Felony Charge Lawyers Missouri

Missouri Felony Charges Lawyers

Missouri felony charges should not be taken lightly. Missouri has some of the strictest felony statutes in the United States, and you need an experienced legal defense team to minimize the impact of your felony charge on your life. At Combs Waterkotte, we have over six decades of experience in dealing with Missouri felony charges, and we’re here to help you.

Combs Waterkotte has tried hundreds of felony cases in the state of Missouri. We use proven criminal defense strategies to challenge evidence, scrutinize police procedures, and take on the prosecution to help make sure your felony charge impacts your life as little as possible.

If you’re up against a felony charge in Missouri and you feel like you’re overwhelmed and don’t know what to do, we’re here to help you. Call (314) 900-HELP to get started on building your defense today.

What Constitutes a Felony Charge in Missouri?

Missouri has many felony charges on the books. So many, in fact, that they can prove difficult to navigate. From assault to weapons offenses and everything in the alphabet in between, there are all kinds of offenses that can lead to a felony charge in the Show-Me State.

At Combs Waterkotte, we help defend clients against many felony charges, and we’ve achieved plenty of favorable outcomes in these types of cases. Below are some of the most common types of felony charges in the state of Missouri.

Violent Felonies

Some of the harshest penalties in Missouri come from being convicted of a violent crime. If you’ve been charged with any of the following, you need to speak with an experienced attorney right away.

• Murder: Homicide charges can result in decades or even life in prison. If you’re facing these kinds of felony charges, don’t wait to hire a criminal defense lawyer.
• Manslaughter: Voluntary manslaughter carries lengthy prison sentences and heavy fines. Even involuntary manslaughter can lead to a Class C felony charge and significant prison time.
• Assault: Three different kinds of assault offenses (first, second, and third-degree assault) can result in felony charges. Combs Waterkotte can help to build a case against these kinds of charges.
• Robbery: Committing either first-degree robbery or second-degree robbery can easily come with an additional armed criminal action charge, adding many years to any possible prison sentence.
• Domestic Violence: First, second, and third-degree assault are all felony charges in Missouri. Any of these charges can lead to orders of protection or custody issues.
• Kidnapping: First and second-degree kidnapping are serious violent felonies. If you’re facing either of these felony charges, you need an experienced attorney.

Property and Financial Crimes

While they often don’t carry the same severity as violent crimes, property crimes and financial offenses are still serious felony charges. Here are some of the most common.

• Burglary: Both first and second-degree burglary are felonies in the state of Missouri and come with the possibility of significant prison sentences.
• Arson: Starting a fire in or burning down a building or structure in Missouri can result either in first or second-degree arson charges.
• Theft: Theft charges in Missouri are complex, but many stealing offenses can carry a Class A, B, C, D, or E felony charge.
• Automobile Crimes: Either stealing a vehicle or tampering with a vehicle can result in significant felony charges under Missouri law.
• Identity Theft: Some identity theft offenses in Missouri carry misdemeanor charges, but other more serious offenses can result in a felony.
• Fraud and Forgery: These charges range from altering, destroying, or falsifying documents to the fraudulent use of a credit or debit card.

Drug Crimes and Controlled Substances Offenses

Missouri doesn't necessarily have the strictest drug crime penalties in the nation, but it certainly doesn’t have the most lenient, either. Below are some of the most common controlled substances offenses that can result in felony charges.

• Drug Trafficking: Both first and second degree drug trafficking are serious offenses that can result in a Class A, B, or C felony in Missouri.
• Drug Distribution and Drug Manufacturing: Delivering a controlled substance or even merely possessing a controlled substance can result in felony charges in Missouri.
• Possession with Intent to Distribute: Whether you actually intend to sell drugs or not, even just possessing certain amounts of a controlled substance can result in harsh “intent to distribute” penalties with lengthy prison sentences.
• Drug Possession: While possession of marijuana or some synthetic cannabis products is typically a misdemeanor in Missouri, the possession of other controlled substances (e.g., heroin, LSD, MDMA) can result in a Class D felony.

