TAMPA VIOLENT CRIMES LAWYERS

Types of Violent Crime Charges

Violent crimes occur when the alleged offender threatens to inflict or actually inflict physical harm upon another person. There are several different types of violent crime cases that our Tampa criminal defense attorneys handle, including the following:

Murder (Homicide)

Homicide is the criminal act of killing another being. Homicide in Florida is viewed as one of the most severe crimes and involves the harshest legal consequences. Not only can homicide be the result of a fight, dispute, or violent conflict, but it can also occur in the process of other crimes being committed, such as gang or hate crimes. 

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is the more severe form of assault. Simple assault becomes aggravated when the offender uses a deadly weapon without intent to kill or assault a person but with the intent of committing a felony in Florida. 

Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon doesn’t necessarily mean the use of a firearm, contrary to what most people believe. A deadly weapon is any object or instrument that can be used as a weapon to cause great bodily harm to another person. A deadly weapon can include knives, rocks, baseball bats, vehicles, broken bottles, etc. 

Simple, Felony, and Aggravated Battery

In Florida, battery charges vary in severity from simple battery to felony battery to aggravated battery. Simple battery involves intentionally touching or striking another person against their will or causing bodily harm, typically classified as a misdemeanor. Felony battery in Florida occurs when the offender has a prior conviction for battery or when the battery results in significant injury, elevating the charge to a felony.

Aggravated battery is the most severe, involving the use of a deadly weapon, causing serious bodily harm, or battering a person who is pregnant, and is always charged as a felony. Each level of battery charge carries increasingly severe penalties and legal consequences.

Rape/Sexual Assault/Sexual Battery

The terms “rape,” “sexual assault,”and “sexual battery” are used synonymously in Florida. Rape is defined as non-consensual physical penetration (oral, vaginal, or anal) or union with the sexual organ of another person, or non-consensual penetration of another person with an object. 

Kidnapping

When people hear the term “kidnapping,” many think of the abduction of a child or holding a person at ransom. Florida’s kidnapping statute is worded more broadly. 

Under Florida’s statute, the term “kidnapping” is defined as using force, a threat of force, or acting secretly to imprison, abduct, or confine another person against their will. Surprisingly, most kidnapping offenses happen between people that know each other well, oftentimes during an act of domestic violence. 

Armed Robbery

Robbery is the taking of another person’s property with the use of violence or fear. Armed robbery is taking it a step further with the use of a weapon or firearm when committing robbery. Armed robbery in Florida comes with even more severe penalties. 

In Florida, there are two types of armed robbery depending on the type of weapon that the suspect is armed with. First, there is armed robbery with a deadly weapon or a firearm, for example, a knife or gun. The second type is armed robbery without a deadly weapon or firearm. Any robbery committed with a baseball bat or a tool, for example, would fall under this classification. 

Arson

Arson crimes happen when a person willingly and unlawfully damages any structure or dwelling by setting it on fire or causing an explosion. In simpler terms, arson crimes in Florida take place when a person sets a property on fire intentionally and without having a legitimate reason to do so. 

Arson is not limited to damaging dwellings and their contents but any structure. A structure could be any building, an enclosed area with a roof over it, or any property and its dependencies, based on Florida’s legislation.

Charges can be more severe if the damaged property is occupied or is a place where people typically are. This include structures such as:

• Detention centers
• Healthcare facilities
• Department stores
• Portable buildings
• Any type of vehicle
• Businesses
• Office buildings
• Schools
• Churches  

Weapons Charges 

While the Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms, some states, including Florida, have passed laws regulating firearm and other weapon possession. 

There are two types of gun and weapon crimes in Florida; gun or weapon offenses and weapon enhancements. A weapon offense is solely based on the fact that the person improperly possessed, purchased, or used a weapon. A weapon enhancement increases the penalties of a crime or requires a mandatory minimum prison sentence and occurs when a weapon is used when committing a violent crime, including aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and robbery. 

The most common weapon charges in Florida include the concealment of a firearm without a concealed carry permit, improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon, possession or discharging a weapon at a school-sponsored event, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and allowing a minor to access a loaded firearm.