New YorkViolent Crimes
Being charged with a violent crime in New York is an extremely serious matter that can result in long prison sentences, substantial fines, and permanent criminal records. If you are facing allegations involving assault, robbery, homicide, or other violent felonies, it is critical to have an experienced defense attorney protecting your rights and fighting for your freedom.
New York prosecutors aggressively pursue violent crime charges, and many offenses are classified as violent felonies with mandatory prison sentences. An experienced criminal defense lawyer can examine the evidence, challenge the prosecution’s claims, and build a strong defense strategy to protect your future.
Assault Charges in New York
Assault occurs when a person intentionally or recklessly causes physical injury to another individual. Depending on the severity of the injury and whether a weapon was involved, assault can range from a misdemeanor to a serious violent felony.
Robbery Charges
Robbery involves forcibly stealing property from another person. The severity of the charge depends on whether force, threats, or weapons were used during the incident.
Manslaughter Charges
Manslaughter involves causing the death of another person without premeditation. These cases often involve questions regarding intent, recklessness, provocation, or accidental circumstances.
Murder and Homicide Charges
Homicide offenses are among the most serious crimes prosecuted in New York. Murder charges carry severe penalties, including lengthy prison sentences and lifetime consequences.
Arson Charges
Arson involves intentionally or recklessly causing damage to property by starting a fire or causing an explosion. The level of the charge depends on the damage caused and whether people were placed in danger.
Kidnapping Charges
Kidnapping involves unlawfully abducting, restraining, or confining another person. These cases often involve complex legal questions related to consent, coercion, or mistaken identity.
Criminally Negligent Homicide
This charge occurs when a person fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that results in another person's death. Prosecutors must show that the defendant’s conduct rose to the level of criminal negligence.
Felony Murder Rule
Felony murder applies when a death occurs during the commission or attempted commission of another felony offense. Prosecutors do not need to prove intent to kill, only involvement in the underlying felony.
Severe Penalties for Violent Crimes
Violent felony convictions can result in lengthy prison sentences, supervised release, permanent felony records, and long-term social, financial, and professional consequences.
Our legal team carefully investigates every case by reviewing police reports, examining forensic evidence, analyzing surveillance footage, and challenging witness statements. We also evaluate constitutional violations, unlawful searches, and improper interrogations. When appropriate, we negotiate with prosecutors to reduce charges or prepare aggressively for trial to protect our clients’ rights and freedom.
Aggravated Identity Theft charges carry a Mandatory Minimum sentence that cannot be served concurrently.
Don’t wait. Speak with an experienced criminal defense lawyer today.
Violent crime charges in New York carry severe consequences, including lengthy mandatory prison sentences, permanent felony records, and lifelong collateral consequences. Prosecutors aggressively pursue maximum penalties in these cases, making experienced legal representation essential to protecting your rights and future.
At the Law Offices of Matthew Cohan, we provide strategic defense representation for clients facing all types of violent felony charges throughout New York City and surrounding counties. Our approach emphasizes thorough investigation, aggressive advocacy, and comprehensive trial preparation.
As your New York criminal defense lawyer with experience as a former prosecutor, we bring extensive experience handling serious violent felony cases. Having prosecuted violent crimes, we understand how District Attorneys build these cases, what evidence they prioritize, and which defense strategies succeed at trial. We provide:
Proven record of charge reductions, dismissals, and trial victories
24/7 availability for emergencies, arrests, and arraignments
Thorough challenges to police procedures, witness reliability, and prosecutorial assumptions
Confidential and judgment-free representation from investigation through resolution
Violent Crimes We Defend in New York
Assault
Assault involves intentionally or recklessly causing physical injury to another person.
Assault in the Third Degree (Penal Law § 120.00):
- Classification: Class A misdemeanor
- Penalties: Up to 1 year in jail, probation, fines
Assault in the Second Degree (Penal Law § 120.05):
- Classification: Class D violent felony
- Penalties: Up to 7 years in prison (indeterminate sentence of 2 to 7 years)
- Common situations: Assault with a weapon, causing significant injury, assault on protected persons
Assault in the First Degree (Penal Law § 120.10):
- Classification: Class B violent felony
- Penalties: Up to 25 years in prison
- Mandatory minimum: 5 years for first-time offenders
- Involves serious physical injury with a deadly weapon or with depraved indifference to human life
We evaluate the level of injury, whether a weapon was used, whether self-defense applies, and whether the incident resulted from accident or misinterpretation.
Robbery
Robbery involves forcibly stealing property from another person through use or threat of force.
Robbery in the Third Degree (Penal Law § 160.05):
- Classification: Class D felony
- Penalties: Up to 7 years in prison
- No mandatory minimum for first-time offenders
Robbery in the Second Degree (Penal Law § 160.10):
- Classification: Class C violent felony
- Penalties: 3 1/2 to 15 years in prison
- Mandatory minimum: 3 1/2 years
- Involves accomplice, causing injury, displaying firearm, or motor vehicle theft
Robbery in the First Degree (Penal Law § 160.15):
- Classification: Class B violent felony
- Penalties: 5 to 25 years in prison
- Mandatory minimum: 5 years
- Involves deadly weapon, serious physical injury, or dangerous instrument
We review witness statements, surveillance evidence, identification procedures, and whether actual force or threat of force was established.
Manslaughter
Manslaughter involves causing the death of another person without premeditation or intent to kill.
