Escape Defense

Escape charges frequently arise when someone is sent to a court-ordered inpatient rehabilitation facility and leaves without permission. While there, you are legally in that facility's custody under a court order, so leaving is an escape charge.

Most people end up in one of those facilities because of a felony drug charge, which means the escape charge is also a felony. People assume it will be handled as a probation or pretrial-condition violation, and instead they are facing a brand new felony case on top of the original one.

The Statute

Citation: Texas Penal Code §38.06

Degree and classification

• Class A misdemeanor base
• Third-degree felony if under arrest for or charged with a felony, or confined in a secure facility
• Second-degree felony if bodily injury is caused
• First-degree felony for serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon

Statutory language: A person commits an offense if the person escapes from custody when the person is under arrest for, lawfully detained for, charged with, or convicted of an offense.