Sex Crimes

Sex crimes, especially sexual offenses against minors, tend to carry severe consequences in Missouri. Here are some of the most common sex crimes in Missouri that carry felony-level penalties.

• Rape: First and second-degree rape charges can range from a Class D felony all the way to life in prison in Missouri.
• Sexual Abuse: In some cases, second-degree sexual abuse is charged as a midemeanor, but it’s often a Class E felony. First-degree sexual abuse always carries a felony charge in Missouri.
• Child Molestation: First, second, and third-degree child molestation always results in a felony charge in Missouri — either class A, B, or C (depending on the age of the child involved).
• Online Solicitation and Enticement: Enticing a child online to commit a sexual act or misrepresenting your age online in order to engage in sex with a minor in Missouri can result in a prison sentence up to 30 years.
• Possession and Promotion of Child Pornogrphy: First and second-degree promotion of child pornography can result in years or decades in prison in Missouri. Even just possessing child pornography can lead to a 15-year sentence.

Weapons and Firearms Offenses

Missouri has several types of weapons offenses on the books, many of which can lead to lengthy prison sentences and heavy fines.

• Armed Criminal Action: Armed criminal action is an add-on penalty that gets tacked onto any additional felonies one may have committed (like assault or robbery). Armed criminal action penalties must be served consecutively, leading to long prison stretches.
• Felon in Possession: A felon in possession of a firearm can be charged with a Class C felony, and if they have a previous conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm, they may face a Class B felony.
• Unlawful Use of a Weapon: The unlawful use of a weapon statute covers a wide range of firearm offenses and can result in anything from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class A felony.

Felony DWI and Public Safety Offenses

Driving while intoxicated and other offenses that pose a danger to public safety can carry tough penalties, especially for repeat offenders. Here are some of the most common of these kinds of felonies in Missouri.

• DWI/DUI: A DWI or DUI is a bad enough offense, but its penalties become worse for persistent offenders.
• Leaving the Scene: If you’ve committed multiple hit-and-runs in Missouri, you can face a Class E felony. If you leave the scene of an accident that results in a fatality, you’ll be charged with a Class D felony.
• Vehicular Manslaughter: Missouri law doesn’t have a specific vehicular manslaughter law; instead, offenders face voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, or DUI causing death charges based on the circumstances of the accident.

Government and Justice-Related Felonies

These kinds of charges stem from not following proper procedures to flat-out escaping from jail or prison. They tend to carry heavy penalties.

• Escape: Escaping (or attempting to escape) from custody, jail, or prison can result in charges as serious as a Class A felony (depending on the circumstances).
• Failure to Register as a Sex Offender: You could be charged for failing to register as a sex offender whether you intentionally don’t register or simply neglect to register. You may also face this charge if you register improperly.
• Evidence Tampering: Tampering with physical evidence occurs when someone alters, destroys, conceals, or falsifies evidence to affect an official investigation. Tampering is a Class E felony if it obstructs a felony case.
• Bribery: A public servant faces these charges by accepting benefits in exchange for favors made possible by their position. For this, they can be charged with a Class E felony.

Common Felony Charge Defenses in Missouri

Facing a felony charge in Missouri comes with a lot of stress, scrutiny, and uncertainty. At Combs Waterkotte, we’re no strangers to developing effective legal defense strategies for Missouri felony charges. In fact, we’ve helped reduce and dismiss felony charges for hundreds of clients and even achieved not-guilty verdicts at trial.

Our Missouri criminal defense team will work with you to understand the circumstances behind your felony charge and apply our proven defense strategies to help you achieve the best possible outcome available. Here are some of the most common criminal defense strategies we use in Missouri felony cases.

