Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Kansas carries penalties set by the state’s sentencing grid: it is a severity level 7 person felony with a presumptive prison range of 11 to 34 months, fines up to $100,000, mandatory restitution to the victim, and a permanent felony record that triggers a federal firearms ban.1Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 21-5412 – Assault; Aggravated Assault; Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer; Aggravated Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer The actual sentence depends on criminal history and on whether any enhancement applies.
The Sentencing Grid Range in Months
Kansas sentences felonies on a grid. One axis is offense severity; the other is the defendant’s criminal history. The intersection sets the presumptive sentence in months. At severity level 7, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon runs from 11 months at the low end of the grid to 34 months at the high end.
Someone with no prior record sits at the bottom of that spread. Someone with the most serious criminal history category sits at the top, with a presumptive 30 to 34 months of incarceration as the starting point before any aggravating or mitigating factors are weighed.
When Probation Is on the Table
A first-time offender in Criminal History Category I falls in a grid block with a presumptive range of 11 to 13 months. That block sits on the nonprison side of the dispositional line, which means probation is the presumed outcome rather than incarceration. A judge can still depart upward and send the defendant to prison, but the departure has to be justified on the record.
Defendants with heavier records land in grid blocks where imprisonment is presumptive from the start. Probation is not realistically available there without a downward departure.
Fines and Restitution
The maximum fine for a nondrug felony at severity levels 6 through 10 is $100,000. That cap applies to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Restitution is separate from the fine and is not optional. Kansas law directs the court to order restitution in every case where the defendant’s crime caused the victim financial loss. That covers medical bills, property damage, and lost wages. The judge sets the amount; the defendant pays regardless of whether the sentence is probation or prison.
Enhancements That Change the Outcome
Two circumstances can push the penalty past the standard grid.
The first is firearm use. Under K.S.A. 21-6804(h), when a firearm is used during any person felony, the sentence becomes presumptive imprisonment regardless of criminal history. A defendant who would otherwise qualify for probation loses that presumption the moment a gun is involved. The court keeps narrow authority to impose a nonprison sentence, but the default flips to incarceration.
The second is the identity of the victim. If the person assaulted was a law enforcement officer performing official duties, the charge becomes aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer under K.S.A. 21-5412(d), a severity level 6 person felony. Every grid block at level 6 carries a heavier presumptive sentence than its level 7 counterpart. The statute reaches uniformed or properly identified state, county, city, university, campus, and federal officers.
What Counts as This Offense
The penalty numbers only make sense alongside what the state actually has to prove. Under K.S.A. 21-5412, simple assault is knowingly placing another person in reasonable apprehension of immediate bodily harm. The charge becomes aggravated when the assault is committed with a deadly weapon, while disguised to conceal identity, or with intent to commit a felony. The deadly-weapon version is what moves the offense from a class C person misdemeanor to a severity level 7 person felony.
No one has to be hurt. There does not even have to be physical contact. The offense is built on the victim’s reasonable fear of immediate harm, not on injury. The statute says “knowingly,” not “intentionally,” which means the prosecution does not have to prove the defendant wanted to frighten anyone; awareness that the conduct would place someone in fear is enough.
“Deadly weapon” is broader than it sounds. Kansas courts look at how the object was used. A vehicle driven at a person, a bat swung at someone’s head, a heavy bottle brought down near a face: all can qualify. An unloaded firearm can qualify too, because the test is the threat as the victim reasonably perceived it, not what the weapon could actually do.
Collateral Penalties That Outlast the Sentence
Federal Firearms Ban
Federal law bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition. Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon clears that threshold, so a conviction triggers an automatic and indefinite federal firearms ban. Restoring gun rights after a Kansas felony is a difficult legal process and does not happen automatically when the sentence ends.
Employment, Housing, and Professional Licensing
A violent felony shows up on background checks and narrows what a person can do for work. Law enforcement, security, healthcare, and education routinely disqualify applicants with violent felony records. Professional licensing boards in regulated industries can deny, suspend, or revoke a license based on the conviction. Private landlords screen for felony records, and a violent offense makes rental applications significantly weaker. These barriers can persist for years after the sentence is served.
Immigration
For noncitizens, a conviction can trigger deportation proceedings. Violent offenses are frequently treated as crimes involving moral turpitude under federal immigration law, which can make a person both deportable and inadmissible for future reentry. Those consequences are set by federal standards and often prove more severe and more permanent than the Kansas sentence. Any noncitizen facing this charge should get immigration-specific legal advice alongside criminal defense.
Expungement
Kansas allows expungement of certain felonies, but not right away. The waiting period runs from the completion of the entire sentence, including probation, parole, or any suspended portion. For a severity level 7 person felony, the wait is generally five years. Even after the waiting period passes, expungement is not automatic. The court weighs the nature of the offense, any later criminal history, and the interests of justice before deciding whether to grant the petition.