Oates’ client and her husband had just finished a nice evening in downtown Reston, just a few days before Christmas, when they encountered someone who was rude and called them nasty names. After some brief words, the client and her husband began to leave. The instigator of the rude words reached out to grab Oates’ client and was punched in the face by her husband trying to protect her.
From there, a melee ensued. As they were walking away, the rude man’s family rushed at the client and her husband, jumping on his back and provoking an assault. Oates’ client attempted to protect her by pushing people off her husband’s back. The client was taken to the ground. Trying to get back up, she was kicked and pushed. Finally, police arrived on the scene.
Fights such as this often lead to assault charges. The rude man’s jaw was shattered, and emotions and anger were coming from the other side. To seek vengeance on Oates’ client and her husband, they fabricated an assault charge to police, saying instead that they were the ones who were attacked. The alleged victim in the case, the rude man’s husband, claimed that she had been assaulted and was asking for around $70,000 in medical bills!
A special prosecutor was assigned to the case. Oates and his client did not consider any plea offers. His client was innocent and in fact the victim of the crime.
A trial in the Fairfax General District Court was held. In total, the judge heard over four hours of testimony. Oates cross-examined four witnesses from the prosecution. He highlighted multiple essential things that were false and inconsistent with their stories. He also played a blurry security camera video taken from across the street. The video did not show any of the supposed assault that the prosecution was claiming.
After a long contentious assault trial, the judge found Oates’ client completely not guilty of the assault charge. The judge pointed out the many inconsistencies that Oates had uncovered in his cross of the prosecution witnesses, and that his client’s story made sense. The other stories did not.
Despite the anger and lies of the special prosecutor pushing for his client’s conviction, the trial was a total success.
Fairfax criminal defense attorney Jonathan Oates has years of experience successfully fighting assault charges. If you have been charged with assault or any crime, call us to discuss your case. We have the experience and grit to fight for you in these emotional cases.
Call us today at (703) 988-3711 to discuss your Virginia criminal case.