What is the difference between assault and aggravated assault in Arizona?

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The difference in one sentence: assault is the base offense — a misdemeanor — while aggravated assault is that same assault committed under specified aggravating circumstances, making it a felony .

Assault (A.R.S. § 13-1203). A person commits assault by: (1) intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing any physical injury to another person; (2) intentionally placing another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury; or (3) knowingly touching another person with the intent to injure, insult or provoke that person . Assault committed intentionally or knowingly under paragraph 1 is a class 1 misdemeanor; committed recklessly under paragraph 1 it is a class 2 misdemeanor; and assault under paragraph 2 or 3 is a class 3 misdemeanor .

Aggravated assault (A.R.S. § 13-1204). Until January 1, 2033, a person commits aggravated assault if the person commits assault under § 13-1203 under any of the following circumstances :

1. The person causes serious physical injury to another .
2. The person uses a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument .
3. The person commits the assault by any means of force that causes temporary but substantial disfigurement, temporary but substantial loss or impairment of any body organ or part, or a fracture of any body part .
4. The person commits the assault while the victim is bound or otherwise physically restrained or while the victim's capacity to resist is substantially impaired .
5. The person commits the assault after entering the private home of another with the intent to commit the assault .
6. The person is eighteen years of age or older and commits the assault on a minor under fifteen years of age .
7. The person commits assault under § 13-1203(A)(1) or (3) while in violation of an order of protection issued against the person pursuant to § 13-3602 or § 13-3624 .
8. The person commits the assault knowing or having reason to know that the victim is any of the following :
   - (a) a first responder or a person summoned and directed by the first responder ;
   - (b) a constable or a person summoned and directed by the constable while engaged in the execution of any official duties, or if the assault results from the execution of the constable's official duties ;
   - (c) a teacher or other person employed by any school, where the teacher or other employee is on the grounds of a school or grounds adjacent to the school or is in any part of a building or vehicle used for school purposes, any teacher or school nurse visiting a private home in the course of professional duties, or any teacher engaged in any authorized and organized classroom activity held on other than school grounds ;
   - (d) a health care worker while engaged in the health care worker's work duties, or a health care practitioner certified or licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 13, 14, 15, 17 or 25, or a person summoned and directed by the licensed health care practitioner while engaged in professional duties — except this does not apply if the person who commits the assault lacks the ability to form the culpable mental state because of a mental disability, developmental disability or cognitive disability, or because the person is seriously mentally ill as defined in § 36-550 ;
   - (e) a prosecutor while engaged in the execution of any official duties, or if the assault results from the execution of the prosecutor's official duties ;
   - (f) a code enforcement officer as defined in § 39-123 while engaged in the execution of any official duties, or if the assault results from the execution of those duties ;
   - (g) a state or municipal park ranger while engaged in the execution of any official duties, or if the assault results from the execution of those duties ;
   - (h) a public defender while engaged in the execution of any official duties, or if the assault results from the execution of those duties ;
   - (i) a judicial officer while engaged in the execution of any official duties, or if the assault results from the execution of those duties ;
   - (j) an employee of a law enforcement agency, other than a peace officer, while engaged in the execution of any official duties ;
   - (k) a public transit employee who performs duties on and off a vehicle while engaged in transferring members of the community to and from destinations in a bus, van or shuttle ;
   - (l) an airport employee who interacts with the public while engaged in the airport employee's work duties ;
   - (m) a railway worker while engaged in operating a train, light rail or passenger rail or performing track maintenance ;
   - (n) an employee, engaged in work duties, of a public utility as prescribed in § 44-1376, a licensed telecommunications provider, a licensed video service provider, or a utility as defined in § 40-491 .
9. The person knowingly takes or attempts to exercise control over (a) a first responder's or other officer's firearm, (b) any weapon other than a firearm being used or attempted to be used by a first responder or other officer, or (c) any implement being used or attempted to be used by a first responder or other officer — in each case knowing or having reason to know the victim is a first responder or other officer employed by one of the listed custodial/law enforcement agencies; "implement" means an object designed for or capable of restraining or injuring an individual and does not include handcuffs .
10. The person is imprisoned or otherwise subject to the custody of the state department of corrections, the department of juvenile corrections, a law enforcement agency, a county or city jail or an adult or juvenile detention facility, or a contracting entity, and commits an assault knowing or having reason to know the victim is acting in an official capacity as an employee of any of those entities .
11. The person uses a simulated deadly weapon .
12. The person is aided by two or more accomplices who aid in committing the assault, the assault is directed at a single person, and the assault results in physical injury .

A separate form of aggravated assault applies when the person commits assault and both (1) intentionally or knowingly impedes the normal breathing or circulation of blood of another person by applying pressure to the throat or neck or by obstructing the nose and mouth, and (2) any of the domestic-violence circumstances in § 13-3601(A)(1)–(6) exists .

Classification. Aggravated assault is a felony, and the class normally depends on which paragraph of subsection A applies: class 3 for paragraphs 1, 2, 9(a) and 11 (class 2 if the victim is under fifteen); class 4 for paragraph 3, paragraph 12, and the strangulation form; class 5 for paragraph 9(b) and paragraph 10; and class 6 for paragraphs 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9(c) . Those classes are overridden, higher, when the victim is a first responder, a law-enforcement-agency employee, or a prosecutor: paragraph 1 or 2 against any of the three is a class 2 felony and paragraph 3 is a class 3 felony; under paragraph 8, assaulting a first responder is a class 4 felony (class 3 if the assault causes physical injury), assaulting a law-enforcement-agency employee is a class 5 felony (class 4 if physical injury), and assaulting a prosecutor is a class 5 felony if the assault causes physical injury . By contrast, every form of simple assault is a misdemeanor .