Nevada NRS § 484B.550 defines the crime of evading the police as when a motorist “willfully fails or refuses to bring the vehicle to a stop…when [police give a] signal to bring the vehicle to a stop by a flashing red lamp and siren.”
The offense is also called “eluding the police.”
Depending on the circumstances, prosecutors can charge the offender with a misdemeanor or a felony, and a conviction can result in jail or prison time.
The penalties for evading police depend on the seriousness of the circumstances and if any harm was done:
| Evading a traffic stop in Nevada | Penalties under NRS 484B.550 |
| The incident involved no DUI, dangerous driving, property damage, injury, or death | Misdemeanor:
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| You were committing driving under the influence (DUI) | Category D felony:
|
| You were driving dangerously or caused damage to another’s property | Category B felony:
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| You caused a fatality or substantial bodily harm to someone else | Category B felony:
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It may be possible to get an eluding charge reduced or dismissed through a plea bargain. Possible defenses include:
- The police did not give the proper signal to pull over;
- You did not intentionally fail to stop the car; or
- Conditions were unsafe for you to pull over
In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss the Nevada laws for evading police.
- 1. “Evading” Defined
- 2. Best Defenses
- 3. Punishment
- 4. Deportation
- 5. Sealing Records
- 6. Related Offenses
Violating NRS 484B.550 can be a misdemeanor or a felony.
1. “Evading” Defined
Nevada’s legal definition of evading a traffic stop is when a driver:
“willfully fails or refuses to bring the vehicle to a stop … when [police give a] signal to bring the vehicle to a stop by a flashing red lamp and siren.” (NRS 484B.550)1
In other words, it is illegal to deliberately continue driving once the police have signaled for you to pull over by both:
- flashing red light, and
- sounding a siren.
Once you become aware that a police car is signaling you to stop, you should pull over to the side of the road as soon as it is safe to do so.
Example: John is driving with a broken tail light. An officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department sees him and signals for John to pull over by sounding its siren and flashing its red lamp. John wants to hear the end of the song he is listening to on the radio, so he waits until it is over before pulling over.
Even though John was planning to stop for the police eventually, he could still be charged with evasion for unnecessarily delaying pulling over.
Police must illuminate their red lamp to signal you to pull over.
Another common evasion scenario occurs when a driver speeds up or changes course to elude police completely. This could lead to a police chase with the Nevada Highway Patrol and serious damages.
2. Best Defenses
The following are three common defenses to evasion. An attorney may use them to try to persuade the prosecutor to dismiss the charges or else reduce them to something more minor:
- Wrong signal. The official signal that Nevada police must use to initiate a traffic stop is a flashing red light and a siren. Therefore, if the police used the wrong signal or if their signal was broken, then you should not be found guilty of failing to pull over.
- Lack of intent. Evading is an intent crime in Nevada: You should not be convicted of it unless you willfully ignored the police’s signal to stop their car. Perhaps you genuinely did not notice the police were there. Or perhaps you were suffering a disabling medical episode. If the prosecution cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you acted with intent, the evading charges should be dropped.
- Unsafe to pull over. Prosecutors may be willing to drop evasion charges if the only reason you failed to pull over is that it was unsafe to do so. Evidence such as video recordings and eyewitnesses could be brought in to show that it would have been dangerous to stop, and that you behaved justifiably under the circumstances.
3. Punishment
Violating NRS 484B.550 can be a misdemeanor or a felony in Nevada, depending on the case. The punishment depends on the following factors:
- whether you acted in a dangerous manner,
- whether any property was damaged,
- whether anyone sustained serious bodily harm or was killed, and
- whether you were driving under the influence
Note that a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving is a “lesser included offense” of felony evasion: You cannot be convicted of both
- misdemeanor reckless driving and
- felony evasion
for the same matter.2
Standard sentence
Evading is only a misdemeanor as long as:
- no one got seriously hurt;
- you were not drunk or high; and
- you were not driving dangerously
Misdemeanor penalties include:
- up to 6 months in jail, and/or
- up to $1,000 in fines
Evading while DUI
Evasion with DUI is a felony in Nevada.
If you were also intoxicated by drugs or alcohol at the time you were evading, then ignoring a traffic stop is a category D felony. The punishment carries:
- 1 to 4 years in prison, and
- a fine of up to $5,000 (at the court’s discretion)
Note that you would probably also be charged with the separate crime of DUI. DUI penalties depend on
- your criminal history, and
- whether anyone was harmed.
Evading while driving dangerously or causing damage
If while evading you cause damage to another person’s property — or were driving in a way likely to endanger people or property — you face category B felony charges. The sentence includes:
- 1 to 6 years in prison, and/or
- up to $5,000 in fines (at the court’s discretion)
Evading causing death or serious injury
It is also a category B felony when you cause a fatality or serious injury to someone while evading. The penalty is:
- 2 to 20 years in prison, and/or
- up to $50,000 in fines (at the court’s discretion)
Learn more in our article on evading police and causing death or injury.3
4. Deportation
Immigration judges may consider evasion to be a crime involving moral turpitude, which is deportable.4 Consequently, aliens facing criminal charges are strongly advised to seek legal representation in an attempt to get their charges dismissed or reduced to a non-deportable offense.
