Is Eluding a Police Officer a Crime in Oklahoma?

Eluding can either be a misdemeanor or a felony. For it to be a misdemeanor, basically, after receiving a visible or audible signal to pull over, you don’t, and you don’t in a manner of, let’s say you increase your speed to try to avoid, or you turn off your lights if it’s dark and try to just not be found after knowing you’re supposed to be pulled over, or elude in any other manner. That’s going to be a misdemeanor, and these offenses are found in Title 21, Section 540A in our Oklahoma Criminal Code. So just not pulling over, is a misdemeanor. It’s going to carry up to a year in the county jail, fines, and costs.

Now, what makes it a felony then? What could make eluding a felony? Well, you can imagine. Eluding is, to be a felony, is going to be a dangerous situation where you are driving so fast, running red lights, around other cars, speeding, swerving in and out of traffic, almost causing an accident or causing an accident, basically putting somebody else’s life at risk because you’re not pulling over. Then that’s what becomes a felony, and that is one to five years and a pretty hefty fine if you’re found guilty of that.

So again, all of these are fact issues, so you would want an experienced defense attorney to really look at the facts of your case and see does this fit into a misdemeanor level or a felony level, and to get it charged appropriately, and dealt with appropriately because sometimes these things are overcharged, and, really, what’s a misdemeanor eluding some district attorney’s offices file it as a felony eluding. Again, as always, it comes down to what are the actual facts, what can the state actually prove, who are their witnesses, and all that sort of thing.

If you have questions for a criminal defense attorney in Oklahoma about eluding or anybody charged with eluding, reach out to me, Stuart Ericson, at wagonerlawyer.com.