Aggravated Assault in Texas: Felony Levels, Penalties, and Defenses

Aggravated assault in Texas is a felony punishable by anywhere from 2 years to life in prison, depending on how the assault happened and who was hurt. The charge applies when someone causes serious bodily injury to another person, or when someone uses or displays a deadly weapon during an assault.¹ A conviction reaches well past the sentence itself: firearm rights, immigration status, and background checks all take a hit.

What Makes an Assault “Aggravated”

A basic assault under Texas law happens when someone intentionally or recklessly causes bodily injury, threatens someone with imminent harm, or makes physical contact they know the other person will find offensive.² It becomes aggravated assault when either of two things is added: serious bodily injury, or the use or display of a deadly weapon.¹

“Serious bodily injury” is a term of art. Ordinary bodily injury just means physical pain. Serious bodily injury means harm that creates a real risk of death, causes lasting disfigurement, or produces long-term loss of use of a body part or organ.³ A broken jaw that heals normally may be ordinary bodily injury; a shattered eye socket that permanently affects vision generally is not.

“Deadly weapon” is defined broadly. A firearm always qualifies. So does anything designed to cause death or serious injury, and anything that in the way it was actually used was capable of causing death or serious injury.³ A baseball bat is sporting equipment on the field. Swung at someone’s head, it becomes a deadly weapon. Texas courts have found cars, boots, and even dogs to qualify. Physical contact is not required. Pointing a loaded gun at someone during a confrontation can support the charge even if the trigger is never pulled.

Second-Degree vs. First-Degree Felony

Aggravated assault is a second-degree felony by default. Several circumstances push it up to a first-degree felony.¹ The charge becomes first-degree when:

The defendant used a deadly weapon and caused serious bodily injury to a family member, household member, or someone in a dating relationship.
The assault caused a brain or spinal cord injury resulting in a persistent vegetative state or irreversible paralysis.
The victim is a public servant the defendant knew was performing official duties, or the assault was retaliation for the servant’s official actions. It also applies when a public servant commits the assault while acting under their authority.
The assault targeted a witness, prospective witness, informant, or someone who reported a crime, in retaliation for their involvement.
The victim was a security officer or process server the defendant knew was performing their duties.
The defendant fired a gun from or near a vehicle at a home, building, or other vehicle, and was reckless about whether it was occupied.
The assault was committed as part of a mass shooting.

Prison Time and Fines

A second-degree felony conviction for aggravated assault carries 2 to 20 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, plus a possible fine of up to $10,000.⁴ That range gives judges and juries wide discretion within a single case.

A first-degree felony conviction carries 5 to 99 years, or life, plus a possible fine of up to $10,000.⁵ The jump from a 20-year ceiling to a 99-year ceiling is where the first-degree elevation really bites. Someone convicted of assaulting a spouse with a weapon and causing serious injury faces the same sentencing range as a murder charge.

How a Deadly Weapon Finding Changes Your Time

One of the most consequential moments in an aggravated assault case is when the judge or jury makes an “affirmative finding” that a deadly weapon was used. The finding does not change the conviction itself, but it changes when you can get out of prison. With a deadly weapon finding, you must serve at least half your sentence before becoming eligible for parole, with a minimum of two calendar years and a cap of 30 years before eligibility.⁶ Without the finding, parole eligibility generally kicks in after one-quarter of the sentence or 15 years, whichever is less.

The finding also eliminates mandatory supervision, the Texas mechanism that automatically releases inmates who have served their sentence minus good-time credit.⁶ With that off the table, the only way out before the full sentence expires is a discretionary parole decision by the Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Probation is affected too. Aggravated assault is not specifically listed among the offenses that bar judge-ordered community supervision, but any offense with an affirmative deadly weapon finding is ineligible for it.⁷ In practice, most aggravated assault defendants cannot receive probation from the judge, since the charge almost always involves a weapon or serious injury inflicted by violent means. A jury can still recommend probation in some cases, but that requires a not-guilty plea and a sentence of ten years or less.

