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- 200 Passaic St. Hackensack, NJ 07601
Eluding - The Basics
Eluding the police in New Jersey can be one of the worst decisions you ever make.
If you are charged with second-degree eluding, you will face between 5-10 years in prison. We understand that every case is different & that you may have a legal defense to this charge. There are circumstances where you can get charged with eluding but either you had no intention of fleeing from the police or you were not the person driving your car. It becomes a case of mistaken identity.
Our criminal defense lawyers have tremendous experience in representing people charged with eluding the police in New Jersey. You benefit from our extensive trial experience. Most importantly, we will be honest about your chances of winning your case. We never guarantee results. However, we do guarantee that we will aggressively fight for you.!
NJ Eluding Law - 2C:29-2b
Under New Jersey law NJSA 2C:29-2b eluding consists of fleeing or attempting to flee any police or law enforcement officer after having received a signal from that officer to stop.
Very simply, this means that you failed to stop when a police officer ordered you to stop. Instead, you took off. This most commonly occurs during traffic stops. People with weed in their car fear being arrested for a dime bag and try to outrun a police officer during a traffic stop. Unfortunately, your misdemeanor marijuana possession case just became a high felony.
Other examples include a foot chase. For example, the police approach you on the street for questioning in an investigation. They explain that they are detaining you for questioning and you run. Once you receive a police order to stop, you cannot try to escape. If you do, you’ll be facing eluding charges.
Eluding Definition
- a person is guilty of a disorderly persons offense if he purposely prevents or attempts to prevent a law enforcement officer from effecting an arrest.
- a person is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree if he, by flight, purposely prevents or attempts to prevent a law enforcement officer from effecting an arrest.
- An offense under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection a. is a crime of the third degree if the person:
Eluding Penalties
New Jersey prosecutors and law enforcement take eluding charges very seriously.
When the police are involved in a high-speed traffic chase, people get hurt. These situations create a very high risk of danger and injury to everyone involved. When you are attempting to elude the police, you put your own life and the lives of police officers in danger.
Frequently, you will see on the news that someone died during a high-speed chase. Sometimes the person who dies is an innocent bystander.
If you injure or kill someone during a high-speed chase or while attempting to elude an officer, you can face other charges including resisting arrest, vehicular manslaughter, or aggravated manslaughter by eluding.
- (Felony) Second-Degree Offense — Five to 10 years in prison and/or fine of $150,000
- (Felony) Third-Degree Offense — Three to five years in prison and/or fine of $15,000
- (Felony) Fourth-Degree Offense — Up to 18 months in prison and/or fine of $10,000
- (Misdemeanor) Disorderly Persons Offense — Up to six months in prison and/or fine of $1,000
- License suspension – 6 months – 2 years
Important Eluding Fact
Important: Just because you got away and the police officer could not positively identify you as the driver, there is a "presumption" that as the owner of the car, you were the person who committed the crime of "eluding".
If you are facing eluding charges, don't talk to the police. Let us defend & protect you.
Eluding & Resisting Arrest
Eluding charges and Resisting Arrest charges usually go hand in hand.
We wouldn’t be surprised if you also have Obstruction of Justice Charges.
These three charges are usually bundled together. Unfortunately, the worst charge for you is the Eluding charge.
Eluding - Legal Defenses
If you’ve been charged with eluding in New Jersey, you will have the following choices:
Plead Guilty
You will have to admit what you did under oath. This option will leave you with a criminal conviction. It will stay on your record for years before it can be expunged. And it will show up a background check.
Plead Guilty to a Downgraded Charge
This is one aspect of plea bargaining. Instead of admitting that you committed eluding, we will work out a deal with the prosecutor where you plea guilty to a lesser offense.
Go To Trial & Get Acquitted
This means that the judge or jury listened to all of the evidence & decided that you are not guilty of committing eluding.
