Purposefully fleeing from a police officer who is attempting to arrest you lawfully is a crime, and it’s called evading arrest or detention, which is a complicated legal matter. In fact, you could be accused of this crime when you had absolutely no intention of evading anyone – simply because you didn’t realize the police were attempting to stop you.
If you’ve been charged with evading arrest, facing the matter head-on – with an experienced Killeen criminal defense attorney in your corner – is the best path forward.
Evading Arrest
The crime of evading arrest or detention refers to any attempt to flee from a police officer who is in the process of lawfully detaining or arresting you. Just because the police stop to speak with someone does not mean the person is required by law to comply. Once the police choose to arrest or detain the person, however, he or she is required to follow the officer’s instructions.
In order to stop you, the police need to have a reasonable suspicion that you were committing a crime or were about to. However, the police are aware that many people are too intimidated even to consider asking whether they are free to leave, which allows them considerable wiggle room.
If the police are questioning you, it’s a good idea to invoke your right to remain silent, but it is worth asking whether you are free to go. If you are, it’s time to continue on your way.
If the police do have reasonable suspicion to stop you, which generally doesn’t require much, you’re required to stop. Any failure to do so can lead to a charge of evading arrest. In other words, it’s in your best interest to determine whether or not you’re being detained before you make a move to distance yourself from the police.
The Elements of an Evading Arrest Charge
There are four primary elements that the prosecution must prove in order to convict you of evading arrest:
You acted with intent, which means you were aware that the police were attempting to stop you.
You fled.
The person pursuing you was a police officer.
The police officer was attempting to detain or arrest you lawfully.
Intention in this context refers to purposefully choosing to take the actions that you did. You do not have to use physical force for the charge of evading arrest to apply. When physical force is used, the charge is elevated to resisting arrest, which is even more serious.
To convict you of evading arrest, the prosecution must prove you intended to evade the police. Failing to notice that the police are trying to pull you over is not the same as intending to evade arrest. Further, the arrest you are accused of evading must have been lawful, which means it’s very likely to come attached to another crime – the crime that initially inspired your arrest.
It can be very difficult to convict someone of evading arrest when there is no underlying charge. In other words, the prosecution will have a hard time proving you were evading arrest if there is no charge backing up the arrest you’re alleged to have evaded. A Killeen criminal defense attorney can help you build a strong defense and guide your case to it’s best possible outcome.
The Basics
Evading arrest charges fall into three basic categories.
Evading Arrest on Foot
In most situations, evading arrest on foot – or fleeing the police on foot – is a Class A misdemeanor. If convicted, you could face up to a year in jail and fines of up to $4,000.
Evading Arrest on Foot with Priors
If you have a prior conviction of evading arrest on your record, a subsequent charge can be enhanced to a state jail felony. A state jail felony carries up to two years in a state jail– rather than a county jail – and fines of up to $10,000.
Evading Arrest in a Vehicle
Evading arrest in a vehicle starts as a state jail felony, and it’s important to consider this enhanced charge in more careful detail. When a police officer in the State of Texas initiates a traffic stop, you are required by law to pull over. If you do not immediately recognize that the police are attempting to stop you, you might simply keep driving, which isn’t exceptionally uncommon. However, this mistake can lead to a charge of evading arrest in a vehicle.
Any one of the following factors can affect whether or not you immediately pull over, but the police officer who is stopping you may not be interested in your reasoning:
You were concentrating on carefully maneuvering through the heavy traffic all around you.
You didn’t realize that you were the focus of the officer’s intent.
You couldn’t find a safe place to pull over.
The condition of the road or the effects of bad weather prevented you from pulling over immediately.
There are a variety of reasonable explanations for not immediately following an officer’s command. You should know, however, that the police tend not to like it when their authority is questioned and expect drivers to respond immediately. This expectation allows them ample opportunities to file charges of evading arrest.
If you have a prior conviction, the charge of evading arrest can be a third-degree felony, which carries even more serious consequences, including 2 to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000. Further, if you broke another law while evading arrest, you can face criminal charges for both. For example, charges for evading arrest and resisting arrest are often brought together.
The charge of evading arrest is a continuing crime, which means that it can only be charged once in the process that leads to arrest. Continuing to evade arrest – by continuing to drive, for example – supports only one evading arrest charge.