Manslaughter in the Second Degree (Penal Law § 125.15):
- Classification: Class C felony
- Penalties: Up to 15 years in prison (indeterminate sentence up to 5 to 15 years)
- Involves recklessly causing death or intentionally causing death under circumstances of extreme emotional disturbance
Manslaughter in the First Degree (Penal Law § 125.20):
- Classification: Class B felony
- Penalties: Up to 25 years in prison
- Involves intentionally causing death with intent to cause serious physical injury, or killing during commission of certain felonies
These cases involve complex questions of intent, recklessness, provocation, extreme emotional disturbance, and forensic evidence.
Murder and Homicide
New York prosecutes homicide charges with maximum severity.
Murder in the Second Degree (Penal Law § 125.25):
- Classification: Class A-I felony
- Penalties: 15 years to life, 25 years to life, or life without parole depending on circumstances
- Includes intentional murder, depraved indifference murder, and felony murder
Murder in the First Degree (Penal Law § 125.27):
- Classification: Class A-I felony
- Penalties: Life without parole or death (though death penalty not currently applied in New York)
- Involves aggravating factors such as killing a law enforcement officer, witness, multiple victims, or murder for hire
We challenge forensic results, eyewitness reliability, investigative procedures, and whether the prosecution can prove intent and elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
Criminally Negligent Homicide
Criminally Negligent Homicide occurs when someone fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that results in another person's death.
Penal Law § 125.10:
- Classification: Class E felony
- Penalties: Up to 4 years in prison
We examine causation, foreseeability, accident reconstruction, and whether the alleged negligence rises to the criminal standard required by law.
Felony Murder
Felony Murder applies when a death occurs during the commission or attempted commission of certain felonies, even without intent to kill.
Penal Law § 125.25(3):
- Classification: Class A-I felony (Murder in the Second Degree)
- Penalties: 15 years to life minimum
The prosecution does not need to prove intent to kill. We challenge involvement, participation, foreseeability, and whether the underlying felony was actually committed.
Arson
Arson involves intentionally or recklessly damaging property by starting a fire or causing an explosion.
Arson in the Fifth Degree (Penal Law § 150.01):
- Classification: Class A misdemeanor
- Penalties: Up to 1 year in jail
Arson in the Fourth Degree (Penal Law § 150.05):
- Classification: Class E felony
- Penalties: Up to 4 years in prison
Arson in the Third Degree (Penal Law § 150.10):
- Classification: Class C felony
- Penalties: Up to 15 years in prison
Arson in the Second Degree (Penal Law § 150.15):
- Classification: Class B felony
- Penalties: Up to 25 years in prison
Arson in the First Degree (Penal Law § 150.20):
- Classification: Class A-I felony
- Penalties: 15 years to life
Defense strategies include challenging fire origin analysis, expert testimony, accelerant detection, and causation.
Kidnapping
Kidnapping charges involve abducting, restraining, or confining another person.
Kidnapping in the Second Degree (Penal Law § 135.20):
- Classification: Class B felony
- Penalties: Up to 25 years in prison
Kidnapping in the First Degree (Penal Law § 135.25):
- Classification: Class A-I felony
- Penalties: 15 years to life
These cases frequently involve issues of consent, coercion, misidentification, false accusations, and relationship dynamics.
Penalties for Violent Crimes in New York
Violent felony convictions result in severe consequences:
- Long mandatory minimum prison sentences
- Post-release supervision periods (typically 2 1/2 to 5 years)
- Permanent felony records
- Immigration consequences including deportation for non-citizens
- Employment barriers and professional licensing restrictions
- Loss of voting rights while incarcerated
- Loss of firearm rights
- Difficulty obtaining housing, loans, and security clearances
- Lifelong social and financial impact
Strong legal representation is essential to avoid or minimize these penalties.
Case Investigation and Evidence Review:
We conduct thorough independent investigation, examine all discovery materials, and identify exculpatory evidence the prosecution may have overlooked or minimized.
Analysis of Physical Evidence:
We scrutinize surveillance footage, forensic testing results, medical records, ballistics reports, DNA evidence, and police reports for inconsistencies, contamination, or alternative explanations.
Constitutional Challenges:
We identify and challenge unlawful searches, defective warrants, improper interrogations, Miranda violations, and illegal seizures that may result in evidence suppression.
Witness Cross-Examination:
We expose bias, inconsistencies, and identification errors through thorough cross-examination preparation and execution.
Expert Witnesses:
We retain forensic experts, medical professionals, accident reconstructionists, and other specialists to challenge the prosecution's evidence and present alternative explanations.
Negotiation:
When appropriate, we negotiate for charge reductions, alternative resolutions, or favorable plea agreements that minimize exposure.
Former Prosecutor Advantage
As your New York criminal defense lawyer with experience as a former prosecutor, we understand how prosecutors evaluate violent crime cases, what evidence they need to secure convictions, and where their cases are most vulnerable. This prosecutorial background provides significant advantages in developing effective defense strategies, negotiating favorable resolutions, and cross-examining law enforcement witnesses at trial.
Contact Us Today
If you or a loved one is under investigation or has been arrested for a violent crime in New York, immediate legal representation is essential. Early intervention can significantly affect the outcome of your case.
Contact the Law Offices of Matthew Cohan today for a free, confidential consultation. We are available 24/7 to protect your rights and your future. Call (516) 375-1107 or submit our online contact form.
Aggravated Identity Theft charges carry a Mandatory Minimum sentence that cannot be served concurrently.
Don’t wait. Speak with an experienced criminal defense lawyer today.
Contact Us
Kew Gardens, New York 11415
Smithtown, New York 11787