Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
All of us make mistakes at various points in our lives. For some people, those mistakes may come with criminal legal consequences. If you find yourself in such a circumstance, one of the key things you can do to help yourself is resist the urge to take action that will actually only make your situation worse. In almost all situations, attempting to run from the police is one of those urges that, if acted upon, will only make your legal circumstances worse. Instead of running, take quick and decisive action by retaining the services of an experienced Tampa Bay criminal defense attorney to take on your case within the legal system.An example of how running from law enforcement can go badly took place recently in Seminole County. A ClickOrlando report indicated that three people were traveling in a white vehicle that allegedly had a stolen license plate on it. Local law enforcement officers began pursuing the vehicle. There was a problem for the occupants, though; the vehicle contained cocaine and several pieces of drug paraphernalia. The driver tried to outrun the police but eventually crashed.
The driver, J.Y., and one passenger, J.K., decided to make a run for it on foot, racing into a field. A police K9 caught J.Y. J.K., however, had a different pursuit to handle. A herd of cows detected the woman and began chasing J.K. Eventually, the cows cornered the woman in one corner of the fenced field, where law enforcement officers were waiting to apprehend her.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the “police didn’t say whether they would consider creating a bovine chase unit.”
While J.K.’s unfortunate situation may fall within the “news of the weird” category, there’s a very straightforward and everyday lesson that can be taken away from her case. Primarily, it’s that running from law enforcement isn’t likely to help your case. Whether or not you are chased, hunted down, and cornered by a herd of do-gooder cows, the chances are high that you won’t escape. Once you are caught, the charges against you will be more numerous than they were before you were apprehended. Running from the police can result in charges of resisting arrest. Simply running from the police can result in a charge of resisting arrest without violence. Although that is not a major felony, it can still get you up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
If your attempt to flee takes you onto private property, the state can also tack on a charge of trespassing. In J.K.’s case, the state charged her with drug possession, resisting arrest, trespassing, and petit theft.
What’s more, running can actually hurt your case. Your knowledgeable criminal defense attorney may have tools and techniques to help you. Perhaps the police lacked evidence that the drugs in the car were yours. Perhaps all of the drug evidence was obtained as a result of an improper traffic stop, meaning that the evidence was a result of an unconstitutional search and seizure. Any of these arguments can be used to obtain an acquittal on the drug charges against you. However, running from the police will probably only hurt your case before a jury. Even if you do obtain that acquittal, the resisting arrest charge is independent of the drug charge, meaning that you could possibly get an acquittal or dismissal on the drug charges and still end up with a conviction because you ran from the police.
The law gives everyone certain rights, including the right to an attorney in your criminal case. Instead of running from your criminal case, tackle it head-on with representation from experienced counsel. The skilled Tampa Bay drug trafficking attorneys at Blake & Dorsten, P.A. have been providing clients with effective criminal defense representation for many years. Call us today at (727) 286-6141 to schedule your FREE initial consultation and get the information you need.
More blog posts:
Million-to-One Shot: Florida Suspect Theorizes that Cocaine ‘Must Have Flown’ Into Her Purse, Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog, April 19, 2018
Manatee County Murder Suspect Gets a New Trial Because Police Interviewed Him Without His Lawyer Present, Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog, March 15, 2018