Laguna Hills, Orange County - A woman who was on an evening jog fought off an attacker along Alicia Parkway in Laguna Hills on Tuesday.
The woman was walking when she was allegedly attacked from behind, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The woman was able fight off her attacker and gave sheriffs' investigators a full description of the suspect. According to the Irvine criminal attorney It is unclear at this if the District Attorney will charge the suspect with either assault and/or battery.
Whatever the DA decides, according to the Orange County defense attorney at the Law Offices of Michael Guisti, "Under California criminal law assault and battery is a serious crime." Michael Guiti, an Orange County criminal defense attorney, who specializes in assault and battery charges says it's important to clarify the difference between assault and battery you or a loved one may be charged with.
The Newport Beach Assault and Battery defense attorney explains that under PC 242, according to the Laguna Beach criminal defense attorney assault and battery specialist, the slightest touch can trigger a battery allegation if it is done in an angry or offensive manner.
The Orange County criminal lawyer further explains that Battery is a "wobbler" and if the battered person doesn't suffer serious bodily injury, prosecutors could file the case as a misdemeanor, according to a Garden Grove defense attorney.
The Santa Ana criminal defense attorney stresses that PC 242 requires some type of violent, painful, or offensive physical contact to be filed as a felony.
Assault is defined under PC 240, according to one Southern California criminal defense attorney, and may be filed when an attempt to injure another is made, even though no physical contact was ever made from the suspect to the victim.
The Mission Viejo criminal defense attorney says PC 240 assault is a necessarily included offense of battery and that you cannot be punished for committing both offenses at the same time.
Whether you're convicted of a misdemeanor assault or felony assault and/or battery, according to an Orange County defense attorney assault and battery specialist, "the penalties can be serious, including, jail or prison time, large fines, probation, losing the right to own a weapon, losing driving license, criminal records and more."
Furthermore, according to one Irvine criminal defense lawyer, assault and battery charges fall under the California Three Strikes Law and that, "if you had any criminal charges prior to the assault and battery offense, such as unlawful firearms, violent crimes or maybe you were on probation or parole when the assault and battery crimes happened, you could face a doubled prison sentence."
The Newport Beach defense Attorney stresses that anytime you're being accused of a crime by authorities always exercise your right to remain silent until your attorney is present as that talking without a lawyer you greatly risk incriminating yourself, which could, depending on circumstances, cause you to be charged with more crimes.
Attorney at Law Offices of Michael Guisti, a Huntington Beach criminal defense attorney, who also specializes assault and battery charges simply says if there is no evidence, there is no crime to prosecute.If you find yourself being accused of such a crime you need to call a highly experienced attorney.
At the Law Offices of Michael L. Guisti, we have highly experienced attorneys to help reach the best result possible. Our top Orange County criminal defense lawyers will inform you of your rights throughout the pre-trial process, explain the elements that the prosecutor needs to prove for a conviction, familiarize you with all possible defenses you can assert, and defend you in court.
If you or someone you love has been arrested or charged in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside or San Diego with murder as in the above story, call us today at our toll-free number at (888) 478-8999 for a free no-obligation consultation with our skilled Orange County criminal defense attorneys.
We will get you through this.
