer provision and continue to charge the Third-Degree version, which means the specific charge deserves careful examination from the start.

When Aggravated Assault is alleged against a public servant, the charge becomes a First-Degree Felony under Section 22.02(b), carrying five to ninety-nine years or life in prison.

These charges arise from a wide range of circumstances: arrests that became physical, jail or detention incidents, DWI stops that escalated, and situations where the defendant claims the force used was a response to excessive or unlawful conduct by the officer. Under Section 22.01(d), a defendant is presumed to have known the person was a public servant if that person was wearing a uniform or badge. That presumption can be rebutted, and whether the officer was lawfully discharging an official duty at the time is a strong defense issue in every case.

A defendant who used force in response to excessive or unlawful force by a peace officer may have a self-defense claim under Chapter 9 of the Texas Penal Code. These cases require careful factual development and a thorough understanding of how courts evaluate the reasonableness of force used against law enforcement.

Robbery and Aggravated Robbery

Under Texas Penal Code Sections 29.02 and 29.03, Robbery involves allegations that a person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly caused bodily injury or placed another person in fear of imminent bodily injury while committing or attempting to commit theft. Robbery is a Second-Degree Felony. When a deadly weapon is involved or serious bodily injury occurs, the charge becomes Aggravated Robbery, a First-Degree Felony carrying five to ninety-nine years or life in prison.

Injury to a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual

Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.04, these allegations involve claims that a person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence caused bodily injury to a child under fifteen, an elderly individual, or a disabled individual. The severity of the charge depends on the mental state alleged and the nature of the injury, ranging from a State Jail Felony to a First-Degree Felony.

Injury to Pregnant Individual

Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.01, assault against a person the actor knows to be pregnant is subject to significant enhancement above the standard classification. What would otherwise be a Class A misdemeanor assault causing bodily injury becomes a Third-Degree Felony carrying two to ten years in prison when the alleged victim is known to be pregnant at the time of the offense.

Texas law doesn’t create a standalone offense for assault against a pregnant person. The enhancement applies to the underlying assault charge based on the actor’s knowledge of the pregnancy. Whether the defendant actually knew the alleged victim was pregnant at the time of the offense becomes one of the central factual issues in these cases, and that knowledge element is something the State must prove.

Terroristic Threat

Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.07, Terroristic Threat allegations arise from arguments, confrontations, and text messages. In many cases, the central issue isn’t whether words were spoken, it’s how those words should be interpreted. Questions about intent, context, credibility, and whether a statement actually constituted a criminal threat are the most significant issues in the defense.

Additional Charges That Arise from Police Encounters

Assault cases don't always end at the arrest. When the encounter with law enforcement becomes physical or contentious, additional charges follow. Interference with public duties, resisting arrest, and evading arrest each carry their own elements and classifications, and prosecutors use them to add pressure to what started as a single incident

Interference with Public Duties

Under Texas Penal Code Section 38.15, a person commits Interference with Public Duties when they, with criminal negligence, interrupt, disrupt, impede, or otherwise interfere with a peace officer performing a duty or exercising authority granted by law. The statute also covers interference with firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and animals used for law enforcement purposes. Interference with Public Duties is a Class B misdemeanor carrying up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000.

Two statutory defenses are worth noting. First, if the alleged interference consisted of speech only, that is a defense to prosecution under the statute. Arguing with an officer, asking questions, or verbally objecting to a police action does not constitute interference under Section 38.15. Second, warning a driver of the presence of a police officer enforcing traffic laws is also a statutory defense.

The most significant defense issue in interference cases is what the State must actually prove. Mere presence, watching, or expressing disagreement is not enough. The State must prove the defendant’s conduct genuinely interrupted or impeded the officer’s performance of a specific duty, not simply that the officer found the behavior annoying or disrespectful. The mental state required is criminal negligence, not intentional conduct, but the conduct must still rise above passive observation.

Resisting Arrest, Search, or Transportation

Under Texas Penal Code Section 38.03, Resisting Arrest involves allegations that a person intentionally prevented or obstructed a peace officer from effecting an arrest, search, or transportation by using force against the officer or another person. Unlike interference with public duties, resisting arrest requires intentional conduct and the use of force. It is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. If a deadly weapon is used or exhibited during the resistance, the charge becomes a Third-Degree Felony.

