Violent crime charges in Florida carry some of the harshest mandatory sentences in the state, and some of the most severe minimum enhancements in the country when firearms are involved.
If you or someone you know is facing a violent crime charge in St. Petersburg, the St. Petersburg violent crimes attorneys at Khonsari Law Group are ready to defend you in the 6th Judicial Circuit, the court system serving Pinellas County.
The stakes in these cases are too high to wait. Call (727) 269-5300 for a free and confidential case review.
Schedule Your Free ReviewWhat Qualifies as a Violent Crime in Florida?
Florida defines violent crimes broadly, covering a range of offenses involving force, the threat of force, or serious harm to another person.
The most common violent crime charges prosecuted in Pinellas County include:
Assault is threatening someone with imminent harm in a way that causes a reasonable person to fear immediate violence. No physical contact is required for an assault charge.
Battery is the intentional, harmful, or offensive touching of another person without their consent. Unlike assault, battery requires actual physical contact.
Aggravated assault is an assault committed with a deadly weapon, or with the intent to commit a felony. It is a third-degree felony.
Aggravated battery involves causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement, or using a deadly weapon, or battering a pregnant person. It is a second-degree felony.
Robbery is the taking of property from another person through force, violence, assault, or intimidation. Armed robbery, which means using a weapon during a robbery, is a first-degree felony.
Domestic violence battery is battery committed between people in a qualifying relationship, including spouses, cohabitants, or co-parents. It carries specific statutory consequences that differ from standard battery.
Carjacking and home invasion robbery are among the most serious property-related violent crimes in Florida, both classified as first-degree felonies carrying up to 30 years.
Violent Crime Penalties and Mandatory Minimums in Florida
| Charge | Classification | Maximum Sentence |
| Assault | 2nd degree misdemeanor | 60 days |
| Battery | 1st degree misdemeanor | 1 year |
| Aggravated Assault | 3rd degree felony | 5 years |
| Aggravated Battery | 2nd degree felony | 15 years |
| Robbery (unarmed) | 2nd degree felony | 15 years |
| Armed Robbery | 1st degree felony | 30 years |
| Home Invasion Robbery | 1st degree felony | 30 years |
| Murder (2nd degree) | 1st degree felony | Up to life |
| Murder (1st degree) | Capital felony | Life or death |
What Is Florida's 10-20-Life Law?
Florida Statute 775.087 creates mandatory minimum sentence enhancements for violent crimes involving firearms. These enhancements stack on top of the sentence for the underlying crime and cannot be waived by the judge.
- Possessing a firearm during a felony: 10-year mandatory minimum added on top of the base sentence.
- Firing a firearm during a felony: 20-year mandatory minimum.
- Shooting and wounding someone during a felony: 25 years to life mandatory minimum.
A judge cannot sentence below these minimums regardless of the circumstances, the defendant's background, or the judge's own assessment of what a fair sentence would be.
Habitual Violent Felony Offender Status
A defendant with a prior qualifying violent felony conviction who is convicted of a second qualifying violent offense can be classified as a Habitual Violent Felony Offender under Florida law.
This classification significantly increases the sentencing range and restricts the court's ability to impose a lesser sentence. If you have any prior felony conviction, the charges you face now may carry consequences that go well beyond the standard sentencing range.
Does Florida's Stand Your Ground Law Apply to Your Situation?
Florida's Stand Your Ground law, codified at Florida Statute 776.013, allows a person to use force, including deadly force, to defend themselves or others without a legal duty to first retreat from the threat.
This is a meaningful distinction from many other states. In Florida, you are not required to attempt to escape a threat before using force to defend yourself, provided you are in a place you have a legal right to be and are not engaged in criminal activity at the time.
For the law to apply, the force used must be proportional to the threat. Deadly force is only justified when a person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death, great bodily harm, or the commission of a forcible felony.
Stand Your Ground immunity can be raised before trial through a pretrial immunity hearing. If the court finds the defense established, the case is dismissed before it ever reaches a jury. This is one of the most powerful tools available in Florida violent crime defense, but the evidentiary burden at the hearing is real, and preparation matters enormously.
The Castle Doctrine applies the same no-duty-to-retreat principle inside your home or vehicle. Stand Your Ground does not apply to the initial aggressor, and there are circumstances where it cannot be invoked. An experienced attorney can evaluate whether the facts of your case support a Stand Your Ground defense before any plea or hearing is made.
Violent crime charges in Pinellas County require immediate attention. Call Khonsari Law Group at (727) 269-5300 or contact us online for a free and confidential consultation.
Schedule Your Free ReviewHow Are Violent Crime Cases Defended in St. Petersburg?
Violent crime cases in the 6th Judicial Circuit are defended based on the specific facts, the nature of the charge, and the evidence the state has built.
Self-defense and Stand Your Ground. When the force used was a genuine response to a real threat, self-defense is often the central argument. The defense builds the factual record, witness accounts, surveillance footage, physical evidence, the sequence of events, and decides whether to pursue a pretrial immunity hearing or preserve the defense for trial.
Challenging the identification. Many violent crime cases, particularly robberies and assaults, rest on victim or witness identifications. Eyewitness testimony is among the most frequently challenged forms of evidence because research consistently shows it is susceptible to misidentification under stress. How the identification was obtained, whether proper procedures were followed, and whether the identification is reliable are all factual questions an attorney can examine.
