FLEE TO ELUDE ARREST LAWYER GREENSBORO, NC

Fleeing to Elude Arrest charges are interesting because there’s a felony and a misdemeanor level charge for the same crime, depending on several factors connected to the Flee to Arrest. Garrett, Walker, Aycoth & Olson, Attorneys at Law is focused on helping our clients with Flee to Elude Arrest charges and creating pathways to protect their rights as we help them with their case.

flee to elude

WHAT IS MISDEMEANOR SPEEDING TO ELUDE NC?

Misdemeanor Flee to Elude NC charges are different from Felony Speeding to Elude charges because of the factors involved in the case. The main focus here is someone operates a vehicle and flees a law enforcement officer who is lawfully performing their duties.

WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF MISDEMEANOR FLEE TO ELUDE NC?

A Person is Guilty of Misdemeanor Flee to Elude Arrest in North Carolina if the State can prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

  1. Operates
  2. A Motor Vehicle
  3. On a Street, Highway or Public Vehicular Area
  4. While Fleeing or Attempting to Elude
  5. a Law Enforcement Officer
  6. Who is Lawfully Performing His or Her Duties.
    1. Misdemeanor Flee to Elude Arrest is a Class 1 Misdemeanor

What is Felony Flee to Elude NC?

Felony Flee to Elude is separated from a Misdemeanor Speeding to Elude charge due to a list of aggravating factors. For Felony Flee to Elude NC the State of North Carolina wold need to prove the same elements for Misdemeanor Flee to Elude plus they would need to prove Two Aggravating Factors from the list below:

POSSIBLE AGGRAVATING FACTORS – STATE OF NC NEEDS TO PROVE AT LEAST TWO FOR A FELONY:

  1. Speeding in Excess of 15 Miles Per Hour Over the Speed Limit
  2. Gross Impairment While Driving
    1. On an Impairing Substance
    2. A Blood Alcohol Concentration of .14 or more within a relevant time after driving.
  3. Reckless Driving
  4. Negligent Driving leading to an Accident causing:
    1. Property Damage in Excess of $1,000, or
    2. Personal Injury
  5. Driving While the Person’s License is Revoked
  6. Driving in excess of posted speeding in a School Zone or Work Zone while those Zone Speed Limits are in Effect
  7. Passing a Stopped School Bus
  8. Driving with a Child under 12 Years of Age in the Vehicle.

What is the Punishment for Flee to Arrest in North Carolina?

With there being two different levels of Flee to Elude in North Carolina we must look at the Misdemeanor level charge and the Felony Level Charge Separately.

Misdemeanor Fleeing to Elude Arrest NC is a Class 1 Misdemeanor. If you’re a first offender on the misdemeanor charge typically you will not face jail time, however, if you have one prior criminal conviction on your record you can get up to 45 days in Jail. If you have at least 5 prior criminal convictions you can get up to 120 days for Misdemeanor Flee to Elude Arrest. Our Misdemeanor Criminal Lawyers are only a phone call away and if you’d like to speak with us you can either call or contact us.

Felony Flee to Elude Arrest is a Class H Felony and for even a first offender you can get up to a minimum of 8 months in prison. Felony Sentencing goes from a Level 1 up to a Level 6 for Felony Sentencing Purposes. Our Felony Lawyers understand the nuances of Felony Sentencing and how best to protect you and your rights when dealing with Flee to Elude Charge. We’ve included the Felony Sentencing Chart below, just so you can get an idea of how sentencing works for Felony Charges.

Each box has a C, I or A inside of it. Sometimes a box will have all three and this describes the level of punishment one is facing. C stands for Community, think Community Service and Classes, I stands for Intermediate, think probation with the possibility of a Split Sentence which is one quarter of the maximum sentence you’re facing and A stands for Active Punishment, meaning prison time. Each Column represents a record level and each row is the level of the crime. If you go down to the row labeled with a H, toward the bottom of the chart, that is the row for a Felony Flee to Elude conviction. Then you go to your record level to determine what box you would fall into.

