HOUSTON EVADING ARREST IN VEHICLE ATTORNEY

EVADING IN MOTOR VEHICLE/EVADING 2ND FELONY

Evading arrest on foot without prior convictions under no extenuating circumstances will typically be charged as a Class A misdemeanor. However, evading arrest can easily be charged as a state jail felony or third degree felony, depending on the circumstances.

You can be charged with evading arrest if you willfully run from a police officer that is attempting to arrest or detain you for a crime or questioning.

ELEMENTS OF EVADING ARREST

To be charged with evading arrest, the prosecution must prove every one of the following:

• First, the defendant must have been aware he was being detained or arrested. Arrest means the defendant was being held for suspicious involvement in a crime and is subsequently unable to leave the scene. Detaining a subject is akin to getting pulled over for a traffic violation; the individual in question is not free to go.
• The prosecution must also prove the defendant’s impending arrest was lawful, the defendant knew the officer was a member of the police force, and that he or she was the individual who had committed the crime.

STATE JAIL AND THIRD-DEGREE FELONIES

The defendant will be charged with a state jail felony if he/she has been previously convicted of evading arrest. The same charge applies if the defendant used a vehicle to make their escape. Defendants will be charged with a third degree-felony if they escape in a vehicle and they have a prior conviction for evading arrest. If any third parties suffer bodily injury, death, or property damage, the charges will be increased. If the defendant has a minor in the car, charges will again be compounded.

A state jail felony is punishable with either a probation period that lasts up to five years, placement in a state jail for a period between six months and two years, or a county jail from 24 hours to a year. County jail placement will still go on your record as a felony, but county jails have special provisions that can reduce sentence time for exemplary behavior.

Third-degree felonies can result in a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

DEFENSE AGAINST EVADING ARREST

Defendants can often claim they didn’t know the police officer was interested in them specifically. This is especially true in large, complex crime scenes with multiple parties present.

A red flag that the prosecution has a weak case is when the only charge directed at the defendant is evading arrest. An officer needs a good reason to declare that a citizen is being detained or under arrest. Without an additional charge, the question often raised is: were the police officer’s actions lawful?