Assault is a crime where the person accused of the crime puts the victim in reasonable fear of bodily injury; it is not required that the person charged with this offense actually have physical contact with the victim.
A common charge involving assault is Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Penal Code Section 245); if a person points a gun (or other dangerous weapon) at another person then he can be charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Even if the gun was not loaded and even if the person holding the gun had no intention of using the gun he can still be charged if the victim was in reasonable fear as a result of the person pointing the gun at him.
Assaults can be charged as misdemeanors or felonies; generally speaking use of a dangerous weapon will cause the matter to be a felony, although there are exceptions to this.
Misdemeanor assaults carry a maximum of 1 year in jail although most people accused of this crime at the misdemeanor level may do little or no jail time with a skillful attorney.
Assault with a deadly weapon can cause a person to be imprisoned for up to 4 years or more depending on the weapon. Assault with a deadly weapon can also be a “strike” offense. It should be noted that a person can be charged with assault with a deadly weapon even if the weapon is their automobile. In addition, the weapon can also be their feet. So, someone who is kicking a victim can be charged with Assault with Deadly Weapon (Penal Code Section 245(a)(1). This is commonly charged when a victim is on the ground and being kicked in the head.