Reckless Endangerment Charges in Seattle
Domestic violence offenses in Seattle carry serious penalties. There are many situations where domestic violence charges can arise other than just assault. One of those situations is a charge of reckless endangerment.
Reckless endangerment is when your actions cause a very real danger to another party. In order for it to be classified as domestic violence, the other party would have to be a spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, child or any other person with whom you share an intimate relationship. If you do something that threatens to cause them bodily harm or death, you could be charged with reckless endangerment. Even if you did not intend to hurt or threaten the other person, if a reasonable party would recognize your actions as dangerous, it is considered a crime.
Seattle Reckless Endangerment Penalties
Reckless endangerment crimes are gross misdemeanor offenses. This means that if you are convicted you may face 90 days in jail and $1000 in fines. You can also be sentenced to community service, probation, anger management and more. In addition, any domestic violence charge can also lead to a protective order being placed against you by your alleged victim. Oftentimes, reckless endangerment charges include other charges as well like assault, domestic violence, harassment, etc which all include additional consequences. In order to avoid these penalties, you should contact a domestic violence lawyer in order to fight your charges. There is no way to know for sure what your penalties will be until after conviction.
Washington Reckless Endangerment Laws
If you are facing reckless endangerment charges, it is important that you fully understand the charge as well as the penalties that you may face. Any action that endangers others is considered reckless endangerment. The only exception is a drive-by shooting which has its own set of laws. If you committed an act that violates a family member's rights or safety, you could be looking at gross misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment.
The following Washington laws apply to reckless endangerment:
RCW 9A.36.050 Reckless endangerment.
(1) A person is guilty of reckless endangerment when he or she recklessly engages in conduct not amounting to drive-by shooting but that creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person.
Reckless endangerment is left vague on purpose so that is can cover a variety of actions. When a person does something that is dangerous but does not lead to an actual injury reckless endangerment is often charged. For example, a couple get into are argument and one person leaves the house. They then throw a rock through a window. No one is injured from the incident, but someone could have been and doing so would likely warrant a reckless endangerment charge. Another example may include the presence of a gun during an argument. Even if the offender did not threaten anyone with it or shoot it off, the fact that they were in an agitated state with a deadly weapon could result in a reckless endangerment arrest.
Reckless endangerment charges can occur on their own for a person's behavior in public or as domestic violence when family members are involved. Because of this, a person who throws a rock like in the first example above is more likely to receive a reckless endangerment charge than one for property damage or vandalism because it will be a domestic violence reckless endangerment charge. It is important to remember that no one actually has to be injured in order for this charge to be placed. For example, you are arguing with a spouse and, in the heat of the argument, take out a gun and wave it around. You realize this was a bad idea and put it away. You could still be charged with reckless endangerment because while you had the gun out someone could have been injured. Many reckless endangerment charges result from the mistreatment of children. Leaving a young child home alone may be classified as endangerment.
Seattle Domestic Violence Attorney
If you have been arrested in Seattle for a reckless endangerment charge, the good news is that you have options. An experienced Seattle attorney can help you fight your charges. Attorney Steve Karimi will examine your case and look for the best way to build a defense. He is highly skilled and has a thorough understanding of Seattle domestic violence law. In many circumstances, an experienced Seattle domestic violence attorney can get the charges reduced or even dismissed or get a plea bargain. All of these options will allow you to skip going to trial and get preferential results.
A domestic violence offense can have long term negative effects. If you have been accused of reckless endangerment call a Seattle domestic violence attorney right now. We work hard to make sure you get results that you are happy with.