The Various Forms of Resisting Arrest
Resisting arrest, which involves force on the defendant's part, can take physical, verbal, or passive forms. Discuss your case with a Killeen criminal defense attorney to learn how your charges will be classified and how it will guide your defense strategy.
Physical Resistance
Any action that is designed to prevent an officer from performing their duties, including arrest, is a form of physical resistance. Prime examples include pushing, pulling away from, or striking the officer attempting to arrest you.
Verbal Resistance
Verbal resistance refers to making comments or remarks that are intended to prevent the police from performing their duties. For example, getting into an argument with the police regarding your arrest could be considered verbal resistance to arrest.
Passive Resistance
Passive resistance relates to resisting arrest without taking a specific action. For example, refusing to comply with an order issued by the officer attempting to arrest you qualifies as passive resistance.
With passive and verbal resistance, the charge is more likely to be brought as evading arrest, but under the right circumstances, resisting arrest can apply.
Potential Defenses
Potential defenses for evading arrest and resisting arrest tend to fall into several basic categories.
Unlawful Arrest
As mentioned, the police need a warrant or probable cause to arrest you, and if they don't have either one, the arrest is unlawful. If the police didn’t have a valid reason for attempting to detain or arrest you in the first place, this fact could support a strong defense against an evading arrest charge.
The legality of the underlying arrest is not a defense for resisting arrest, which requires force on your part, but the fact that you were unlawfully arrested can guide your defense strategy.
The following procedural issues can also play a role:
A violation of your constitutional rights, such as if you weren’t Mirandized, which could keep evidence out of your case
Issues related to chain of custody for evidence in your case
An improperly obtained warrant
The Wrong Person
If the police mistook you for someone else whom they did have probable cause to arrest, it can go a long way toward bolstering your defense. The police are by no means infallible, and mistaken identity happens.
Lack of Knowledge
If you genuinely did not know the police were pursuing you or didn’t recognize their efforts to detain you, such as if traffic was especially heavy and loud or visibility was especially low, the prosecution may have a hard time proving intent. Proving what motivates another person’s actions (intent) is a challenging element of this charge that can play a key role in your defense.
If you didn’t know that the person attempting to stop you was, in fact, a police officer – such as if he or she wasn’t in uniform or didn’t adequately identify himself or herself, it could also weaken the case against you.
Necessity
If you did what you did in the course of evading arrest as a means of protecting your own or someone else’s safety, the matter of necessity could play a role in your defense. Failing to stop because it was necessary in order to keep yourself safe can form the basis of a solid defense. Learn more about necessity by reading “What Is the Necessity Defense?”
Inadequate Evidence
To convict you of evading arrest, the prosecution must have enough evidence to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which means demonstrating that there’s no reasonable explanation other than you being guilty. This standard requires considerable evidence, and if the prosecution fails to deliver, your defense can rest on their inability to prove the case against you.
Self-Defense
Under limited circumstances, self-defense may apply. If you reasonably believed that you needed to protect yourself from immediate harm due to the officer’s excessive force, your evasion might be considered a valid form of self-defense. In Texas, you have the right to forcibly resist an arrest or search if an officer uses more force than is necessary to get the job done.
FAQ about Evading Arrest
The answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about evading arrest charges may help you better protect your own rights as you move forward through the legal process.
What Is the Difference between Evading Arrest and Resisting Arrest?
Evading arrest refers to avoiding an officer’s lawful attempt to arrest you when you don’t employ any force of your own in the process. For example, running away is a form of evading arrest. If you use force against the officer in your attempt to avoid arrest – such as if you push the officer away – the charge of resisting arrest applies.
What If the Arrest Was Unlawful to Begin With?
To be convicted of evading arrest, the arrest itself must have been lawful to begin with. However, if the charge is resisting arrest, which means that you used force, the underlying arrest isn’t required to be lawful.
Do I Need a Criminal Defense Attorney?
It is always in your best interest to have professional legal representation in your corner if you are facing a criminal charge. A seasoned Killeen criminal defense attorney can make a serious difference in the outcome of your case, which can make a serious difference in your future.
Reach Out to an Experienced Killeen Criminal Defense Attorney for the Legal Help You Need
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a dedicated Killeen criminal defense attorney with a long and impressive track record of successfully defending his clients’ rights in fierce pursuit of favorable resolutions.
Our imposing legal team is standing by to help, so please don’t put off reaching out and contacting us online or calling us at (254) 781-4222 to schedule a FREE consultation and learn more about what we can do for you today.