Georgia Police Search for Man Who Attacked Jogger in Milton

Police are on the search for a man that has been accused of attacking a female jogger who was running on Deerfield Parkway earlier this week.

The woman said that a man just came out of nowhere and grabbed her. She made this statement to news outlets: “It's not right. He's not right. I was running like I usually do, going toward Windward, and I saw him park and get out of the car ... When we crossed, that's when he grabbed me.”

The woman reported that she screamed and managed to fight off her attacker. He then ran back to his vehicle and hopped in speeding off down the road.

As a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer, I will outline one of the possible offenses faced by the suspect if the above allegations are true and police end up locating the suspect.

Assault in Georgia

Assault in Georgia is defined by Georgia Law in O.C.G.A. § 16-5-20 as:

(a) A person commits the offense of simple assault when he or she either:

(1) Attempts to commit a violent injury to the person of another; or

(2) Commits an act which places another in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury.

(b) Except as provided in subsections (c) through (h) of this Code section, a person who commits the offense of simple assault shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

A first conviction for assault is typically classified as a misdemeanor in Georgia. This means that a person is facing up to 12 months of jail time and fines up to $1000 if convicted of assault.

However, there are situations that can make the crime classification for assault more serious as well as elevate the penalties faced by a person if convicted. These situations include:

• If the assault is committed in a public transit vehicle or station.
• If the crime is committed between past or present spouses, foster parents of foster children, or other persons living in the same household.
• If the crime is committed against a person, who is 65 years of age or older.
• If the crime is committed against an employee of a public school system of this state while the employee is engaged in official duties or on school property.
• If the crime is committed against a female, who is pregnant at the time of the offense.

If assault is committed under any of the above-mentioned circumstances, then the conviction will be escalated to a misdemeanor of a high or aggravated nature. These consequences can include a period of confinement of up to one year and up to $5,000 in fines. 

Practice Note

Not all who are accused of committing crimes are guilty of committing those offenses. More people are wrongly accused or improperly charged than we would like to admit.

If you or a loved one has been arrested, contact our offices now.