A 34-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday in the 13800 block of Ella Boulevard in Houston's Greater Greenspoint area after deputies say she used a pair of brass knuckles in an attempt to assault another person. Terlyn Carter was booked into the Harris County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony under Texas law.
Deputies with Harris County Precinct 4, under Constable Mark Herman, responded to the disturbance at the address and identified Carter as the suspect, according to Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4. Investigators say Carter attempted to assault the complainant while she had the brass knuckles in hand, leading to her arrest. "Our deputies acted quickly to prevent the situation from escalating and ensure the safety of those involved," Herman said, adding that "violent behavior and the use of dangerous weapons will not be tolerated in the community."
A Weapon That's Legal to Carry, Not to Use in a Fight
Carrying brass knuckles has actually been legal in Texas since 2019, when House Bill 446 removed them from the state's list of prohibited weapons, according to the Texas Tribune. Before that law passed, simply possessing a pair was a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine, and the outlet reports the charge led to nearly 100 convictions statewide in 2017 alone.
That legal status disappears the moment brass knuckles are used or brandished during an assault. Doing so instantly elevates a simple assault into Aggravated Assault, a second-degree felony under Texas Penal Code Section 22.02, according to the Granger & Mueller law firm. A conviction on that charge carries a potential sentence of two to 20 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine of up to $10,000, according to the City of Houston.
Deadly Weapon Classification Could Mean Tougher Parole Rules
Brass knuckles are classified as an inherently deadly weapon under Texas Penal Code Section 1.07(a)(17), meaning prosecutors don't have to prove they were used in a deadly manner to satisfy the deadly weapon element of the charge, per legal analysis from The Texas Trial Attorney. If Carter is convicted and the court enters an affirmative deadly weapon finding, the case would be treated as a 3G violent offense, meaning she would have to serve at least half of any prison sentence before becoming parole eligible, according to the Law Office of Nathaniel Pitoniak.
Case Assigned to Harris County's 183rd District Court
Carter's case has been assigned to the 183rd District Court, which handles Harris County's felony-level prosecutions and is presided over by Judge Lance Long, according to Ballotpedia. As of the latest booking record, her bond had not yet been set, and it remains unclear whether the complainant suffered any physical injury or whether prosecutors will formally seek the deadly weapon finding that would trigger the tougher parole restrictions. Carter is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, per booking records released by the constable's office.
Apartment Complex Sits Along a Corridor With a History of Violence
The address falls within the Bayou Oaks Apartments, a 210-unit complex built in 1984 in the Greater Greenspoint area, according to real estate listing service LoopNet. Precinct 4, the agency Herman leads, is the largest constable's office in the country, with more than 670 sworn deputies covering a district of over 1.1 million residents across North Harris County.
Ella Boulevard has seen a string of violent disturbance calls and felony arrests investigated by Precinct 4 deputies in recent months, including tow-truck shootings and other weapon-related assaults. Hoodline reported on an April assault arrest just blocks away, part of a broader pattern of felony cases along the same North Harris County corridor.