• Duress: This is a common defense in drug trafficking, gang, robbery, and human trafficking cases. If you acted under the threat of immediate harm and had no other viable options, that could prove valuable to your defense.
• Entrapment: This is when law enforcement convinces someone to commit a crime they would not have otherwise committed. It’s a defense common in prostitution stings, online solicitation cases, and drug offenses.
• Miranda Rights: Did an arresting officer not read you your rights? If so, we may be able to get crucial prosecutorial evidence thrown out.
• Fourth Amendment: The Fourth Amendment provides protection from unlawful search and seizure. This defense is often helpful in DWI investigations, drug cases, and against weapon charges.
• Lack of Intent: Many Missouri felony charges require prosecutors to prove the intent of the accused to commit the crime in question. If the intent wasn’t there, the charges may not stick.
• Self-Defense: Missouri has several powerful self-defense statutes like Stand Your Ground and the Castle Doctrine. Using reasonable force to protect yourself from imminent harm could result in a successful defense.
• Alibi: If photographs, security footage, or GPS data definitively prove you weren’t present when the felony occurred, it may prove the difference between prison time and your charges being dropped completely.
• Consent: If the alleged victim agreed to the defendant’s actions, it could remove the criminal aspect of the conduct involved. This is especially useful in defenses against sex crime charges and even in some assault cases.

These and other defense strategies may prove crucial to proving your innocence. To start working on your defense right away, call (314) 900-HELP or contact Combs Waterkotte online.

What to Do When Facing a Felony Charge in Missouri

Dealing with a felony charge can be a life-altering experience — and typically not in a good way. As such, it’s vital to know exactly what to do (and when) if you’re charged with a felony in the state of Missouri.

As defense attorneys with over six decades of experience defending against felony charges, there are certain things we tell our clients to do right away if they’ve been charged with a felony. Here’s what you can do to help yourself and your case:

• Invoke Your Right to Remain Silent: Under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, you have the right not to speak to law enforcement. This is an incredibly powerful protection against self-incrimination that you should exercise at all times when facing a felony charge.
• Hire an Experienced Felony Defense Attorney Immediately: While you’re exercising your right to remain silent, you need someone to do the talking for you. This is where an experienced attorney comes in. No matter the felony charge you’re facing, Combs Waterkotte can help.
• Document Everything: It’s important to preserve the facts of your case as quickly as possible. Take photos, record videos, write things down, note witnesses and their testimony, etc. Any of these key elements may prove to be the linchpin in your defense.
• Preserve Evidence: Dash cam video, text messages, emails, contracts, timestamps — the more evidence you preserve, the easier it can be to fight your felony charge in court.
• Do Not Consent to Searches: Law enforcement cannot conduct searches without a warrant and probable cause. If they do, that evidence can be thrown out, so do not consent to searches of your property or vehicle unless you’ve been presented with a warrant signed by a judge.
• Avoid Discussing Your Case: Anything you say can and will be used against you — that includes friends, family members, and anyone else besides your attorney. Keep quiet about the details of your case.
• Follow All Bond Conditions: Be sure you appear at all of your court dates, check in with pretrial services, follow travel restrictions, and any other bond requirements. Failure to do so may result in stricter bond conditions or even additional charges.

Collateral Consequences of a Felony Charge in Missouri

If you’re convicted of a felony in Missouri, there are plenty of potential consequences beyond fines and prison time. Whether it’s the loss of certain civil rights or opportunities in the private sector, a felony conviction may result in any of the following consequences:

• Loss of Voting Rights: In Missouri, you are not allowed to vote while serving a felony prison or jail sentence.
• Inability to Serve on a Jury: A felony conviction in Missouri essentially disqualifies you from serving on a jury.
• Loss of Gun Rights: In most felony conviction cases, the individual convicted loses their right to own a firearm.
• Inability to Hold Public Office: In Missouri, a felony conviction disqualifies you from being able to hold elected office.
• Professional Licenses: A Missouri felony conviction can affect professional licensing, especially in healthcare, law, real estate, education, financial services, and commercial driving.
• Employment Opportunities: In Missouri, a felony conviction may limit your employment options, especially in industries with statutory restrictions like banking, childcare, education, and law enforcement.
• Parental Rights: A felony conviction in Missouri does not automatically terminate parental rights. However, you may face restricted custody or visitation rights for violent felonies, child abuse, sex offenses, domestic violence, or drug manufacturing in your home. Severe cases can lead to the loss of parental rights.