
Both charges are felonies with prison time as a potential penalty. If the prosecutor handling the case wants to escalate the severity of the case, he or she can charge the felony offense of aggravated assault and aggravated battery. When the victims were actually struck with the paintballs, a battery occurred. Battery occurs when a person actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of another. In this particular case, the assault occurred when the defendants pointed the gun at the victims as long as the victims were aware that the guns were being pointed at them. An assault is an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act that creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent. Simple assault and battery are first degree misdemeanors, punishable up to a year in jail. Those arrested in these attacks can be charged with a variety of offenses, including aggravated assault, simple assault, aggravated battery, simple battery, and shooting or throwing a deadly missile. The Miami criminal defense lawyers at DMT have represented individuals charged with similar offenses in the past.

While on its face, the attacks seem harmless, individuals that engage in this type of behavior can be subject to prosecution for fairly serious charges. There has a been a recent trend of paintball attacks in local neighborhoods, including Allapattah and Wynwood, which have led local police to search for people involved. The combatants wear protective gear, including goggles to prevent eye injuries. Paintball guns are used in a competitive teaming shooting sport where teams use guns powered by compressed air and fire gelatin-filled capsules to eliminate each other. Apparently, the juveniles went on a shooting spree with their weapon of choice being paintball guns.



The Miami Gardens police department arrested three juveniles for paintball attacks that left several people injured.
