Greeley Vehicular Eluding Attorney: A Traffic Offense or a Felony?

In Greeley, Erie, Evans, and all across Colorado, police can ticket people for two different types of Eluding: a felony or a traffic offense. So how do they decide the difference? Let’s look at a recent Colorado Eluding case and the Colorado statutes to find out. According to the news report, a woman led Denver police on a chase for over an hour before crashing into another vehicle. Originally, she was targeted by police for fraudulent plates, but then refused to pull over when police attempted the stop. The police even dispatched a helicopter which followed her from the sky for the hour long chase before she crashed into the other vehicle. After the crash, the woman took off running, but was caught a block away. She was charged with Eluding, but was it the criminal charge of Vehicular Eluding or the traffic charge of Eluding a Police Officer?

Weld County Vehicular Eluding Lawyer: What is the Definition of Vehicular Eluding?

The Colorado law definition of Vehicular Eluding – C.R.S. 18-9-116.5 – is:

Any person who, while operating a motor vehicle, knowingly eludes or attempts to elude a peace officer also operating a motor vehicle, and who knows or reasonably should know that he or she is being pursued by said peace officer, and who operates his or her vehicle in a reckless manner, commits vehicular eluding.

Basically, Vehicular Eluding in Weld, Morgan, and Logan County is fleeing from law enforcement when you know they are trying to pull you over, and while eluding the officers, you drive recklessly. This could certainly apply to the woman above, because she crashed into another car. Denver police made it clear that the chase was not high-speed, but her driving did cause an accident, which could be seen as reckless. Vehicular Eluding is charged as a class 5 felony unless:

The Vehicular Eluding results in bodily injury to another person in which case it is charged as a class 4 felony; or
The Vehicular Eluding results in death to another person in which case it is charged as a class 3 felony.

While this charge seems to fit, let’s look at the traffic offense Eluding to compare.

Greeley Eluding or Attempting to Elude a Police Officer Attorney: What is the Definition of Eluding a Police Officer?

The Colorado law definition of Eluding or Attempting to Elude a Police Officer – C.R.S. 42-4-1413 – is:

Any operator of a motor vehicle who the officer has reasonable grounds to believe has violated a state law or municipal ordinance, who has received a visual or audible signal such as a red light or a siren from a police officer driving a marked vehicle showing the same to be an official police, sheriff, or Colorado state patrol car directing the operator to bring the operator’s vehicle to a stop, and who willfully increases his or her speed or extinguishes his or her lights in an attempt to elude such police officer, or willfully attempts in any other manner to elude the police officer, or does elude such police officer commits a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense.

While this definition would certainly fit the woman’s situation, in my experience police will charge the harshest crime possible in most situations. The traffic violation is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense, which is punishable by 10 to 90 days in the Weld County Jail and up to $300 in fines. The class 5 felony Eluding, on the other hand, is punishable by 1-3 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections and up to $100,000 in fines. A huge difference! My guess is that the woman was charged with Vehicular Eluding, the felony charge.

If you or someone you love has been charged with Vehicular Eluding or Eluding a Police Officer, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent and contact the best Greeley criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-616-6009 today. Together, we can protect your future.

Image Source: Pixabay-ThomasRockyHorror

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