Law Question
Can someone who knows something about law in Texas help me out with this?
J was hit by three people: the man who initially attacked him, the man who hit him with the baseball bat, and the teenaged son of the first man.
J fought back and got the better of the first man. The sheriff's department first told my mother that because he "won" that fight, they could not press assault charges against the first man. Then later, they told her that since J wasn't hurt by that first man, that's the reason they couldn't press charges.
They also told my mom that if J was younger, "like 12", they could have pressed charges, but since he's 16, they can't.
So, the only person they have pressed charges against is the person who hit him with the bat.
I really, really don't buy this shit. I think the sheriff's department is just being lazy or is otherwise reluctant to follow this case and I want to know WTF is going on.
ETA: Texas state law is pretty clear: a person commits assault if they: "intentionally or knowingly threatens another with imminent bodily injury" or "intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another when the person knows or should reasonably believe that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative."
The first person man, Jose Luis, is the one who first attacked my brother. I think that hitting someone from behind is not only clearly threatening them with injury, but also causes physical contact that it's reasonable to believe they will find offensive.
So why aren't the cops wanting to act on this? Grrr.
J was hit by three people: the man who initially attacked him, the man who hit him with the baseball bat, and the teenaged son of the first man.
J fought back and got the better of the first man. The sheriff's department first told my mother that because he "won" that fight, they could not press assault charges against the first man. Then later, they told her that since J wasn't hurt by that first man, that's the reason they couldn't press charges.
They also told my mom that if J was younger, "like 12", they could have pressed charges, but since he's 16, they can't.
So, the only person they have pressed charges against is the person who hit him with the bat.
I really, really don't buy this shit. I think the sheriff's department is just being lazy or is otherwise reluctant to follow this case and I want to know WTF is going on.
ETA: Texas state law is pretty clear: a person commits assault if they: "intentionally or knowingly threatens another with imminent bodily injury" or "intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another when the person knows or should reasonably believe that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative."
The first person man, Jose Luis, is the one who first attacked my brother. I think that hitting someone from behind is not only clearly threatening them with injury, but also causes physical contact that it's reasonable to believe they will find offensive.
So why aren't the cops wanting to act on this? Grrr.