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fourth degree assault first time offense

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Brood

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Washington

Here is my situation. I have been with my fiancee Krystal for 4 yrs. I was laid off and things have been generally going bad for a couple months. We had been getting in shouting matches pretty frequently. We had started going to counseling and i was diagnosed with depression which I am now taking medication for.

Now the other day I was charged with a DV assault in the fourth degree. Now I never hit her or put any marks on her. What happened was we got in a fight she started to become hysterical, we were yelling and someone had called the police and when they showed up I was holding and hugging her trying to get her to calm down. The police saw this as assault I guess because she was pushing away from me and yelling at me. Now I spent the night in jail and was charged with the 4th degree assault charge and a no contact order was issued.

I have no prior criminal record at all and I am 23 yrs old. Now I was just wondering what sort of sentence I would be looking at for a first time offense. But the biggest problem is we both still want to continue our counseling after we have a decent amount of time apart. But we cannot even see each other until all this business is done and and the no contact order is lifted. Any advice would be much appreciated short of telling me to leave her.
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
Assault is the threat. Bodily harm would have been a third degree assault and a felony. Fourth degree is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a year and/or $5000.

You need a lawyer. Give him the name of the counselor and any doctors you are seeing (you will probably have to sign a release for all the parties to be able to discuss your case) and see what he can negotiate.
 

Brood

Junior Member
Thanks for the advice Ron. First thing I need to do is get a lawyer. The judge said I don't qualify for a public defender because I make to much. Now whoever said making 1800 bucks a month is too much I dont know. But with bills and everything I have about 200 left over. I have talked to lawyers and they said just to prove to the judge you can't afford it and he has to give you a court appointed one. So thats step number one. Thanks again.
 

Brood

Junior Member
one last question for everyone. What would be the worst case scenario here, I know the max sentence is a year in jail and a 5000 fine, but realistically it being my first offense and all could I get off with a fine, some probation, and either community service or anger management classes. I am currently a fulltime student and I have worked since I was 16 so I am a productive member of society.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
one last question for everyone. What would be the worst case scenario here, I know the max sentence is a year in jail and a 5000 fine, but realistically it being my first offense and all could I get off with a fine, some probation, and either community service or anger management classes. I am currently a fulltime student and I have worked since I was 16 so I am a productive member of society.
You might get off with probation and a condition of that probation will be that you will still have no contact with your ex. Whatever you do, do not even coincidentally go near her or do anything that could be considered as violation of the TRO. My suggestion is to stop screwing around with trying to get a PD. Borrow the money if you have to and get a lawyer. There's no reason for you to pick up a criminal record for the story you presented. (Of course, your perception may be different than your ex's or the police).
 

Brood

Junior Member
Well the cheapest attorney I have found is a 2 grand retainer and the thing that sucks is I don't know anyone who could just let me borrow 2000 dollars so a PD is the only thing I can try to get. And yes I was extremely emotional that night of the incident and i have no idea what my fiancee told the police or anything, so my story may be tilted in my favor.
 

garrula lingua

Senior Member
'Bear-hugging' to control someone is not unusual in DV.

It is a battery; she was yelling and trying to get away.

Maybe the Prosecutor will offer a good plea bargain.
 

Bretagne

Member
A first-offense domestic can be handled carefully by a defense attorney working with the prosecutor. The state's goal is to help you guys work out your relationship issues so that the cops don't have to keep responding to your house. That really bugs them.

I'd say borrow the $2k. Get a loan against your vehicle or your house or pawn some stuff. See if he'll take $1k down and set up garnishment of your paycheck for the rest.

One important consideration: some states treat DV convictions differently than other crimes. After a conviction, future charges may be aggravated. There may be other ramifications after a finding of domestic abuse that can affect custody of your kids. Even administratively, you could get disqualified for working certain jobs after a background check.

Try to avoid the conviction, if possible.
 

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