Dangerous Offenses & Dangerous Charges

 Having a dangerous designation added to any charge can make the charges much more serious. This designation is added to a charge at the discretion of the prosecutor and can be taken off during plea negotiations. 

Some of the consequences of dangerous charges are that the sentence if found guilty is prison mandatory—even for a first-time offense. The sentencing chart is much harsher than a non-dangerous offense. If convicted of a dangerous charge, you can never have your firearm rights restored, nor have the conviction set aside nor expunged.  

So, what exactly is a “dangerous offense”? To understand that we have to look at the definitions in the law. Namely, we look to ARS 13-105:

• "Dangerous offense" means an offense involving the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument or the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury on another person.

• "Deadly weapon" means anything designed for lethal use, including a firearm.

• "Dangerous instrument" means anything that under the circumstances in which it is used, attempted to be used or threatened to be used is readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury.

While the prosecution has discretion on whether or not to designate an offense a dangerous offense , they cannot legally do so unless it falls into the legal definition of "dangerous offense". 

The sentencing scheme for dangerous offenses can be found in ARS 13-704, and is as follows: