DEADLY CONDUCT

Deadly conduct under Texas Penal Code § 22.05(a) is committed when a person recklessly engages in conduct that places another person in imminent danger of serious bodily injury. Recklessness means the actor was aware of, but consciously disregarded, a substantial and unjustifiable risk. The State does not have to prove that anyone was actually injured or that the actor intended harm; the offense turns on creating imminent danger. The statute supplies a built-in presumption: recklessness and danger are presumed if the actor knowingly pointed a firearm at or in the direction of another, whether or not the actor believed the firearm was loaded. 'Serious bodily injury' means injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of a bodily member or organ. This subsection is the Class A misdemeanor form, distinct from the felony firearm-discharge variants in § 22.05(b).

Ranges are the statutory maximums for the level; enhancements, prior convictions and plea agreements change what is actually imposed.

Across 7,523 Texas bail settings for this charge (52 counties, Apr 2022 – Jun 2025), the median cash or surety bond was $5,000 (middle half: $2,000 – $10,000). 4% of defendants were released on a personal bond, and bail was denied in 192 cases. When this was the only charge at booking (2,108 records), the median was $4,000 and 7% got a personal bond.

Showing the 5 counties with the most records; use the selector for any county with at least 30. Per-charge bond settings on original magistrations, from Texas OCA bail reporting under SB 6. Bail is set case by case — these are statistics, not a prediction.

Of 3,404 DEADLY CONDUCT charges filed 2019–2023 across 15 counties (Bastrop, Bell, Brazoria, Collin, Comal, Dallas, Denton, FortBend, Galveston, Harris, Hays, Montgomery, Rockwall, Travis, Williamson), 93% have reached a disposition:

How long it takes: the median DEADLY CONDUCT charge took 311 days from filing to disposition (middle half: 168 – 512 days, 3,404 charges).

Outcome is the final disposition recorded on the charge. “Other” (31) covers waived counts, bond forfeitures, transfers and unrecorded outcomes. Bexar County records disposition dates but not outcomes, so it counts toward time-to-disposition only. Tarrant County criminal records are not in this dataset.

• DEADLY CONDUCT DISCHARGE FIREARM § 22.05(b)
• DEADLY CONDUCT DISCH FIREARM INDIV(S) § 22.05(b)(1)