Aggravated Flight From an Officer Lawyer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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The Louisiana criminal charge of Aggravated Flight From an Officer occurs when human life is endangered as a result of a driver intentionally refusing to pull over after being notified by a police officer, through the use of the officer’s emergency lights and sirens, when the officer believes the driver committed a traffic violation or any other crime.

Human Life Endangered

The statute indicates human life is endangered if any of the two following acts occur:

-Leaves the roadway or forces another vehicle to leave the roadway.

-Collides with another vehicle or watercraft.

-Exceeds the posted speed limit by at least twenty-five miles per hour.

-Travels against the flow of traffic or in the case of watercraft, operates the watercraft in a careless manner in violation of R.S. 34:851.4 or in a reckless manner in violation of R.S. 14:99.

-Fails to obey a stop sign or a yield sign.

-Fails to obey a traffic control signal device.

Felony

Aggravated Flight From an Officer in Louisiana is a felony charge. Prosecutors take this charge very seriously because it is potentially very dangerous and destructive conduct that supports the charge.  Also, the witness is usually the police officer who initiated the stop and chased the defendant. The police officer will likely have a lot to say to the prosecutor that may invoke tougher prosecution.

Sentence

The sentencing range is imprisonment for up to 5 years and/or a fine of no more than $2000.  If serious bodily injury occurs, the charge carries up to 10 years in prison.  In addition, the defendant must pay restitution for any damage he may have caused while fleeing.

Aggravated Flight from an Officer in Louisiana

It can be a very stressful time when you see police lights and sirens going off behind you that appear to be pulling you over. No one wants to be pulled over by the police for fear of having done something wrong and potentially getting a ticket or, even worse, arrested. However, not pulling over and attempting to evade the officer will only worsen your problems and potentially land you in a lot more trouble. Being charged with flight from an officer can land you hefty fines and even possibly force you to go to jail. The punishments only get worse if human life is in danger, which can be considered as aggravated flight from an officer. If you have recently been charged with aggravated flight from an officer, it is imperative that you seek legal assistance immediately. Carl Barkemeyer is a highly experienced criminal defense attorney who has been defending aggravated flight from an officer cases for many years. Mr. Barkemeyer has deep knowledge of the Louisiana legal system and can help you craft a defense based on your specific case to potentially better the outcome of the results from your case. Being convicted of aggravated flight from an officer can have many negative punishments that need to be dealt with by having a strong defense so that you can fight for your freedom in court to make sure your future and the future of your loved ones stays intact.

What is aggravated flight from an officer?

It is very important to understand what constitutes as aggravated flight from an officer so that you can determine why exactly you were charged with the crime. First off, we need to define what simple flight from an officer is before further specifying it to be aggravated. Essentially, flight from an officer is attempting to avoid being pulled over by an officer with lights and/or sirens who thinks you may have committed a traffic violation. The full definition of flight from an officer under Louisiana state law is as follows:

• A driver intentionally refusing to pull over after being notified by a police officer, through the use of the officer’s emergency lights and sirens, when the officer believes the driver committed a traffic violation or any other crime.

However, aggravated flight from an officer goes even further and is a much more serious crime. The charge is escalated to aggravated if human life is put in danger by any of the following reasons:

• Leaves the roadway or forces another vehicle to leave the roadway.
• Collides with another vehicle or watercraft.
• Exceeds the posted speed limit by at least twenty-five miles per hour.
• Travels against the flow of traffic or in the case of watercraft, operates the watercraft in a careless manner or in a reckless manner in violation.
• Fails to obey a stop sign or a yield sign.
• Fails to obey a traffic control signal device.

All of these actions will put many other drivers as well as yourself in harm’s way which is what escalates the charge to aggravated. By increasing the charge to aggravated, you are looking at even more stringent penalties which can really lower your quality of life and the quality of life of those around you.

What are the penalties?

Punishment for being convicted of aggravated flight from an officer is very strong for many reasons. First off, since it is aggravated then it is considered to be a much more serious charge because you are putting others’ lives in danger which can cause harm to many people. This increases the penalties to be much stricter than just simple flight from an officer. Another reason why the punishment can be so strong is because flight from an officer is a direct disobedience to an officer’s orders which will usually be considered as a more serious crime as well. The penalties for being charged with aggravated flight from an officer under Louisiana state law are as follows:

• Imprisonment for up to 5 years and/or a fine of no more than $2,000.  If serious bodily injury occurs, the charge carries up to 10 years in prison.  In addition, the defendant must pay restitution for any damage he may have caused while fleeing.

Up to 10 years in prison is a very long prison time that is a real possibility if you happened to inflict bodily injury to another person while attempting flight from the officer. These penalties will drastically affect your future in a negative way and will also limit your opportunities to employment and application for school by being added to your permanent criminal record. These are the reasons why it is so imperative to find sound legal assistance when facing aggravated flight from an officer charges.

How can we help?

Aggravated flight from an officer charges are very serious criminal charges that should not be taken lightly. They carry hefty fines and long jail times with them which will further hurt your future and the future for your loved ones. If you have recently been charged with aggravated flight from an officer in the Baton Rouge area of Louisiana, we implore you to get in touch with us for legal aid immediately. Carl Barkemeyer, criminal defense attorney is very experienced with aggravated flight from an officer charges and can help craft a defense for your case based on the evidence and your specific circumstances that could potentially attain you more positive results from the case. Mr. Barkemeyer and his legal team have been defending aggravated flight from an officer charges for many years and will help you along the way during your criminal trial with their sound knowledge of the Louisiana legal system. Contact us at (225) 964-6720 for legal assistance immediately.