When can a person face felony assault charges in Maryland?

While being convicted of a misdemeanor has very big effects, felony convictions are even more severe. Having a felony on one’s record can have deep career impacts for a person.

It also can affect his or her everyday life in some major ways. So, it can be a very serious situation when accusations lead to a person facing felony charges. Skilled defense lawyers can advise individuals facing such charges on what steps they can take towards safeguarding their future.

Sometimes. assault allegations lead to felony charges. Now, here in Maryland, the base level of assault is misdemeanor second-degree assault. However, certain things can bump assault up to a felony.

One is if a person is found to have, in connection to an assault, intentionally injured a police officer, probation/parole officer or first responder performing their duties. This raises an assault to being felony second-degree assault.

Also, there is an even more severe type of felony assault. This is first-degree assault. This offense occurs when a person uses a firearm in an assault or intentionally inflicts or attempts to inflict serious injury on someone.

So, being accused of an assault involving such circumstances can lead to felony charges.

In Maryland, assault already carries heavy possible penalties at the misdemeanor level. Misdemeanor second-degree assault can lead to a fine of up to $2,500 and imprisonment of up to 10 years. The penalties get even harsher for felony assault. For example, the max fine for felony second-degree assault is $5,000. Meanwhile, the max prison sentence for first-degree assault is 25 years.