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Evading Arrest

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LUKEH

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? TEXAS

A few days ago i was charged with Evading Arrest in a motor vehicle. Come to find out, its a felony. So i spent the night in jail and have and have to go to court for it in a month or so. If convicted (we are trying to fight it), what could we expect for a sentence? im 19 and have no past dealings with the law (other then speeding tickets)
Thanks for any help.
 


The Occultist

Senior Member
I'm feeling lazy today, but I'll tell you how I would research the information you need: Google "texas [statute number here]" (without the quotes and brackets, obviously), and see what comes up.

Out of curiosity, on what grounds do you intend to fight an evading arrest charge? Those tend to be pretty black and white, especially in Texas.
 

LUKEH

Junior Member
Well he was never really behind me. or anywhere near me. After i was pulled over by another officer at an intersection, it took the officer who radar'ed me originally several minutes just to show up. he said that he clocked me doing 85 in a 60. i asked him where exactly he clocked me from, he said from the on-ramp to the highway (the on-ramp is much lower then the highway) and after looking at where he clocked me from, he couldnt have seen me untill i was past the onramp and past him. and catching up to someone doing 85+ from a dead stop after theyve passed you is going to be somewhat of a challenge. there was traffic behind me and i can see where hed have trouble getting near me.

well thats my arguement. thoughts? any idea how this will go?

also where would i find the statute number?

once again, thanks for ALL your thoughts.
 
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FlyingRon

Senior Member
Didn't they give you any paperwork when you bailed out of jail.

You don't want to be convicted of this. You need a lawyer.

Evasion with a vehicle is most likely what you were charged with (38.04).

It should only be a felony if you have prior evading convictions or someone gets injured. But class A misdemenors shouldn't be screwed with either.
 

LUKEH

Junior Member
Well its a felony since i was in a vehicle..

any ideas what ide be looking at if convicted?
 

CavemanLawyer

Senior Member
FlyingRon, evading in a vehicle is always a felony, a state jail felony. If you have a previous felony evading or cause serious bodily injury than that enhances it to a third degree felony. Also misdemeanor evading is a class B, not a class A.

The range of punishment on a state jail felony is 180 days to 2 yrs in State Jail or a $10,000 fine or both. If this is your first offense than your offer will almost surely be a few years probation or so, and possibly deferred adjudication. If the facts are weak as you seem to suggest, you might be able to get this reduced down to a Misdemeanor evading.

In my county a felony evading with no previous history would get an offer of 3 years deferred. What county are you in, I might know their standard offer?
 
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FlyingRon

Senior Member
Yes crap, my googling found an old version of the rule that indeed seems to have been one notch lower all around. Here's the current one:

Sec. 38.04. Evading Arrest or Detention.
(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally flees from a person he knows is a peace officer attempting lawfully to arrest or detain him.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, except that the offense is:
(1) a state jail felony if the actor uses a vehicle while the actor is in flight and the actor has not been previously convicted under this section;
(2) a felony of the third degree if:
(A) the actor uses a vehicle while the actor is in flight and the actor has been previously convicted under this section; or
(B) another suffers serious bodily injury as a direct result of an attempt by the officer from whom the actor is fleeing to apprehend the actor while the actor is in flight; or
(3) a felony of the second degree if another suffers death as a direct result of an attempt by the officer from whom the actor is fleeing to apprehend the actor while the actor is in flight.
(c) In this section, "vehicle" has the meaning assigned by Section 541.201, Transportation Code.
(d) A person who is subject to prosecution under both this section and another law may be prosecuted under either or both this section and the other law.
 

CavemanLawyer

Senior Member
Well I don't know how they do things specifically in Tarrant county, but you face the range of punishment I listed above, though through a special provision under 12.44 you could actually serve as little as 3 months in county jail. Any jail sentence imposed can also be probated for up to 10 years.

Any felony is a serious thing, but state jail felonies fall into a special category of crime where the idea is to rehabilitate the offender before they repeat, and for this reason it is very likely that you get deferred probation if you have no history. For now, just wait and see what happens. In Texas, your case must be presented to a Grand Jury before charges can be filed, so it is entirely possible that the Grand Jury will No Bill it, meaning that it either will be charged as a misdemeanor evading or not be charged at all.

You definitely need an attorney though.
 

cepe10

Member
Out of curiosity, on what grounds do you intend to fight an evading arrest charge? Those tend to be pretty black and white, especially in Texas.
Please provide your source and statistics for that statement, unless of course you are just making it up as you go....:D
 

The Occultist

Senior Member
Please provide your source and statistics for that statement, unless of course you are just making it up as you go....:D
Why? Do you plan on adding helpful information to this thread based on the information I post? No? Didn't think so. It's one thing to accuse others of posting without the intent to be helpful, but now here you are doing the same thing. The OP should sit down with an attorney and see what they say about it, n'est-ce pas? Go away.
 

Muff9588

Junior Member
Tarrant County

I just got the same charge in Tarrant county the officer followed me for .7 miles then I saw him and a pulled over immediately.

I was wondering how you made out? I haven't went to court. I just got out of jail. $2,000 later! I was treated really bad. The officer told me to get down as soon as I got off my motorcycle. I was on my stomach with my hands out in front of me. He then kicked me in the ribs. I had NY plates so I don't think that helped. If you have any useful information that would be great. Thank you.
 

Isis1

Senior Member
I just got the same charge in Tarrant county the officer followed me for .7 miles then I saw him and a pulled over immediately.

I was wondering how you made out? I haven't went to court. I just got out of jail. $2,000 later! I was treated really bad. The officer told me to get down as soon as I got off my motorcycle. I was on my stomach with my hands out in front of me. He then kicked me in the ribs. I had NY plates so I don't think that helped. If you have any useful information that would be great. Thank you.
please don't revive dead threads. feel free to start your own for questions you may have.

thank you. :)
 

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