EVADING ARREST DETENTION
Evading Arrest Detention in Texas: what bail is set at, how often a personal bond is granted, and what usually happens to the charge.
What “EVADING ARREST DETENTION” means
Texas Penal Code § 38.04 defines evading arrest or detention. The State must prove the accused intentionally fled from a person the accused knew was a peace officer or federal special investigator, and that the officer or investigator was attempting lawfully to arrest or detain the accused. The flight must be intentional, the accused must actually know the pursuer's status, and the attempted arrest or detention must be lawful. This filing is the base Class A misdemeanor form of the offense: flight, typically on foot, without the aggravating circumstances that create the felony variants — use of a vehicle or watercraft during the flight, a previous conviction for evading, serious bodily injury to another resulting from the pursuit, or use of a tire deflation device — which are graded separately under § 38.04(b)(1) and (b)(2).
| Charged as | Possible confinement | Fine | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A misdemeanor | Up to 1 year in county jail | Fine up to $4,000 | Penal Code § 12.21 |
Ranges are the statutory maximums for the level; enhancements, prior convictions and plea agreements change what is actually imposed.
Bail for EVADING ARREST DETENTION in Texas
Across 92,964 Texas bail settings for this charge (153 counties, Apr 2022 – Jun 2025), the median cash or surety bond was $3,000 (middle half: $1,500 – $6,000). 7% of defendants were released on a personal bond, and bail was denied in 2,757 cases. When this was the only charge at booking (13,801 records), the median was $2,000 and 17% got a personal bond.
| County | Records | Median cash bail | Middle half | Personal bond | Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarrant | 10,455 | $1,500 | $1,000 – $3,500 | 5% | 2% |
| Bexar | 8,168 | $3,000 | $2,000 – $5,000 | 6% | 5% |
| Dallas | 7,683 | $2,000 | $1,000 – $3,500 | 2% | 3% |
| Travis | 6,101 | $5,000 | $3,000 – $7,500 | 21% | 3% |
| El Paso | 5,624 | $3,000 | $1,500 – $10,000 | 8% | 4% |
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 DETENTION charge
Of 11,922 EVADING ARREST DETENTION charges filed 2019–2023 across 15 counties (Bastrop, Bell, Brazoria, Collin, Comal, Dallas, Denton, FortBend, Galveston, Harris, Hays, Montgomery, Rockwall, Travis, Williamson), 91% have reached a disposition:
How long it takes: the median EVADING ARREST DETENTION charge took 213 days from filing to disposition (middle half: 85 – 400 days, 11,921 charges).
| County | Disposed | Not convicted | Deferred | Convicted | Median days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris | 6,720 | 65% | 4% | 31% | 224 |
| Collin | 1,171 | 24% | 23% | 53% | 175 |
| Dallas | 991 | 48% | 11% | 39% | 160 |
| Denton | 587 | 22% | 16% | 63% | 261 |
| Galveston | 562 | 44% | 5% | 51% | 140 |
| Williamson | 360 | 52% | 4% | 44% | 206 |
| FortBend | 353 | 44% | 12% | 44% | 327 |
Outcome is the final disposition recorded on the charge. “Other” (33) 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 DETENTION 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 DET W/VEH § 38.04(b)(2)(a)
- 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 DETENTION?
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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.