A conviction for aggravated assault with a firearm in Louisiana carries penalties of up to ten years in prison, with or without hard labor, and a fine of up to $10,000.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14-37.4 – Aggravated Assault With a Firearm The court can impose either, both, or neither element at the maximum. And the courtroom sentence is only part of the cost: a conviction is a felony, and it triggers a permanent federal ban on possessing firearms along with a criminal record that Louisiana law will not let you erase.
The Sentencing Range
La. R.S. 14:37.4 sets the ceiling at ten years and a $10,000 fine. The prison term may be served with or without hard labor, a distinction that affects where the sentence is served and the conditions of confinement. The fine is not mandatory. A judge has discretion to sentence anywhere within the statutory range based on the facts of the case, and can impose the fine, the prison term, or both.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14-37.4 – Aggravated Assault With a Firearm
Restitution is separate from the fine. The court may order the defendant to pay the victim for financial losses tied to the offense, such as medical expenses or counseling costs. Probation may be available depending on the specific circumstances and the defendant’s record.
What Pushes a Sentence Higher
Where a sentence lands within the ten-year range depends on several factors. Prior criminal history pushes sentences up. Assaults against certain victims, including police officers and other protected individuals, can move a judge toward the statutory maximum.
The specific conduct matters too, even though the statute treats a wide range of behavior as satisfying its elements. Briefly showing a gun during an argument and pointing it directly at someone’s head while making threats both meet the definition of the offense, but they lead to very different sentences in practice. Judges weigh what was said, how the firearm was handled, and how frightened and endangered the victim actually was.
How It Compares to General Aggravated Assault
The reason the penalties are so steep is that the involvement of a firearm converts what would otherwise be a misdemeanor into a felony. General aggravated assault under La. R.S. 14:37 covers assaults with any “dangerous weapon,” including knives and bats. That offense carries a maximum of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.2Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14-37 – Aggravated Assault
Swap the weapon for a firearm and the same threatening conduct falls under La. R.S. 14:37.4. The ceiling jumps from six months to ten years, and from a $1,000 fine to a $10,000 fine. There is no requirement that you fire the weapon, that anyone be injured, or that the gun be loaded. Pointing a firearm at someone in a threatening way, or brandishing one during a confrontation in a manner that puts the other person in reasonable fear, is enough to trigger the felony range.
One boundary worth naming: the statute defines “firearm” as an instrument that propels shot, shell, or bullets by the action of gunpowder.1Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14-37.4 – Aggravated Assault With a Firearm BB guns, pellet guns, and air rifles do not fit that definition, so the ten-year penalty range does not reach conduct involving those weapons.
The Federal Firearm Ban
The most consequential penalty is often one that never appears in the state sentencing order. Federal law permanently prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Because aggravated assault with a firearm carries up to ten years, a conviction fits squarely within that prohibition.
Violating the federal ban is a separate federal felony carrying up to fifteen years in prison. The ban does not expire when the Louisiana sentence ends, and it catches many people off guard years after they finish their state supervision.
Voting Rights
A felony conviction in Louisiana suspends your right to vote while you are incarcerated, on probation, or on parole. Voting rights are automatically restored once you complete your full sentence. Louisiana also restores voting rights five years after release from incarceration, even if you remain on parole or probation at that point.
Why the Record Stays
Aggravated assault with a firearm is classified as a crime of violence under Louisiana law. Crimes of violence are generally ineligible for expungement, and La. R.S. 14:37.4 is not among the specific violent offenses that qualify for an exception. In practical terms, a conviction stays on the criminal record permanently and will surface in employment, housing, and professional licensing checks for the rest of your life. That permanence is a penalty in its own right, and it compounds every consequence above.
Reducing Exposure Through a Plea
Not every case ends at the ten-year ceiling, and not every case ends with a felony conviction at all. Prosecutors and defense attorneys frequently negotiate plea agreements, and a common outcome is a plea to a lesser charge such as general aggravated assault under La. R.S. 14:37.2Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14 RS 14-37 – Aggravated Assault That shift changes the penalty picture entirely. A misdemeanor conviction avoids the felony label, drops the sentencing exposure from ten years to six months, cuts the fine ceiling from $10,000 to $1,000, and in many cases keeps the federal firearm ban from ever attaching.
Whether a reduction is on the table depends on the strength of the evidence, the severity of the victim’s fear or injuries, the defendant’s criminal history, and the individual prosecutor’s policies. Cases with weak eyewitness testimony or ambiguous facts about how the firearm was displayed have more room to negotiate than cases with clear video of a gun pointed at another person.