A woman suffered severe facial injuries and a dislocated elbow when she fought off a man who attacked her in Redmond, east of Seattle.

On a recent evening, the woman was walking her dog along the Marymoor Park Trail, located on the north end of Lake Sammamish, when a man jumped out of the bushes and attacked her. The man punched her several times and dragged her into tall grass east of the trail. The woman fought the suspect and yelled as he continued to punch her. A man walking on a nearby trail heard her yelling and scared off the attacker.

The woman was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

Under the Revised Code of Washington State, there are four levels of assault.

A person is guilty of assault in the first degree if he or she, with intent to inflict great bodily harm:

• Assaults another with a firearm or any deadly weapon or by any force or means likely to produce great bodily harm or death; or
• Administers, exposes, or transmits to or causes to be taken by another, poison, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or any other destructive or noxious substance; or
• Assaults another and inflicts great bodily harm.

Assault in the first degree is a Class A felony, punishable by life in prison, or a fine of $50,000, or both.

A person is guilty of assault in the second degree if he or she:

• Intentionally assaults another, recklessly inflicting substantial bodily harm; or
• Intentionally causes substantial bodily harm to an unborn child by injuring the mother; or
• Assaults another with a deadly weapon; or
• With intent to inflict bodily harm, administers to or causes to be taken by another, poison or any other destructive or noxious substance; or
• With intent to commit a felony, assaults another; or
• Knowingly inflicts bodily harm that rises to the level of torture; or
• Assaults another by strangulation or suffocation.

Assault in the second degree is generally a Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, or a $20,000 fine, or both. However, if the assault has a sexual motivation, it becomes a Class A felony.

A person is guilty of assault in the third degree if he or she:

• Commits an assault in an effort to avoid arrest or to impede a court order; or
• Negligently causes bodily harm to someone with a weapon or accompanied by substantial pain that extends for a period sufficient to cause considerable suffering; or
• Assaults an employee of a bus or transit company; a member of a fire or law enforcement department; a medical professional; or a member of a person in a courthouse.

Assault in the third degree is a Class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, or by a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

A person is guilty of assault in the fourth degree if, under circumstances not amounting to assault in the first, second or third degree, or custodial assault, he or she assaults another. Assault in the fourth degree is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, or a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

No matter the crime or the circumstances, every defendant has a right to representation by a qualified attorney. If you have been arrested and face criminal charges, or if you have been falsely convicted, call the Seattle law office of Steve Karimi at (206) 621-8777 or contact him online.