The son of a famous professional basketball player was recently arrested by Scottsdale authorities on the grounds of aggravated assault on a healthcare professional, a felony offense under Arizona law.
Police say that they were asked to come to a nightclub because the man had apparently fallen and hit his head. The security staff at the club asked the police to take the man to the hospital in order to get treatment for a bleeding wound on the back of his head.
While he was at the hospital, the man allegedly got combative with the medical staff at the hospital. After his release from treatment the following day, police booked him in jail.
Assault on a healthcare professional can lead to a felony conviction
They have forwarded their report to the Office of Maricopa County Attorney, but charges have not been announced.
However, assaulting a healthcare worker is a class 6 felony, meaning that a person convicted can spend several months or even years in prison. This is so even if it is a first-time offense and there are no other aggravating factors.
Courts do have the discretion to handle this type of crime as a misdemeanor and enter judgment accordingly.
It may be surprising how easy it is for an Arizona resident or visitor to this state to wind up facing a felony assault charge. For example, a night of heavy partying can lead to a series of bad decisions, perhaps made while under the influence of alcohol.
In other cases, police and prosecutors may raise assault allegations that turn to be not true or greatly exaggerated. In the case of incidents related to alcohol, there is always a question of what exactly happened and what people were thinking at the time.
People facing Arizona assault charges should consider their options for mounting a defense carefully.
