As a Harris County Felony Chief, Brian Foley supervised the prosecution of aggravated assault cases in a felony district court. In this video he gives the advice he would give a friend charged with one.
What you are facing
Aggravated assault under Penal Code § 22.02 is assault that either causes serious bodily injury or involves the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon. It is a second-degree felony (2–20 years), a first-degree felony in certain family-violence and public-servant cases, and a "3G" offense under Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.054 — meaning a judge cannot grant probation, and parole eligibility requires serving half the sentence.
1. Say nothing
Aggravated assault cases almost always involve two sides of a story. The side that gets told to police first, in anger and adrenaline, becomes the version the defendant is stuck with. Invoke your rights and let the story be told by your lawyer, with the evidence.
2. Get a lawyer before the grand jury
Every felony goes to a grand jury, usually within weeks. A defense lawyer can present a grand jury packet — the video, the witness statements, the self-defense analysis — and many aggravated assault cases with a legitimate justification claim are no-billed there. After indictment, that opportunity is gone.
3. Preserve the evidence of who started it
Surveillance video from the bar or the apartment complex, the 911 calls (all of them, including the complainant's), photographs of your own injuries, the names of everyone present, and the complainant's texts and social media. This evidence is overwritten or deleted within days. Your lawyer sends preservation letters immediately.
4. Attack the "aggravated" elements
Deadly weapon means a firearm, or anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. A fist is not a deadly weapon; a bottle may or may not be, depending on how it was used. Serious bodily injury means injury creating a substantial risk of death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of a body part or organ — a broken nose or stitches often does not qualify. If either element fails, the case is a misdemeanor assault, or a self-defense acquittal.
Brian Foley and Luis Baez know how the State builds these cases and where they break. Call or text (713) 703-1718 — before the grand jury does.