The lawfulness of the underlying arrest is a defense to resisting arrest under Texas law. If the arrest being resisted was unlawful, the defendant may have a complete defense to the resisting charge. Whether the officer had probable cause or a lawful basis for the arrest, search, or transportation they were attempting to effectuate is one of the first issues the defense examines.

Prior Convictions and Enhanced Punishment

A prior felony conviction can significantly change the punishment range for an assault charge. Under Texas Penal Code Section 12.42, a prior felony conviction may enhance a Second-Degree Felony to a First-Degree Felony, and two prior felony convictions can result in a habitual offender finding with a punishment range of twenty-five to ninety-nine years or life.

For assault cases specifically, a prior family violence conviction can elevate a Class A misdemeanor assault to a Third-Degree Felony, a consequence many clients don’t anticipate when they assume a prior misdemeanor conviction won’t affect a new case. Understanding your full record and how it interacts with the current charge is one of the first things we evaluate.

Assault and Other Violent Crime Charges Occur After the Event

Unlike many criminal offenses where officers observe conduct directly, investigations involving violence typically begin after the alleged events have occurred, sometimes hours or days later.

Officers arrive and must determine what happened from witness statements, physical evidence, photographs, and accounts that may conflict. The version of events in the police report helps drive the prosecution, even if important facts were missed or ignored.

Additional witnesses, surveillance video, text messages, social media communications, and medical records may provide context that wasn’t available when the first report was made. A thorough, independent review of the evidence often reveals a far more complete picture than what appears in the police report.

Credibility Is Often the Central Issue

Many violent crime prosecutions depend heavily on witness testimony. Physical evidence may be limited, and the prosecution’s case may turn almost entirely on whether a jury believes one person’s account over another’s.

People don’t always observe events the same way. Emotions, stress, fear, personal bias, prior relationships, and self-interest can all affect how an event is remembered and described. Prior inconsistent statements, communications, timelines, and other evidence frequently reveal inconsistencies that deserve close examination.

Credibility issues arise on both sides. Officers are sometimes required to make quick decisions based on incomplete information. Their reports may contain interpretations and conclusions that don’t survive contact with video evidence, witness accounts, or a thorough cross-examination.

Self-Defense and Defense of Others

Not every use of force is unlawful. Texas law recognizes the right to use force, and in some circumstances deadly force, to protect yourself or another person. Under Chapter 9 of the Texas Penal Code, a person may be justified in using force when they reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect themselves or another person from the use or attempted use of unlawful force.

Many assault and aggravated assault cases involve confrontations that develop quickly, with competing accounts about who initiated the encounter, whether force was necessary, whether a weapon was displayed, and how events unfolded. In these situations, the central issue is often not whether force occurred. It’s whether the force was legally justified.

Self-defense cases are fact specific. A thorough review of everything that led to the confrontation, the conduct of everyone involved, and the physical and digital evidence available is essential to evaluating whether a justified defense applies.

False Allegations, Misunderstandings, and One-Sided Investigations

Not every violent crime allegation arises from criminal conduct. Some cases involve misunderstandings, exaggerated claims, or accusations made during emotionally charged situations. Family disputes, relationship conflicts, neighborhood disagreements, workplace confrontations, and custody-related tensions can produce accusations that don’t accurately reflect what occurred.

Officers are required to make decisions quickly and may have access to only one side of the story at the time of arrest. That initial narrative doesn’t always hold up when the full picture is examined.

When defending assault allegations, we review witness statements, communications, timelines, video recordings, photographs, and other available evidence to determine whether the allegations are supported by reliable proof and where the gaps are.

Proving the Accused’s Mental State

Assault and most violent crime charges require the State to prove the defendant’s mental state at the time of the alleged offense. The fact that an incident occurred doesn’t establish the required mental state. Context, prior communications, the surrounding circumstances, and the conduct of everyone involved all bear on whether the State can actually satisfy its burden on this element. That distinction is where the defense starts. Under Texas Penal Code Section 6.02, the State must prove a culpable mental state for most criminal offenses, and in many violent crime cases, that mental state is one of three things.

