§ 5-26-303 - Domestic battering in the first degree. - Arkansas Statutes

5-26-303. Domestic battering in the first degree.

(a) A person commits domestic battering in the first degree if:

(1) With the purpose of causing serious physical injury to a family or household member, the person causes serious physical injury to a family or household member by means of a deadly weapon;

(2) With the purpose of seriously and permanently disfiguring a family or household member or of destroying, amputating, or permanently disabling a member or organ of a family or household member's body, the person causes such an injury to a family or household member;

(3) The person causes serious physical injury to a family or household member under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life;

(4) The person knowingly causes serious physical injury to a family or household member he or she knows to be sixty (60) years of age or older or twelve (12) years of age or younger; or

(5) The person:

(A) Commits any act of domestic battering as defined in subdivisions (a)(1)-(4) of this section, 5-26-304, or 5-26-305; and

(B) For conduct that occurred within the ten (10) years preceding the commission of the current offense, the person has on two (2) previous occasions been convicted of any act of battery against a family or household member as defined by the laws of this state or by the equivalent laws of any other state or foreign jurisdiction.

(b) (1) Domestic battering in the first degree is a Class B felony.

(2) However, domestic battering in the first degree is a Class A felony upon a conviction pursuant to subsection (a) of this section if:

(A) Committed against a woman the person knew or should have known was pregnant;

(B) For conduct that occurred within the five (5) years preceding the commission of the current offense, the person has been convicted of a prior offense of:

(i) Domestic battering in the first degree;

(ii) Domestic battering in the second degree, 5-26-304;

(iii) Domestic battering in the third degree, 5-26-305; or

(iv) An equivalent penal law of this state or of another state or foreign jurisdiction.