How Many Years for Aggravated Assault in Arizona? ARS 13-704

How Is the Felony Class Set for Aggravated Assault in Arizona?

If you were just charged with aggravated assault in Maricopa County, the question keeping you up at night is not what the elements are , it is how many years you are actually facing. The honest answer is that Arizona has no single aggravated assault sentence. The same set of facts can mean probation, or it can mean a mandatory prison term measured in decades, depending on three variables: the felony class, whether the state alleges the offense is “dangerous,” and your record.

This article is the sentencing deep dive: the actual numbers from ARS 13-704, the repeat-offender tiers, and the victim categories that quietly move a case up a felony class. For the elements of the charge itself , what the state must prove , see our complete guide to aggravated assault under ARS 13-1204.

The felony class comes from ARS 13-1204 itself, and it depends on which aggravating circumstance applies, not on how serious the incident felt. Under subsection F of the statute:

• Class 3 felony , the most common charge: causing serious physical injury, using a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, using a simulated deadly weapon, or taking an officer’s firearm.
• Class 2 felony , serious-injury or deadly-weapon aggravated assault where the victim is under fifteen (punishable under ARS 13-705, the dangerous crimes against children law), or committed against a first responder, prosecutor, or law enforcement agency employee.
• Class 4 felony , assault causing temporary but substantial disfigurement, temporary but substantial impairment of a body organ or part, or a fracture; also the strangulation form of domestic violence aggravated assault under subsection B, and group assaults causing injury.
• Class 5 felony , taking a non-firearm weapon from an officer, or assault by someone in custody against corrections staff.
• Class 6 felony , the remaining categories, including assault on a bound or restrained victim, assault after entering a private home, assault on a minor under fifteen by an adult (in its basic form), order-of-protection assaults, and most protected-victim categories such as teachers and health care workers.

What Makes an Aggravated Assault a “Dangerous Offense”?

A “dangerous offense” under Arizona law is one involving the discharge, use, or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury on another person. That definition overlaps almost perfectly with the two most common aggravated assault theories , which is why prosecutors attach a dangerousness allegation to most weapon and serious-injury cases.

The allegation matters more than almost anything else in the case. Under ARS 13-704, subsection L, the enhanced penalties apply when a dangerous offense is charged in the indictment and admitted or found by the trier of fact. Once that happens, subsection G takes over: the defendant is not eligible for suspension of sentence, probation, pardon, or early release , prison is mandatory, even for a first offense. Whether a knife, a vehicle, or a household object even counts as a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument is itself a litigated question , and one worth fighting, because the answer controls which sentencing table applies.

What Are the Arizona Aggravated Assault Sentences Under ARS 13-704?

For a first felony offense charged as dangerous, ARS 13-704(A) sets a minimum, presumptive, and maximum prison term for each felony class. The judge starts at the presumptive and can move within the range based on aggravating and mitigating circumstances under ARS 13-701, but cannot go below the minimum or grant probation.

So the direct answer to “how many years”: for the typical first-time defendant charged with class 3 dangerous aggravated assault , a weapon displayed during a fight, a bar altercation causing serious injury , conviction as charged means no less than 5 years and up to 15 years in prison, with 7.5 years as the starting point. If the case is elevated to a class 2 felony (a deadly-weapon or class 2 dangerous charge is covered in depth in our class 2 felony in Arizona guide), the floor becomes 7 years and the ceiling 21.

How Many Years If the Offense Is Not Charged as Dangerous?

When no dangerousness allegation is made , or when the defense succeeds in getting it dismissed or withdrawn , sentencing for a first felony offense falls under ARS 13-702, and the picture changes completely. The ranges for the classes most relevant to aggravated assault:

• Class 3 felony: 2 years mitigated, 2.5 minimum, 3.5 presumptive, 7 maximum, 8.75 aggravated.
• Class 4 felony: 1 year mitigated, 1.5 minimum, 2.5 presumptive, 3 maximum, 3.75 aggravated.
• Class 5 felony: 6 months mitigated, 9 months minimum, 1.5 presumptive, 2 maximum, 2.5 aggravated.
• Class 6 felony: 4 months mitigated, 6 months minimum, 1 year presumptive, 1.5 maximum, 2 aggravated.

More importantly, ARS 13-702 contains no probation bar. For a non-dangerous aggravated assault with no prior felonies, the court generally retains the power to suspend the sentence and impose probation instead of prison , which is why first-offense outcomes vary so dramatically. What a realistic first-offense resolution looks like, from plea structures to mitigation, is covered in our guide to a first-time aggravated assault charge in Arizona.

