EVADING ARREST DET W/VEH
Evading Arrest Detention with Vehicle in Texas: what bail is set at, how often a personal bond is granted, and what usually happens to the charge.
What “EVADING ARREST DET W/VEH” means
Texas Penal Code § 38.04 defines evading arrest or detention: intentionally fleeing from a person the accused knows is a peace officer or federal special investigator attempting lawfully to arrest or detain the accused. This third-degree felony filing under § 38.04(b)(2)(A) is the vehicle-flight variant: the State must prove the intentional flight, the accused's actual knowledge of the officer's status, the lawfulness of the attempted arrest or detention, and that the accused used a vehicle or watercraft while in flight. Overlapping 2011 amendments left § 38.04(b) with parallel vehicle provisions, and Texas courts have harmonized them to treat the use of a motor vehicle during flight as a third-degree felony without requiring proof of a prior conviction for evading; the use of the vehicle itself is the aggravating element that elevates the charge above misdemeanor flight on foot.
| Charged as | Possible confinement | Fine | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third-degree felony | 2 to 10 years in prison (TDCJ) | Fine up to $10,000 | Penal Code § 12.34 |
Ranges are the statutory maximums for the level; enhancements, prior convictions and plea agreements change what is actually imposed.
Bail for EVADING ARREST DET W/VEH in Texas
Across 71,120 Texas bail settings for this charge (151 counties, Apr 2022 – Jun 2025), the median cash or surety bond was $10,000 (middle half: $5,000 – $20,000). 6% of defendants were released on a personal bond, and bail was denied in 5,409 cases. When this was the only charge at booking (13,800 records), the median was $10,000 and 17% got a personal bond.
| County | Records | Median cash bail | Middle half | Personal bond | Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarrant | 7,793 | $5,000 | $2,000 – $10,000 | 2% | 5% |
| Dallas | 7,580 | $10,000 | $5,000 – $25,000 | 0% | 6% |
| Travis | 4,551 | $10,000 | $5,000 – $15,000 | 15% | 8% |
| Bexar | 4,340 | $10,000 | $7,000 – $20,000 | 2% | 13% |
| Harris | 3,930 | $15,000 | $7,500 – $25,000 | 47% | 1% |
Showing the 5 counties with the most records; use the selector for any county with at least 30. Per-charge bond settings on original magistrations, from Texas OCA bail reporting under SB 6. Bail is set case by case — these are statistics, not a prediction.
What usually happens to a EVADING ARREST DET W/VEH charge
Of 10,344 EVADING ARREST DET W/VEH charges filed 2019–2023 across 14 counties (Bastrop, Bell, Brazoria, Collin, Comal, Dallas, FortBend, Galveston, Harris, Hays, Montgomery, Rockwall, Travis, Williamson), 92% have reached a disposition:
How long it takes: the median EVADING ARREST DET W/VEH charge took 290 days from filing to disposition (middle half: 147 – 520 days, 10,340 charges).
| County | Disposed | Not convicted | Deferred | Convicted | Median days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris | 6,303 | 51% | 25% | 23% | 326 |
| Collin | 876 | 14% | 46% | 40% | 170 |
| Dallas | 626 | 40% | 34% | 27% | 182 |
| Montgomery | 331 | 31% | 26% | 44% | 163 |
| FortBend | 308 | 41% | 29% | 29% | 427 |
| Williamson | 250 | 30% | 26% | 44% | 332 |
| Rockwall | 166 | 13% | 32% | 55% | 120 |
Outcome is the final disposition recorded on the charge. “Other” (68) covers waived counts, bond forfeitures, transfers and unrecorded outcomes. Bexar County records disposition dates but not outcomes, so it counts toward time-to-disposition only. Tarrant County criminal records are not in this dataset.
How real EVADING ARREST DET W/VEH cases ended
Individual cases from the public court record, with the disposition and sentence text exactly as the clerk entered it. Every case is decided on its own facts.
Ended without a conviction
Deferred adjudication
Ended in a conviction
Related charges
- EVADING ARREST DETENTION § 38.04(b)
- EVADING ARREST DET W/PREV CONVICTION § 38.04(b)(1)
- EVADING ARREST DETENTION W/VEH OR WATERCRAFT § 38.04(b)(1)(b)
- EVADE ARR DET W/VEH/WTRCFT W/PREV CONV OR SBI § 38.04(b)(2)(a,b)
- EVADING ARREST DET CAUSE SBI § 38.04(b)(2)(b)
Charged with EVADING ARREST DET W/VEH?
Find Texas criminal defense attorneys with verified case histories in your county.
Find a Defense AttorneyBail data: Texas Office of Court Administration magistration reports (SB 6), Apr 2022 – Jun 2025. Court outcomes: county district and county clerk records. Statistics describe past cases and are not legal advice; every case is decided on its own facts.