Go To Trial & Get Convicted
This means that the judge listened to all of the evidence & decided that you did commit the crime of eluding.
Defenses
There are two main defenses to eluding charges in New Jersey.
The first defense can be summed up as “I was unaware of the police officer’s intention to stop me. I didn’t hear the police sirens and I did not see the lights. I had no intention of fleeing the police.”
As you can imagine, this is a difficult argument to make. However, if it’s true, it’s true. It’s our job to defend & protect you.
The second defense involves a situation where the person driving your car was not you. Even if your car is registered to you, there are many situations where another person could’ve been driving your car. For example, your car may have been stolen or driven by someone other than you.
If I'm convicted at trial, can I appeal?
Yes.
Although appeals can be expensive, it’s definitely worth the money to try.
If you feel that you didn’t get a fair trial or that certain evidence was irrelevant or missing, an appeal is a way to go.
We highly recommend that you hire an aggressive, criminal lawyer to represent you for your appeal.
There are specific steps that must be taken to (intelligently) file an appeal.
Please do not try to do this alone, get help!
Our Experience
You or a loved one have been arrested. Understandably, you are terrified & have a lot of questions. You’ve heard about plea bargains & probation, but the process is overwhelming. You want a local attorney near you to represent you.
Mr. Peyrouton is from Ridgewood & handles all types of criminal matters in New Jersey The New Jersey Law Journal recently published one of his articles on the subject of criminal law.
How We Can Help
Regardless of the criminal charges you are facing, we are here to defend & protect you. Whether you are facing a restraining order, drug charge, theft charge, or aggravated assault charge, we are here to help you. Even a DWI case can really complicate your life.
If we can’t get your charges dismissed, we can either get them downgraded or place you in a diversionary program. The point is, our criminal defense lawyers will fight tirelessly to get you the best result possible. Take advantage of our free consultation to see how we can help.
Our Practice Areas
Below, you will find a few of our practice areas.
Areas We Serve
Our Hackensack criminal lawyers represent clients in Bergen County & nearby counties & cities.
Get Help With Your Case
How Do Your Free Consultations Work?
There are plenty of excellent Hackensack criminal lawyers in our area. Most, if not all of them, offer free, 20-minute, consultations. However, our free consultations do not have a time limit. You will never feel rushed.
The best way for us to help you is to patiently listen to your side of the story. Your version of events will serve as the basis for your legal defense. It is during these initial meetings that your memory of the event is fresh in your mind. Why we would rush you during such an important aspect of your case.
We understand that your choice of attorney could mean the difference between your freedom and spending years behind bars.
When you hire an attorney, you are entering a long-term relationship. For this reason, it is important that you feel comfortable with the team of Hackensack criminal lawyers that will represent you.
What our clients say about us
Edie Nolan
21:52 18 Apr 20
The office of Peyrouton Law Helped my family so much, I can't put it into words how much. The day we walked into the office we explained our situation to Alan and his associates and they took on our situation like we were family.
Edward Estupinan
18:04 09 Mar 20
The Peyrouton Law firm is the place to go to if you need great representation. Extremely knowledgeable, honest and prompt. Alan and Kevin got our family through a very difficult and emotional matter quickly and with ease. The office was highly professional, responsive and compassionate. They kept us informed and advised us wisely throughout the entire process. I highly recommend this firm. Karen & Ed E.