Learn more in our article on immigration consequences for DUI defendants who evade police.
5. Sealing Records
The waiting period to get an evading case sealed depends on what crime category you were convicted of:
| Nevada evading conviction | Record seal waiting time |
| Misdemeanor | 1 year after the case ends |
| Category D felony | 5 years after the case ends |
| Category B felony | 5 years after the case ends |
Note that if you have a felony DUI conviction on your record, you cannot get any other crimes on your record sealed. Therefore, if you are convicted of both
- felony DUI and
- evading,
you would be unable to get either sealed.5
Also note that if the evasion charge gets dismissed (meaning there is no conviction), then you can apply for a record seal right away.6 However, the record seal process itself takes several weeks.
Even if you have only misdemeanor convictions on your record, you are urged to get your record sealed as soon as possible. An evasion conviction looks bad on background checks and could cause prospective employers to pass over an otherwise qualified candidate.
6. Related Offenses
Resisting arrest (NRS 199.280)
Resisting arrest can be a misdemeanor or a felony in Nevada.
Resisting arrest occurs when you are trying to keep a police officer from carrying out an arrest or other duties.
Resisting without a weapon is a misdemeanor, carrying
- up to 6 months in jail and/or
- up to $1,000 in fines.
Using a weapon in an attempt to take an officer’s weapons while resisting an arrest is a felony, carrying at least one year in prison.
Obstructing public officers (NRS 197.190)
Obstructing a public officer happens when you lie to or withhold information from a public officer. Police are an example of public officers.
Obstruction is punished as a misdemeanor, carrying
- up to 6 months in jail and/or
- up to $1,000 in fines.
Battery on a peace officer (NRS 200.481)
Battery of a peace officer is when you apply unlawful physical force on a police officer. Common examples of battery include
- throwing objects at,
- hitting, or
- spitting on.
A battery of police without strangulation or without causing substantial physical injuries is a gross misdemeanor. This carries
- up to 364 days in jail and/or
- up to $2,000 in fines.
Otherwise, battery of a peace officer is a category B felony, carrying
- 2 to 10 years in prison and/or
- up to $10,000 in fines.
If the incident involves a deadly weapon, the maximum prison sentence increases to 15 years.
Escaping from prison (NRS 212.090)
Escaping custody happens when you break out of or flee from prison, jail, or police custody. The penalties depend on the original crime you were incarcerated for.
Laws in Other States:
In California? Go to our article on Vehicle Code 2800.1 VC.
In Colorado? Go to our article on Colorado eluding laws.
Legal References
- NRS 484B.550 Stop required upon signal of peace officer; manner in which signal must be given; penalties.
1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the driver of a motor vehicle who willfully fails or refuses to bring the vehicle to a stop, or who otherwise flees or attempts to elude a peace officer in a readily identifiable vehicle of any police department or regulatory agency, when given a signal to bring the vehicle to a stop is guilty of a misdemeanor. 2. The signal by the peace officer described in subsection 1 must be by flashing red lamp and siren. 3. Unless the provisions of NRS 484B.653 apply if, while violating the provisions of subsection 1, the driver of the motor vehicle: (a) Is the proximate cause of damage to the property of any other person; or (b) Operates the motor vehicle in a manner which endangers or is likely to endanger any other person or the property of any other person, –> the driver is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment. 4. If, while violating the provisions of subsection 1, the driver of the motor vehicle is the proximate cause of the death of or bodily harm to any other person, the driver is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 20 years, or by a fine of not more than $50,000, or by both fine and imprisonment. 5. If the driver of the motor vehicle is convicted of a violation of NRS 484C.110 or 484C.120 arising out of the same act or transaction as a violation of subsection 1, the driver is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130 for the violation of subsection 1.
Also see Baldridge v. State, 2016 Nev. App. LEXIS 226 (Nev. Ct. App. May 18, 2016) (There was enough evidence to sustain an evasion conviction when the defendant failed to stop upon the police signal, pulled over a curb, drove around a business, and then reversed into the police car). - Kelley v. State (2016) 371 P.3d 1052, 132 Nev. Adv. Op. 32: “The elements of the felony eluding offense, as charged in this case, include: (1) driving a vehicle (2) in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger any other person or the property of any other person. NRS 484B.550(1), (3). All of the elements of misdemeanor reckless driving—(1) driving a vehicle (2) in willful or wanton disregard of the safety of persons or property, NRS 484B.653(1)(a)—are included in the elements of the charged offense of felony eluding under NRS 484B.550(3)(b), making misdemeanor reckless driving a lesser included offense in this case. Because the offense of reckless driving is a lesser included offense of felony eluding as charged in this case, Kelley could not be punished for both crimes.” Also see Nelson v. State (2007) 123 Nev. 534.
- NRS 484B.550.
- See, for example, discussion in Ramirez-Contreras v. Sessions (9th Cir., 2017) 858 F.3d 1298.
- NRS 179.245.
- NRS 179.255.