Sentencing enhancements do not just happen out of nowhere. In a lot of assault cases, the decisions made before an attorney even gets involved, and sometimes during the case itself, are what push an enhancement further. It is kind of a hard thing to accept, but those early moments matter more than people realize.
Some of these mistakes are understandable. An arrest is chaotic, and most people are not thinking clearly when it happens. But here is the thing, what gets said or done in those first hours can follow a case for a long time. None of it is easy to undo once it is already on the record.
Our firm handles assault cases and felony sentencing matters across San Bernardino, Fontana, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, and throughout Southern California. If you are facing enhancement allegations, you want someone who actually knows how they work. A trusted criminal defense attorney can make a real difference in how your case plays out from the start.
Tammy Higgins spent 16 years as a San Bernardino County public defender before opening her private practice. She has tried more than 100 jury trials, including homicide cases. She knows how enhancement allegations work from both sides of the courtroom, and that kind of experience is just not something you find everywhere.
Talking to Police Without an Attorney Present
The most damaging mistake in any criminal case is providing a statement to law enforcement before speaking with an attorney. This applies with particular force in assault cases, where the details of the altercation, the extent of any injury, and the relationship between the parties all matter to how charges and enhancements get framed.
Law enforcement is gathering information that will be used to build the prosecution's case. A voluntary statement intended to explain what happened can inadvertently provide facts the prosecution needs to support a great bodily injury allegation, a weapons charge, or a claim that the defendant was the aggressor. What a defendant means as context can become evidence for the other side.
Underestimating the Medical Evidence
Defendants and their families often gauge the seriousness of an assault charge based on how the confrontation felt in the moment. Prosecutors do not. They work from what the medical records, photographs, and treating physician documentation actually say.
Great bodily injury under PC 12022.7 is a medical and legal determination, not an intuitive one. An injury that seemed minor at the scene can be documented in ways that support a GBI enhancement. We review all injury evidence early in every case to understand what the prosecution is working with and where there is room to challenge the enhancement allegation directly.
Ignoring the Identity of the Alleged Victim
Whether the alleged victim belongs to a protected category under California law is something many defendants miss entirely in the initial hours after an arrest. A misdemeanor-level confrontation becomes a felony when the person on the receiving end is a peace officer, healthcare worker, firefighter, or school employee.
This single factor affects the base charge, the bail amount, the plea offer range, and how aggressively the district attorney's office approaches the case. It needs to be identified and accounted for from the first hearing. Missing it early leads to strategic decisions that do not reflect what the defendant is actually facing.
Not Accounting for Prior Convictions
A prior felony conviction that qualifies as a strike under California's Three Strikes Law will double the sentence on a new serious felony conviction. Many defendants do not know whether their prior record includes a qualifying strike, and some are unaware that a prior out-of-state conviction can qualify under California law.
We review prior records thoroughly at the start of every case. Knowing the actual sentencing exposure going into arraignment and plea discussions changes everything about how the defense is structured and what a reasonable resolution looks like.
Taking a Plea Without Understanding the Enhancement
Plea offers in assault cases with enhancement allegations are often presented under time pressure and in ways that emphasize the benefit of the deal without fully explaining what is being admitted. Admitting to a GBI allegation as part of a plea has sentencing consequences and affects future cases in ways the defendant may not fully understand at the time.
We walk every client through exactly what a plea admits, what it means for the current sentence, and what it means for any future contact with the criminal justice system. A plea can be the right decision in a given case. It should always be an informed one.
Waiting Too Long to Retain Defense Counsel
The time between arrest and arraignment is short. Bail hearings, arraignment decisions, and early evidence preservation all happen quickly. An attorney who is involved from day one can make arguments at arraignment that affect bail, can request and preserve evidence before it disappears, and can establish a defense strategy before the prosecution has locked in its approach.
Waiting until a court date is imminent shortens the window for the defense considerably. The sooner an attorney is involved in an assault case, the more options remain open.
We also handle post-conviction relief for people dealing with the consequences of past assault convictions, including expungement under PC 1203.4 after probation is completed and resentencing petitions under AB 600 where the original sentence no longer reflects current law.
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