NCGS Speeding to Elude Arrest

NCGS 20-141.5  is the statute that governs Speeding to Elude Arrest charges. Our Criminal Lawyers often refer back to this statute as it contains a lot of information as to what constitutes Flee to Elude and also areas that a case can be defined.

We also look at the Flee to Elude Pattern Jury Instructions, which are the instructions the court would give to a jury that they would need to find that the state proved the elements beyond a reasonable doubt for a person to be convicted of Operating a Motor Vehicle to Elude Arrest.

WHAT ARE THE DEFENSES TO FLEE TO ELUDE ARREST IN North Carolina?

The most common defense for Flee to Elude is the Shaggy Defense, “It wasn’t me.” Typically, in Flee to Elude cases either one of two things happens: you get caught or you don’t. If you weren’t caught driving, there’s always the defense that it wasn’t you. However, it’s important to note that NC GS 20-141.5(c) says that it’s prima facie evidence, meaning it’s true until proven otherwise, that the owner was driver of the car during the flee to elude.

One of our most common scenarios, is a lot of our Felony Speeding to Elude Arrest charges center around Rental Cars. Very similar to the above with the owner of a vehicle being deemed the driver until proven otherwise, the renter is deemed to be the driver until shown otherwise.

With a Renter situation, the police call the renter and ask about the flee to elude situation. If they aren’t willing to tell them who was driving the renter will be charged. The same holds true for the owner of a car.

One of the Other major defense to Speeding to Elude Arrest Charges is the person did not know that the police were trying to stop them. If you’re driving down the road and honestly and earnestly never see blue lights and never hear the sirens, there may be a defense. However, officer testimony will come into play as to how close they got to your car and for how long and any other indications that you may have had that police were attempting to stop you.

State v. Borland – this is a helpful case in a Flee to Elude charge because the driver of the vehicle kept on driving because they did not know they were being chased by the police and they were afraid to stop the vehicle because they didn’t know who was attempting to stop them.

With reference fleeing to elude law enforcement, the NC Pattern Jury Instructions show a number of things about this element.

A Person Flees Arrest or Apprehension by a Law Enforcement Officer when:

  1. He or She knows or has Reasonable Grounds to know that an officer is a law enforcement officer,
  2. Is aware the Officer is Attempting to Arrest or Apprehend them, and
  3. They Act with the Purpose of Getting Away in order to Avoid Arrest or Apprehension by the Officer.

GREENSBORO FLEE TO ELUDE ARREST STATISTICS

We’re only one month into 2023, and according to the Greensboro Police Departments Weekly Crime Data Flee to Elude Arrest and related crimes are down in Greensboro, NC in 2023. Check out the chart below:

Driving Crimes
North Carolina
2023
Stolen Car

114

Fatal Car Accidents

3

Motor Vehicle Theft

70

Stolen Property

27

Theft From Vehicle

125


  1. GARRETT, WALKER, AYCOTH & OLSON, ATTORNEYS AT LAW

    317 S. GREENE ST, GREENSBORO, NC 27401

    Fleeing to Elude Arrest charges are nothing to play around with and this is why we recommend speaking with our Top Rated Criminal Lawyers in Greensboro NC to help you today.

    Call us at (336) 379-0539  to schedule a free, in-depth consultation with our experienced criminal lawyers.

    GREENSBORO OBTAINING PROPERTY BY FALSE PRETENSES LAWYER REVIEWS:

    CLIENT REVIEW

    “I want to think the Jason Aycoth group for their support hard work and absolutely outstanding representation in my case. If you find yourself looking for a lawyer with experience and sincerity, this is a law firm for you. If you think you have no hope and have been told the worse is going to happen go see Jason he can and will do everything he can to clear your records and/or have no time served.”                              September 16, 2022

    Sean G
    Client Review

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