There is an interesting case out of New Mexico where Jazmine Ortega, 20, is facing a charge of two counts of aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon. The weapon was a kitchen fork and it does not appear that she actually stabbed her boyfriend in the attack.
Her boyfriend took Ortega to see a television fight at a bar and then a party for Ortega’s boss in their apartment complex. The two were fighting so the boyfriend left and locked himself in their bedroom back at their apartment. He said that he feared a physical attack and videotaped Ortega busting down the door in a rage. She then grabbed a fork off the floor as she began to hit her boyfriend.
It appears that she hit him with the hand holding the fork but did not stab him. He had “abrasions” after he threw her off him and both hit each other.
Even though the fork may not have been used to stab the boyfriend, she is still facing a third degree felony. My guess is that the videotape and a witness (in addition to the boyfriend) will make a plea likely. If so, she might be able to plead down to simple assault given the fact that the “deadly weapon” was a fork and does not appear to have been used to actually stab the boyfriend.