Is Fleeing and Eluding a Felony in Florida? Car or Boat (2026)

Updated November 2, 2026

When a fleeing and eluding case reaches a prosecutor or a judge, the first question is what the driver knew: whether the patrol car’s lights and siren were on, whether its markings were visible, and how long the driver kept going. Those questions are familiar to me as a former police academy instructor. My name is Rocky Brancato; I founded The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and I have tried more than 150 jury trials to verdict. Our attorneys defend fleeing charges across Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties by testing that proof against the video, the dispatch records, and the statute as it reads after the 2025 changes. The same knowledge questions decide boat and jet ski cases that FWC officers charge under section 843.18, covered below.

Is fleeing and eluding a felony in Florida?

Yes, at every level. Section 316.1935, Florida Statutes makes the lowest form of fleeing a third-degree felony, and the charge climbs with speed, recklessness, injury, and a connection to a crash.

The maximums come from section 775.082, Florida Statutes. There is no misdemeanor version, and section 316.1935(6) provides that “no court may suspend, defer, or withhold adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence for any violation of this section.” A conviction is a felony conviction. Our Tampa criminal traffic lawyer team looks for a path to a lesser charge from the first review of the file.

What does the State have to prove in a fleeing and eluding case?

It depends on the subsection. Under section 316.1935(1), the State must prove the driver had “knowledge that he or she has been ordered to stop such vehicle by a duly authorized law enforcement officer” and then willfully refused or failed to stop, or stopped and then willfully fled. Subsection (1) has no lights, siren, or marked-car element.

The more common charge under subsection (2) adds three facts about the police car: it was “an authorized law enforcement patrol vehicle,” it had “agency jurisdictional markings prominently displayed on the vehicle,” and it had its “siren and lights activated.” The statute requires both the siren and the lights.

Each element is a defense point. A driver who never heard a siren, never saw lights in the mirror, or could not tell an unmarked car was police has a knowledge defense. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm match the officer’s account to the dash camera, body camera, and radio timeline second by second.

What did Florida’s 2025 fleeing law change?

It changed the markings language, raised two offense rankings, and added a repeat-offender multiplier. CS/CS/HB 113, enacted as chapter 2025-75, Laws of Florida, took effect October 1, 2025. It passed the House 101 to 9 and the Senate 36 to 0.

1. Markings. The law removed the requirement that the pursuing car “prominently display agency insignia.” The statute once read “agency insignia and other jurisdictional markings”; it now reads “agency jurisdictional markings.”
2. Rankings. Section 921.0022, the offense severity chart that drives the sentencing scoresheet, now ranks subsection (3)(a) at Level 5 instead of Level 4 and aggravated fleeing under (4)(a) at Level 6 instead of Level 5. A higher level means more points and a higher lowest permissible sentence.
3. The 1.5 multiplier. Under section 921.0024(1)(b), Florida Statutes, “If the primary offense is fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer or aggravated fleeing or eluding in violation of s. 316.1935, and in the offender’s prior record, there is one or more violation of s. 316.1935, the subtotal sentence points are multiplied by 1.5.”

The 2025 law did not create the 3-year mandatory minimums, the ban on withholding adjudication, or vehicle forfeiture. Those were already in the statute. The offense date matters: for a chase before October 1, 2025, the older insignia element and the older rankings still apply.

What is the mandatory minimum for fleeing and eluding?

Three years in prison, but only for the two first-degree tiers. Subsection (3)(b), fleeing at high speed or with wanton disregard that causes serious bodily injury or death, and subsection (4)(b), aggravated fleeing that causes serious bodily injury or death, each carry a “mandatory minimum sentence of 3 years imprisonment.” Under section 316.1935(6), those minimums are not eligible for gain-time or discretionary early release, except for pardon, clemency, or conditional medical release.

The other tiers have no mandatory minimum, but the scoresheet still controls. A Level 5 or Level 6 ranking, plus the 1.5 multiplier for a repeat case, can produce a prison score even when no one was hurt. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm prepare an independent scoresheet and challenge every point the State adds.

Will you lose your license or your car for fleeing?

Possibly both. Section 316.1935(5) provides that “The court shall revoke, for a period not less than 1 year nor exceeding 5 years, the driver license” of anyone convicted under subsections (1) through (4). Under section 316.1935(7), a vehicle used in the offense is “deemed to be contraband” and can be forfeited under Florida’s contraband forfeiture law.

Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm raise the revocation length and any forfeiture claim in negotiations, because a family car or a commercial license can be at stake.

How do our attorneys fight a fleeing and eluding charge?

We attack the element the State is weakest on, then push for a lesser charge. Three appellate cases show how the arguments work.

Markings for older offense dates. In Slack v. State, 30 So. 3d 684 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010), the officer drove a “marked patrol car” with “lights on top,” and the lights and siren were on. The First District held that was not enough because “there was no evidence of ‘agency insignia and other jurisdictional markings prominently displayed on the vehicle,'” and it directed a conviction under subsection (1) instead. The insignia requirement is gone for chases on or after October 1, 2025, but the State must still prove jurisdictional markings were “prominently displayed.”

High speed and wanton disregard. In Canidate v. State, 238 So. 3d 412 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018), a Martin County driver went 40 in a 35 zone with occasional weaving, and no person or property was affected. The court held that was not “wanton disregard,” which it defined as “a conscious and intentional indifference to consequences and with knowledge that damage is likely to be done to persons or property.” The second-degree conviction was reversed and the case sent back for a conviction under subsection (2).

Evidence from every county. In Johnson v. State, No. 1D2024-0912 (Fla. 1st DCA Nov. 5, 2025), a pursuit in marked cars with lights and sirens followed a vehicle theft. Radar captured 127 mph in Jackson County, and the court held that evidence was admissible to prove the high-speed element of a Bay County charge, because each element need not occur in the charging county. The lesson for the defense is to gather records from every agency the chase passed through.

In practice, our attorneys:

1. Test knowledge. We check the video for when lights and siren came on, what the driver could see, and how long the driver drove afterward.
2. Test the patrol car. We get photographs of the vehicle and its markings.
3. Test speed and wanton disregard. We compare radar, GPS, and video with the road and traffic conditions.
4. Test the stop. If the officer had no lawful basis for the order to stop, we challenge it. Our post on how long a traffic stop can last in Florida covers the limits on stops.
5. Test identity. In chases where the driver ran from the car, we look at who was actually seen driving.
6. Negotiate a reduction. Florida’s reckless driving statute, section 316.192, Florida Statutes, provides that “Fleeing a law enforcement officer in a motor vehicle is reckless driving per se,” which makes reckless driving a natural reduction target. Our guides on reckless driving in Florida and fighting a reckless driving charge explain that charge.

How often do police pursuits end in deaths?

More often than they used to, nationally. Pursuit-related deaths in the United States rose from 382 in 2015 to 532 in 2020, a 39% increase, according to NHTSA crash data reported by the Police Executive Research Forum in Vehicular Pursuits: A Guide for Law Enforcement Executives on Managing the Associated Risks (COPS Office, U.S. Department of Justice, 2023). The report counted 2,604 pursuit-related deaths from 2015 through 2020.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated about 68,000 police pursuits in 2012, about 186 a day, in Police Vehicle Pursuits, 2012-2013 (May 2017). We could not find a published Florida count of pursuits, so these figures are national. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm treat every fleeing charge as a serious felony case from the start.

What should you do after a fleeing and eluding arrest?

Get the video preserved. Dash camera, body camera, and dispatch recordings often decide fleeing cases, and every agency involved in the chase may hold a piece. A person arrested in Hillsborough County sees a judge at first appearance within 24 hours, held at the Orient Road Jail, and the State Attorney’s Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit files the charging information. Before then:

1. Say nothing about the chase, including why you did not stop.
2. Write down the route and times while you remember them.
3. Keep your phone records, which can show calls, navigation, or location.
4. Call a lawyer quickly, so preservation requests go out to every agency.

If the chase began after a crash, the case may also include a leaving the scene charge, covered in our guide on whether leaving the scene of an accident is a felony in Florida.

Is fleeing FWC in a boat or on a jet ski a felony in Florida?

Yes. Under section 843.18, Florida Statutes, it is a third-degree felony for “the operator of any boat plying the waters of the state” who knows an officer has directed the vessel to stop to willfully refuse or fail to stop, or to stop and then willfully flee. The maximum sentence is 5 years in prison under section 775.082 and a $5,000 fine under section 775.083, Florida Statutes. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) brings most of these cases, because its officers patrol the state’s waters.

A jet ski counts. Florida’s boating law, section 327.02, Florida Statutes, defines a “personal watercraft” as a vessel under 16 feet powered by a water jet pump, and says “vessel” is synonymous with “boat.” Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm read a vessel fleeing charge element by element, because each one is a fact the State has to prove.

How is fleeing in a boat different from fleeing in a car?

The boat statute has one level and fewer built-in penalties. Section 843.18 is a single third-degree felony, while section 316.1935 climbs to first-degree felonies with 3-year mandatory minimums. The comparison below comes from the text of each statute.

The missing withhold ban matters. Because section 843.18 has no clause like section 316.1935(6), the statute itself does not stop a judge from withholding adjudication, which can keep a client from being a convicted felon. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm build the mitigation for that request from the start of a vessel case.

One rule from car cases will likely carry over. In State v. Kirer, 120 So. 3d 60 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013), a driver kept going for about five minutes at roughly 10 mph despite a deputy’s lights, siren, and loudspeaker orders. The Fourth District held the deputy had probable cause for fleeing “regardless of whether probable cause initially justified the stop.” We found no published Florida appellate opinion applying section 843.18, but its wording tracks section 316.1935(1), so we expect prosecutors to argue that an unlawful stop is no defense to vessel fleeing either.

The lawfulness of the stop still matters to the companion charge. Resisting without violence under section 843.02, Florida Statutes requires that the officer was acting “in the lawful execution of any legal duty.” Our post on resisting an officer without violence in Florida explains that element.

What other charges come with fleeing on the water?

Most vessel fleeing cases carry a stack of lesser charges and citations. They are listed below with the classification each statute gives them.

The small citations are not just paperwork. Registration records tie a vessel to its owner, and an expired registration citation cannot be paid by mail under section 327.73. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm handle the infractions with the felony so nothing is left open.

How did FWC identify two Tampa jet ski riders months after the chase?

With surveillance video, witnesses, and phone data. On October 30, 2026, FOX 13 reported that FWC officers served arrest warrants on two Tampa men, ages 25 and 23, over a July 12 incident in Hillsborough County. According to the report, a caller said three jet skis were running through a designated slow speed area, an officer found two matching jet skis, identified himself, and ordered the riders to stop, and both riders “sped away at high speeds through the slow speed zone.” FWC said investigators identified them through surveillance recordings, witness statements, and mobile phone data.

The reported charges were fleeing to elude, resisting without violence, interference with an FWC officer, and the slow speed zone violation, plus citations for improper display of a registration number, expired registration, and failing to update a driver license address. One jet ski was impounded. These are allegations, and both men are presumed innocent. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm point to cases like this one because they show how FWC builds a case after the rider is gone.

Getting away on the water does not end the case. About 3.5 months passed between the July 12 incident and the late-October warrants, and under section 775.15, Florida Statutes, the State generally has 3 years to file a third-degree felony. Jet skis are also a large share of Florida’s boating accidents: in 2025, personal watercraft were involved in 23% (161) of Florida’s 694 reportable boating accidents while making up 17% of registered vessels, according to the FWC 2025 Boating Accident Statistical Report. The same report counts 42,528 registered vessels in Hillsborough County in 2025.

How do our attorneys challenge phone data and video in a vessel fleeing case?

We test how the State got the data and whether it actually points to our client. Phone location evidence comes in different forms, including carrier cell-site records, “tower dumps” listing every phone that used a tower in a time window, and geofence requests to companies like Google, and each one has its own warrant rules.

• Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018): the government obtained 127 days of a robbery suspect’s cell-site records from his carrier, and the Supreme Court held that police “must generally obtain a warrant supported by probable cause” for those records.
• Tracey v. State, 152 So. 3d 504 (Fla. 2014): police tracked a suspect’s phone in real time without a warrant, and the Florida Supreme Court held that real-time cell-site tracking is a search requiring probable cause and that the evidence was subject to suppression.
• Chatrie v. United States, 609 U.S. 605 (2026): police used a geofence warrant to get Google location data after a credit union robbery, and on June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court held 6 to 3 that obtaining that data is a Fourth Amendment search. It sent the case back to decide whether the warrant was valid. Our post on whether police can track your phone without a warrant in Florida covers the ruling.

