Fleeing to avoid prosecution is never a good idea in Oklahoma, where it’s known as “felony flight.”
Also called “eluding an officer,” this crime often occurs when a police officer attempts to pull a driver over. Depending on what you do in eluding a police officer, when caught, you could be charged with either a misdemeanor or a felony. The differences here are important. Felony flight will alter the course of your life.
Eluding an Officer: What the Law Says
When you see and hear flashing lights and sirens behind you, it can be scary to pull over. Encounters with police officers — even minor traffic stops — can be stressful, to say the least.
If you are signaled by a police officer in any way — audibly or through other signal — to pull over, you must do so. Any willful attempt to elude the officer by speeding up, turning off your vehicle lights or the like will subject you to a misdemeanor charge.
A first-time conviction is punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine between $100 and $2,000, or both.
A subsequent conviction is punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine between $500 and $5,000, or both. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 540A
Physical Danger/Harm Can Turn This into Felony Flight
What happens if you speed up from 20 mph to 60 mph in a suburban neighborhood? What happens if in doing so, you cause another person to become injured?
What happens if you almost hit a child as you speed off? What if you hit a child and that child is hospitalized, or worse, dies?
Endangering another or causing an accident while trying to elude a police officer makes this crime felony flight. This is punishable by a prison term of one to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
If in attempting to flee, you cause an accident that causes great bodily injury — creating a substantial risk of death, permanent disfigurement, protracted loss. or impairment — to another person, you could be convicted of a felony crime. This is punishable by one to five years in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
The simple act of eluding a police officer can result in a criminal sentence that can alter the course of your life. The facts in these cases are so important, and can mean the different between freedom and a long jail term.
If you are facing charges for felony flight in Oklahoma City, it is important that you contact an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can help you understand what options are available to you and can zealously represent you.
Initial Consultation: Oklahoma City Criminal Defense Attorney
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