Restitution to Victims

Texas judges are required to order defendants to pay restitution to their victims. If a judge decides not to order full restitution, the reasons must be stated on the record. The legislature removed the requirement that judges consider a defendant’s ability to pay when setting the amount, so financial hardship alone will not reduce what you owe.

Restitution typically covers medical expenses, lost wages, counseling costs, and related out-of-pocket losses the victim suffered because of the assault. If the defendant is placed on probation or parole, restitution becomes a mandatory condition, and failing to pay can lead to revocation, although the court weighs employment status and earning capacity first. Victims also have the right to place a restitution lien on the defendant’s property, giving them legal access to those assets ahead of most other claims.

Self-Defense Under Texas Law

Self-defense is the most common justification raised against aggravated assault charges. You are justified in using force when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect yourself against another person’s unlawful force.⁸ The “reasonably believe” standard is the heart of any self-defense claim. It is not about whether you were actually in danger; it is about whether a reasonable person in your situation would have perceived the same threat.

Texas is a stand-your-ground state. You have no duty to retreat before using force as long as you have a right to be where you are.⁸ The law also creates a presumption that your belief was reasonable in certain situations, including when someone unlawfully forces their way into your home, vehicle, or workplace, or when someone is committing a violent felony like robbery, kidnapping, or sexual assault against you. That presumption shifts the burden to the prosecution to disprove self-defense rather than making you prove it.

Self-defense has hard limits. It does not apply to verbal provocation alone; words by themselves never justify physical force. It also fails if you provoked the confrontation, unless you clearly tried to walk away and the other person kept attacking. You cannot claim self-defense to resist an arrest by a peace officer, even an unlawful one, unless the officer uses excessive force first.⁸ Proportionality also matters. Using a knife against someone who shoved you will be a hard sell to a jury, because the force has to match the threat.

Firearm Rights After Conviction

A felony conviction in Texas creates a two-phase firearm ban under state law. For the first five years after your release from prison or the end of community supervision (whichever comes later), you cannot possess a firearm anywhere. After that five-year window, you can possess a firearm only at your own home.⁹ Violating this restriction is a third-degree felony on its own. Many people assume they get their gun rights back once they complete their sentence, and that misunderstanding leads to new charges.

Federal law is broader. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison is permanently barred from possessing firearms or ammunition.¹⁰ Both degrees of aggravated assault in Texas carry minimum sentences well above one year, so the federal prohibition applies. The state law allowing limited home possession after five years does not override federal law, which means possessing a firearm even at home technically violates federal restrictions. Enforcement priorities vary, but the legal risk is real.

Immigration Consequences for Non-Citizens

For non-citizens, an aggravated assault conviction can be catastrophic. Federal immigration law classifies a “crime of violence” with a prison term of at least one year as an “aggravated felony” for immigration purposes.¹¹ That label triggers mandatory detention, bars nearly all forms of relief from deportation including asylum, and makes the person permanently inadmissible to the United States after removal. Non-permanent residents convicted of an aggravated felony can be deported through an expedited administrative process without a hearing before an immigration judge. Anyone removed after such a conviction who reenters illegally faces up to 20 years in federal prison. If you are not a U.S. citizen and you are facing aggravated assault charges, the immigration consequences may actually be more severe than the criminal sentence.

Statute of Limitations

Prosecutors in Texas have five years from the date of an aggravated assault to file charges. After that window closes, the case generally cannot be prosecuted. That does not mean you are safe if no one has knocked on your door. Investigations can proceed quietly, and the clock may be paused if the defendant leaves the state. A warrant issued within the five-year period preserves the prosecution’s ability to move forward even if the arrest happens years later.

1
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 22.02 – Aggravated Assault
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 22.01 – Assault
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 1.07 – Definitions
4
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
5
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.32 – First Degree Felony Punishment
6
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Parole in Texas
7
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42A.054
8
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 9.31 – Self-Defense
9
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code Section 922 – Unlawful Acts
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions