Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon Bond Amounts in Texas

Bail for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Texas typically falls between $10,000 and $50,000, though a judge can set it well above that when the injuries are severe, the defendant has a serious record, or the charge is enhanced to a first-degree felony. The baseline offense is a second-degree felony carrying 2 to 20 years in prison,¹ and the weapon element pushes bond well past what a simple assault would draw.

Typical Bond Amounts

Each county publishes a bond schedule that gives magistrates a starting point. For a second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, that starting point commonly sits in the $10,000 to $30,000 range. Once the judge weighs the weapon allegation and the extent of any injuries, the final number often lands between $10,000 and $50,000. Some counties with aggressive schedules set a $30,000 floor on any offense involving a weapon.

Those figures are baselines, not ceilings. When the case is enhanced to a first-degree felony, bond routinely climbs to $75,000, $100,000, or higher. The enhancement applies when the aggravated assault caused serious bodily injury to a family member, household member, or dating partner; when it was committed by or against a public servant acting in an official capacity; when it targeted a witness or informant in retaliation for reporting a crime; or when the victim was a security officer on duty.² A first-degree felony carries 5 to 99 years or life,³ and judges price the risk of flight accordingly.

The “deadly weapon” itself is broader than most people expect. It covers firearms and anything designed to inflict serious injury, but it also reaches any object capable of causing death or serious harm in the way it was used, including knives, bats, and vehicles.⁴ The type of weapon and how it was used both feed into the bail figure.

What Judges Weigh When Setting Bail

Texas law says bail must be high enough to reasonably ensure the defendant returns to court but cannot be used as an instrument of oppression.⁵ Within that frame, judges look at:

The nature of the offense — the weapon involved, the extent of injuries, and how the incident unfolded. An assault with a firearm that put someone in the hospital draws a higher number than a threat with a pocket knife that caused no physical harm.
Criminal history, including prior violent convictions, pending charges, past failures to appear, and any history of family violence.⁵
Flight risk, measured through community ties: steady employment, family in the area, how long the defendant has lived locally.
Ability to pay. The judge must consider whether the defendant can actually post the amount.⁵
Safety of the alleged victim and the community. If the judge sees a continuing threat, bail goes up or conditions get stricter.

Ability to pay is the factor families most often overlook. If a $50,000 bond would function as no bail at all given a defendant’s finances, the court has to take that into account. Pay stubs, bank statements, and other documentation of limited resources give the judge something concrete to work with.

When Bail Can Be Denied Outright

The Texas Constitution guarantees bail for most offenses but carves out exceptions that hit this charge directly. A district judge can deny bail entirely, after a hearing, when someone is charged with a felony involving a deadly weapon and already has a prior felony conviction. The same applies if the person was already out on bail for another felony when the aggravated assault occurred. The denial order must be issued within seven days of incarceration, and a trial must follow within 60 days or the denial lifts automatically.⁶

Even where bail isn’t denied outright, judges sometimes set an amount high enough that it functions as a denial. That’s where the “instrument of oppression” language in Article 17.15 becomes the defense’s main lever.

No Personal Bond for This Charge

For many offenses, a judge can release a defendant on a personal bond — a written promise to appear with no money required. That option is unavailable here. Texas law classifies aggravated assault as an offense involving violence and prohibits personal bonds in these cases.⁷ Release requires cash, a surety bond, or a property bond.

How to Post the Bond

Once the amount is set, there are three routes to release.

A cash bond means paying the full bail amount to the court. The money is held as collateral and refunded when the case ends, provided the defendant made every court appearance. Many jurisdictions deduct a small administrative fee, typically a few percent, before returning the balance.

A surety bond is the most common route. You pay a non-refundable premium to a licensed bail bondsman, who posts the full amount with the court. The standard premium in Texas is around 10% of the total bail, so a $30,000 bond costs roughly $3,000 that you don’t get back regardless of how the case turns out. The Texas Department of Insurance does not regulate bail bond rates, so shop around and get every term in writing before signing.

A property bond lets you pledge real estate instead of cash. Courts generally require equity worth 1.5 to 2 times the bail amount and ask for the deed, tax records, mortgage statements, and a professional appraisal. Property in declining markets or in remote areas sometimes gets rejected as too hard to liquidate. This route takes longer to process than cash or surety.

What a Co-Signer Is Taking On

When a family member or friend co-signs a surety bond (the legal term is indemnitor), they guarantee the defendant will attend every court date. If the defendant skips, the co-signer becomes liable for the full bail amount, not just the 10% premium. The bondsman can also seize and sell any collateral the co-signer pledged, such as a car title or jewelry, to recover losses. That responsibility runs until the case is fully resolved by dismissal, plea, or verdict.

Getting a High Bond Reduced

If the amount is set unreasonably high, the defendant can challenge it through a pretrial writ of habeas corpus. In Texas, that petition is filed in the county or district court, not the court of appeals, and the court must set a hearing at the earliest available opportunity.⁸ The judge can reduce the bail, leave it in place, or, less commonly, increase it.

The strongest arguments track the Article 17.15 factors: the amount is disproportionate to the offense, it exceeds what the defendant can afford and therefore functions as a denial of bail, or circumstances have changed since the original hearing through new evidence, reduced charges, or a lengthening pretrial wait. Judges are more willing to lower bail when the defense offers concrete concessions such as surrendering a passport, agreeing to GPS monitoring, or accepting a curfew.

Conditions That Come With Release

Posting bond doesn’t mean going home unrestricted. A magistrate can impose any reasonable condition related to victim and community safety.⁹ In aggravated assault cases, the standard set usually includes:

A no-contact order covering the alleged victim, in person and through calls, texts, social media, or third parties. In domestic cases this often means moving out of a shared home.
GPS ankle monitoring, generally paid for by the defendant. Daily fees typically run $5 to $15, and equipment can cost $150 to $500. Across a case that runs months, the total adds up quickly.
A firearms prohibition for the duration of the bond.
Drug and alcohol restrictions with random testing, especially when substances were involved in the alleged offense.
Regular check-ins with a pretrial services officer.
Travel restrictions confining the defendant to the county or requiring permission to leave the state.

Violations and Failure to Appear

Violating any condition gives the magistrate grounds to revoke the bond. The standard is preponderance of the evidence, meaning the judge only needs to find the violation more likely than not. If the bond is revoked, the defendant returns to jail immediately, and getting a new bond set afterward is harder and more expensive than the original.⁹

Missing court triggers a bond forfeiture. The court enters a formal declaration and issues a judgment against the defendant and any sureties.¹⁰ A cash bond is gone. A bondsman who posted the bond is liable for the full amount and will pursue the defendant and any co-signer to recover it. A warrant issues for the defendant’s arrest, and skipping court on a violent felony almost guarantees a much higher bond, or no bond at all, the next time around.

1
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
2
State of Texas. Texas Code PENAL 22.02 – Aggravated Assault
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.32 – First Degree Felony Punishment
4
State of Texas. Texas Code PENAL 1.07 – Definitions
5
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 17.15 – Rules for Fixing Amount of Bail
6
Justia Law. Texas Constitution Art 1 – Sec 11a
7
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.03 – Personal Bond
8
Texas District and County Attorneys Association. Expediting Pretrial Habeas Writs
9
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.40 – Conditions of Bond
10
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 22.01 – Bail Forfeiture