Intent and mental state. Many violent crime charges require the state to prove specific intent. Aggravated assault, for example, requires proof that the defendant intended to commit a specific act. Challenges to intent, showing the action was accidental, misinterpreted, or lacked the required mental state. can be dispositive in the right case.
Suppressing unlawfully obtained evidence. If the investigation involved an unlawful search, an improper interrogation, or other constitutional violations, the resulting evidence can be challenged through a motion to suppress. Removing key evidence from the state's case sometimes determines whether the prosecution can continue at all.
Violent Crime Defense Demands Immediate, Aggressive Action
Rohom Khonsari spent years as an Assistant State Attorney prosecuting violent crimes before founding Khonsari Law Group. Those years built a specific understanding: the early stages of an investigation, before the defense attorney enters the picture, can determine the outcome. Evidence disappears, witnesses become difficult to locate, and the state builds its narrative before the defendant's story is ever heard.
That experience drives how this firm approaches violent crime defense, aggressively, immediately, and with full attention to what the evidence actually shows versus what the prosecution wants it to show. Every case begins with a thorough review of the police report, the physical evidence, and what the state has and has not yet disclosed.
Khonsari Law Group holds membership in the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and carries a Better Business Bureau (BBB) A+ rating and an Avvo Client Choice designation. The firm has been featured on ABC Action News, Bay News 9, the Tampa Bay Business Journal, and the Tampa Bay Times.
"During the legal process with my case, Rohom Khonsari was fantastic. He was up front and honest, and the results were better than I could have ever hoped for. Most importantly, he never made me feel like a client. He made me feel like a friend." B.W., former client
Ask Khonsari Law Group
Can I claim self-defense if I was in a fight in St. Petersburg?
It depends on the specific facts. Florida's Stand Your Ground law allows the use of force in self-defense without a duty to retreat, but only when the force was proportional to a genuine and reasonable threat. If you initiated the confrontation, or if the force used exceeded what was necessary to stop the threat, Stand Your Ground may not apply.
Is assault a felony or misdemeanor in Florida?
Simple assault in Florida is a second-degree misdemeanor, carrying up to 60 days in jail. Aggravated assault, assault committed with a deadly weapon or with intent to commit a felony, is a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in state prison. The distinction between simple and aggravated assault often comes down to whether a weapon was involved and what the defendant's intent was at the time.
What should I do immediately after being accused of a violent crime in St. Petersburg?
Do not speak to law enforcement without an attorney present. Invoke your right to remain silent clearly: "I am invoking my right to remain silent and I want an attorney." Do not discuss the incident with anyone through channels that could be monitored. Do not post on social media. If you have any documentation that supports your account, surveillance footage, text messages, witnesses, preserve it and tell your attorney immediately. Contact a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.
Can a violent crime charge in Florida be reduced to a lesser offense?
Yes, in some cases. Plea negotiations can result in a reduced charge, from aggravated battery to simple battery, or from robbery to theft, when the evidence has weaknesses or the facts support a different characterization of the conduct. Whether reduction is available depends on the strength of the state's evidence, the defendant's prior record, and the specific facts of the case.
What is the difference between assault and battery in Florida?
Assault and battery are separate offenses. Assault requires no physical contact. It is an intentional, unlawful threat that causes the victim to reasonably fear immediate violence. Battery requires actual physical contact: intentionally touching or striking another person against their will, or intentionally causing them bodily harm.
It is possible to face both charges from a single incident if you threatened someone and then made physical contact.
What is "aggravated" assault or battery, and how does it change the charge?
Adding "aggravated" to an assault or battery charge reflects circumstances that increase the severity of the offense. Aggravated assault involves either a deadly weapon or the intent to commit a felony. Aggravated battery involves causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement, or using a deadly weapon, or battering a pregnant person.
The upgrade from simple to aggravated is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony, and between months in county jail and years in state prison.
Can I be convicted of robbery in Florida even if no weapon was used?
Yes. Robbery is defined as taking property from another person through force, violence, assault, or intimidation, regardless of whether a weapon was used. The key element is the use or threatened use of force in connection with the taking.
A weapon is not required for a robbery conviction, though the presence of a weapon upgrades the charge and triggers the 10-20-Life mandatory minimum enhancements under Florida Statute 775.087.
What does "intent" mean in a Florida violent crime case, and why does it matter?
Intent is a required element of many violent crime charges in Florida. Aggravated assault requires that the defendant intended to commit the threatening act. Battery requires intentional physical contact.
When the state cannot prove the defendant had the required mental state, because the contact was accidental, because the defendant misread the situation, or because the conduct was mischaracterized, the required element of intent cannot be established and the charge fails. Intent arguments are often among the most powerful tools in a violent crime defense.
Violent crime charges in Pinellas County are among the most serious prosecutions in the Florida criminal system. The attorneys at Khonsari Law Group are ready to defend your rights and build the strongest case available.
Call (727) 269-5300 or contact us online for a free and confidential case review. We represent clients throughout St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, and the greater Tampa Bay area.
Schedule Your Free Review