Intentionally

The person’s conscious objective was to cause the result. The person meant to do it. This is the highest culpable mental state and the most difficult for the State to prove. Prosecutors must show that causing harm was the defendant’s actual goal, not simply a consequence of their conduct.

Knowingly

The person was aware that their conduct was reasonably certain to cause the result. They may not have intended the specific outcome, but they knew it was likely. This is a lower bar than intentional conduct, but it still requires the State to prove actual awareness of the probable consequence.

Recklessly

The person consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result would occur. This is the lowest culpable mental state for assault purposes. The person may not have intended or expected harm, but they consciously took a risk that a reasonable person would not have taken.

Why These Distinctions Matter to the Defense

The mental state required by the charge determines what the State must prove, and that determines where the defense focuses.

A charge alleging intentional conduct requires the State to prove the defendant meant to cause harm. That’s a much higher bar than recklessness. In cases where the evidence suggests an accident, a misunderstanding, or an unintended consequence, the State may be able to prove something happened but remain unable to prove the required mental state.

Aggravated Assault under Texas Penal Code Section 22.02 requires intentional or knowing conduct. Reckless conduct alone is not sufficient to support an aggravated assault conviction. A prosecution that can only establish recklessness cannot carry the aggravated assault charge.

Injury to a Child under Texas Penal Code Section 22.04 can be charged at four different mental state levels: intentional, knowing, reckless, or criminally negligent. The classification of the offense changes based on which mental state is alleged and proved. The difference between a First-Degree Felony and a State Jail Felony in these cases can turn entirely on what mental state the State claims and whether it can actually prove it.

In practice, this means the defense doesn’t just examine what occurred. It examines the circumstances surrounding the event, the prior relationship between the parties, the communications leading up to the incident, and every piece of evidence that bears on what the defendant actually intended, knew, or consciously disregarded at the time. When the State's evidence can only establish one mental state, but the charge requires a higher one, that gap is where the defense begins.

Why Early Action Makes a Difference

Evidence in assault and violent crime cases can disappear quickly. Memories fade, surveillance footage gets deleted, and law enforcement may fail to preserve electronic communications. Early involvement gives the defense a chance to locate witnesses while recollections are fresh, secure video before it's gone, and begin building a complete picture of what actually happened before the prosecution’s version becomes the only one on record.

Chris Denuna and Nick Westbrook have defended hundreds of assault and violent crime cases, from misdemeanor charges to serious First-Degree Felony allegations where the facts were highly contested, and the consequences were severe. The approach is the same in every case: examine the evidence, evaluate credibility, identify what the investigation missed, and hold the State to its burden of proof on every element.

Frequently Asked Questions — Assault & Violent Crimes in Texas

Can I be charged with assault even if no one was seriously injured?

Yes. Class A Assault requires proof of bodily injury, which is broadly defined and may include physical pain. Class C Assault requires no injury at all, only offensive contact.

What if both of us were involved in the confrontation?

Mutual confrontation cases raise self-defense issues, questions about who initiated the encounter, and disputes about each person’s role. These situations require a detailed review of the surrounding circumstances.

Can my case be based primarily on the other person’s statement?

Yes. Some prosecutions rely heavily on witness testimony without significant physical evidence. Credibility, consistency, corroboration, and prior statements all become important issues in these cases.

What if I acted in self-defense?

Texas law recognizes circumstances where force is legally justified. Whether self-defense applies depends on the specific facts, including who initiated the encounter, whether the threat was real and immediate, and whether the level of force used was appropriate.

Does the State have to prove I intended to hurt someone?

Many assault charges require proof of a specific mental state. Establishing intent is frequently one of the most contested issues in the case.

Are assault charges always charged as felonies?

No. Assault ranges from a Class C misdemeanor to a First-Degree Felony depending on the alleged conduct, the nature of any injury, and the circumstances involved.

Contact a Houston Assault & Violent Crimes Defense Lawyer Today

A violent crime allegation can affect your freedom, criminal record, and future. The version of events in the police report isn’t the final word.

Denuna & Westbrook, PLLC represents individuals facing assault and violent crime charges throughout Houston and the Gulf Coast region, including Harris County, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, and Waller County.