traviscp longendyke
15:41 04 Feb 20
Hey, this is Travis. Hope all is well with you guys. I just wanted to reach out and truly thank you guys for everything you did for me and my family and also believing in me at a point when I barely believed in myself. I am off the "conditional probation", and everything is over with. We have our three little beautiful girls (which The youngest just turned one a few days ago), we both have amazing jobs where we are very blessed to be making what we are making for our family, and we are in the process and about to go into contract with buying our first home (a BEAUTIFUL 400,000 dollar home).... Lizzy and myself just wanted to truly thank you guys for believing in me and doing everything you could so I can be in this amazing spot in life that my family is in. I owe a lot of this to you guys and I hope you know what you do does not go unappreciated and you guys are making a huge impact and you guys are a huge help on certain people's lives. This above was a text message that I just sent to Alan and Kevin. For anyone who is looking for AMAZING people to represent you, that will literally do anything and everything they can for you to receive the best outcome, then these are the people you want, I PROMISE you that. They literally made miracles happen on my multiple cases. Alan from day one made me promise him that I would do everything I could to better my life. I did that and in return I received the most amazing lawyers who went above and beyond for me and my family. I couldn’t of created a better pair of lawyers to represent me. If anyone is looking for great results on your case please give Alan and Kevin a shot and I promise you (because I owe a lot of my success right now to these men) that you will not be disappointed and they will do everything they can for you.
Jose Nose
22:17 03 Feb 20
Alan and Kevin helped me avoid prison on huge drug charges. Then, they beat my DUI case. They’re the perfect combination of aggressive and humble lawyers. Fees are very reasonable and they really cared about me. I totally recommend. My lawyers for life.
Geraldino Fils
00:32 01 Feb 20
Omar Newell
18:07 23 Jan 20
MY LAWYERS FOR LIFE!!!!!Alan and Kevin are the Best!!!!!!Most genuine lawyers I’ve ever met...they were very detailed and kept me informed about the process every step of the way... These guys have a genuine passion for law and will work endlessly to ensure a favorable outcome... they treat you like family which is what everyone needs when faced with a situation...
Erico Pilates
03:18 16 Jan 20
Thank you Dr Peyrouton for your professional advice on my closing issue and for helping me with my litigation case. I am super grateful for a speedy successful outcome on this process.
njfirearms
05:03 01 Jan 20
Alan and his team have worked magic on cases and are the easiest to work with of the attorney's I know. I am impressed by how they get things done and their success with cases large and small. Always the first call I make when either I or my clients need counsel.
yuksel
19:59 19 Dec 19
I was arrested for a 3rd-degree felony case. I spent 5 hours searching for a good NJ criminal defense lawyer online. Every lawyer I called was in a rush and demanded a lot of money. I didn't like how many of these lawyers talked to me either.When I discovered Peyrouton Law, I checked their reviews. Every review was perfect and I was skeptical. Nobody can be so perfect.I talked to Alan on the phone and made a free appointment to come in and see him.Alan and Kevin explained everything to me very clearly. They answered all of my questions patiently. I never felt rushed.Because of my special circumstances, they took my case for an extremely reasonable flat fee. Honestly, they treated me like a brother.Within a few weeks, they were able to get my felony case downgraded to a misdemeanor.Long story short, I ended up paying a small fine for a municipal ordinance.As a client, I only had to go to court only three times.Even though my case is over, I will continue to keep in contact with Alan and Kevin.I consider them excellent people and they've become trusted friends.If any of my friends or family members ever need a lawyer, I will just grab them by the hand and take them to see Alan and Kevin.You know, when I got arrested, I was humiliated, lost my vacation time, and lost a lot of sleep but the best part of this whole thing is that I made two great friends for life...
Brian Galbraith
23:43 12 Dec 19
Alan and Kevin were the first attorneys I've ever needed for any criminal matter in my life. I was speaking with other potential attorneys for my hire and they were all very nasty and and in a hurry. upon hiring Allen he appointed Kevin Brown to my case. Kevin always listened to everything I had to say, took every detail into account and given that I work for a government agency he saved my career from going into the gutter. I had a felony dropped down to a disorderly persons offense and drop down finally to a municipal ordinance charge which leaves me with no criminal record. I could not thank either of you enough and I don't think that the retainer fee was even enough. Alan and Kevin both saved me and I am forever grateful. if you want good results and honest advice with a touch of hospitality and great customer service hire them now, get their business card and keep it in your wallet just in case. Five stars well-deserved.