How Do Prior Convictions Raise an Aggravated Assault Sentence?

ARS 13-704 builds separate, much harsher tables for defendants with historical prior felony convictions involving dangerous offenses:

• Class 2 dangerous with one prior class 1, 2, or 3 dangerous felony: 14 years minimum, 15.75 presumptive, 28 maximum (subsection D). With two or more such priors: 21 minimum, 28 presumptive, 35 maximum (subsection E).
• Class 3 dangerous with one qualifying prior: 10 minimum, 11.25 presumptive, 20 maximum. With two or more: 15 minimum, 20 presumptive, 25 maximum.
• Class 4 dangerous with one prior dangerous felony: 8 to 12 years (10 presumptive); with two or more: 12 to 16 years (subsections B and C).
• Class 5 and 6 dangerous: one prior raises the ranges to 4-6 and 3-4.5 years respectively; two or more priors raise them to 6-8 and 4.5-6 years.

Two technical rules do heavy work here. First, under subsection F, when multiple dangerous offenses are consolidated for trial but were not committed on the same occasion, the second and subsequent counts are sentenced on an elevated scale where the minimum term becomes the presumptive term , so a two-incident case can trigger repeat-offender math even with no prior record. Second, under subsection J, convictions for offenses committed on the same occasion count as only one conviction for the prior-felony tiers.

Which Victim Categories Raise the Class , and the Sentence?

ARS 13-1204 singles out certain victims for elevated treatment, and the sentencing consequences stack on top of the 13-704 ranges:

• First responders (peace officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, tribal police). Serious-injury or deadly-weapon aggravated assault against a first responder is a class 2 felony under subsection G. Subsection C adds that an intentional or knowing conviction requires at least the presumptive sentence, with no suspension, commutation, or early release.
• Peace officers specifically. If the trier of fact finds the aggravating factor in ARS 13-701(D)(17) applies, subsection D adds two additional years on top of any other enhancement , and it is not a defense that the officer was off duty.
• Prosecutors and law enforcement agency employees. Serious-injury or deadly-weapon assaults against these victims are also class 2 felonies under subsections H and I.
• Children under fifteen. Serious-injury or deadly-weapon aggravated assault on a victim under fifteen is a class 2 felony punishable under ARS 13-705, Arizona’s dangerous crimes against children statute, which imposes its own longer ranges outside the 13-704 tables.
• Teachers, health care workers, judicial officers, and other protected classes. These convert simple assault into (usually class 6) aggravated assault , a felony record and felony ranges for conduct that would otherwise be a misdemeanor.

Can You Get Probation for Aggravated Assault in Arizona?

It depends entirely on how the case resolves. If the conviction is for a dangerous offense, no , ARS 13-704(G) flatly bars suspension of sentence and probation, and the mandatory minimum applies. If the conviction is for a non-dangerous felony, probation is generally on the table, especially for first offenses in the lower classes. In practice, defense attorneys in Maricopa County see three realistic paths to probation eligibility in cases that start as dangerous charges: negotiating withdrawal of the dangerousness allegation, pleading to a non-dangerous lesser offense or undesignated class 6 felony, or winning the dangerousness issue at trial even if the underlying charge sticks. Where the conduct was defensive, a justification defense can eliminate the exposure entirely , see how self-defense works in Arizona aggravated assault cases.

How Tamou Law Group Defends Against Aggravated Assault Sentencing Exposure

Because the ranges are fixed by statute, aggravated assault defense in Arizona is largely a fight over which table you are sentenced under , or whether you are sentenced at all. Our first moves target the classification levers: is the object actually a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, is the injury actually “serious physical injury” as defined, does the protected-victim category truly apply, and can the dangerousness allegation be challenged or negotiated away before trial? Each of those questions moves the exposure by years, sometimes decades.

Alongside the classification fight, we litigate the facts , self-defense and defense of others, identity, causation of the injury, and the mental state , and we build the mitigation record early, because under ARS 13-701 the difference between a mitigated and aggravated term within a single range can be ten years or more on a class 2 dangerous count. Our team includes former prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and public defenders who have handled these cases from both sides of the courtroom, from initial appearance through trial. Learn more about the practice on our Phoenix assault defense page, or call 623-321-4699 for a confidential consultation about your specific charge and exposure.