Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

A 245(a)(1) is an assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury. It's an offense that can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony.

He is looking at felony assault charges. Depending on how it is charged, he could be looking at anything from a misdemeanor up to a felony that is a strike and could land him in state prison.

You need a good criminal defense attorney. I'd strongly suggest you find someone who focuses on criminal law and who routinely practices in the court where this case will be heard.

"Any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm or by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment." (Pen. Code, sect. 245, subd. (a)(1).)