Broad location warrants sweep in strangers. U.S. Magistrate Judge Beth W. Jantz warns that these tools let the government “over-collect location data of uninvolved third parties,” in Simulating More Particularity: Ideas for Approaching Search Warrants for Geofences, Tower Dumps, and Cell-Site Simulators, 16 Federal Courts Law Review (2024). In a vessel case, our attorneys:

• Get every warrant and application for phone records, and check the time window, the area covered, and the probable cause behind each step.
• Find out whether the data came from a tower dump or a geofence, and how investigators narrowed a list of phones to our client. Our guide to cell phone location evidence explains what the records can and cannot show.
• Test identification from video. Distance, glare, sunglasses, life jackets, and look-alike jet skis make faces hard to read, and a registration number identifies a vessel, not its rider.
• Test the stop order. We ask whether the officer was identifiable as law enforcement, how the order was given, and whether a rider could hear it over the engine.
• Compare witness statements with the video and the timeline, because callers often describe a group of riders rather than one person.

What should you do if FWC is looking for you?

Do not talk to the investigator, and call a defense lawyer before a warrant issues. FWC officers are law enforcement officers with “full power to investigate and arrest” under section 379.3313, Florida Statutes, and a casual phone call can fill the gap between a jet ski and the person riding it.

• Do not return the officer’s call or explain what happened. A statement that you were on the water that day may be the identification the case is missing.
• Do not delete texts, photos, or location history, and do not sell, repaint, or hide the vessel. Doing so can lead to a separate tampering charge.
• Let a lawyer contact the investigator. Our representation before charges are filed can include presenting facts to the State Attorney’s Office before a decision is made.
• If a warrant is coming, plan the surrender. In Hillsborough County, a person arrested on a warrant is booked into the jail and sees a judge at first appearance, and our post on the bond walkthrough process in Hillsborough County explains how a planned surrender works.

Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm defend FWC boating cases in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties.

Frequently asked questions about fleeing and eluding in Florida

Can fleeing and eluding charges be dropped in Florida?

Yes, when the State cannot prove the driver knew of the order to stop, cannot prove the patrol car’s markings, lights, and siren, or cannot prove who was driving. The Brancato Law Firm builds those arguments from the video and presents them to the prosecutor, as described on our criminal traffic defense page.

Does the police car have to be marked in a Florida fleeing case?

For a subsection (2) charge, yes: since October 1, 2025, the car must have “agency jurisdictional markings prominently displayed,” though agency insignia is no longer required. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm check the offense date first, because older cases still require insignia.

Can you get a withhold of adjudication for fleeing and eluding in Florida?

No; section 316.1935(6) bars a court from withholding adjudication for any fleeing offense. The Brancato Law Firm therefore works to defeat the charge or negotiate a reduction to a different offense, such as reckless driving.

How long is your license revoked for fleeing and eluding in Florida?

At least 1 year and up to 5 years, under section 316.1935(5). Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm argue for the shortest revocation the facts support.

Can fleeing and eluding be reduced to reckless driving in Florida?

It can be, because the reckless driving statute treats fleeing in a vehicle as reckless driving per se. The Brancato Law Firm pursues that reduction when the State’s proof on knowledge or markings is weak, and our post on reckless driving in Florida explains the penalties.

What is the 1.5 multiplier for repeat fleeing in Florida?

It multiplies the subtotal sentence points by 1.5 when the primary offense is fleeing and the prior record includes a fleeing violation, under section 921.0024(1)(b). Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm check whether the prior actually counts and whether the offense date is on or after October 1, 2025.

Is fleeing on a jet ski a felony in Florida?

Yes; a jet ski is a vessel, and fleeing an officer’s directive to stop in any boat is a third-degree felony under section 843.18, Florida Statutes, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The Brancato Law Firm defends these FWC cases by testing who was operating the jet ski and whether the rider knew of the order.

Do you lose your driver license for fleeing in a boat in Florida?

Section 843.18 has no driver license revocation provision, unlike section 316.1935(5) for vehicles. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm still check for related citations, such as an outdated license address, that need to be resolved in court.

Can FWC arrest you months after a boat chase?

Yes; FWC can investigate after the fact and obtain an arrest warrant, and the State generally has 3 years to file a third-degree felony. If you think FWC is looking for you, The Brancato Law Firm can step in through pre-file advocacy before a warrant is served.

Call a Tampa fleeing and eluding defense attorney

Pursuit video and dispatch recordings are easiest to secure in the first days after an arrest. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, will send preservation requests to every agency involved, including FWC in a boat or jet ski case, test the State’s proof on knowledge and markings, and push for a reduction. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential consultation. You can call us at any hour. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read about our Spanish and Haitian Creole criminal defense services.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Tampa Criminal Traffic Lawyer page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.