You're going through a rough patch in life. Everything costs more, rent is up, tips are down at work, and money is tight. You’re forced to make a decision: pay the rent or renew your car tag. You see cars every day without valid tags and think, “What’s the big deal?” But on the very first day your tag expires, you're pulled over on your way to work. In a moment of panic, you yell that you can’t go to jail and take off running. After just a few steps, reality hits, you’re not going to jail over a ticket. But it’s too late. The officer catches up with you, pins you down, and puts you in handcuffs. In shock while being put in his car, you ask, “Can’t I just pay the ticket?” The officer responds, “No, this is a felony, escape in the third degree.” You’re stunned. You call your family, who bail you out, and you ask your lawyer: Is this really a felony? I only ran a few feet. How can that be a felony?

In a similar case decided on March 28, 2025, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, reversed Bonnie Lee Baker’s conviction of third-degree felony escape. The events of Bonnie Lee Baker’s case arose in Addison, Winston County, Alabama, in April of 2022. During a routine trip home, Bonnie Lee Baker ran out of gas on State Route 41. Deputy Williams of the Addison Police Department noticed a vehicle parked on the shoulder of the highway and stopped to investigate. During the stop, Deputy Williams identified Baker and notified dispatch. Dispatch soon informed him that Baker had an active warrant for her arrest. Deputy Williams informed Baker that she was under arrest due to the warrant. In response, Baker began backing away, stating she did not want to go to jail. Despite being warned not to flee, she ran approximately 150 yards before realizing her mistake. Baker then stopped and laid down in the grass, where she was promptly arrested. Following these events, a jury in the Winston County Circuit Court found Baker guilty of third-degree felony escape and operating a motor vehicle without a license.

Baker appealed the conviction, arguing that the State failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish she was in custody before she fled. More specifically, she contended that “custody has to have some type of physical restraint and that [t]here was no evidence whatsoever presented that could satisfy that element.” Baker v. State, No. CR-2024-0071, 2025 WL 939839, at *6 (Ala. Crim. App. Mar. 28, 2025). Under Alabama law, a person commits felony escape when “he escapes or attempts to escape from custody.” Section 13A-10-30(b)(2), Ala. Code 1975. The court defined custody as “restraint or detention by a public servant pursuant to a lawful arrest.” Baker v. State, 2025 WL 939839, at *6. However, the court distinguished this from situations involving “mere supervision of probation or parole or constraint incidental to release on bail.” Id.

The United States Supreme Court has concluded that a person is in custody when there has been a “formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement.” California v. Beheler, 463 U.S. 1121, 1125 (1983). Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Alabama courts have held that in the context of felony escape, “a person is not in ‘custody’ until his arrest is completed.” Ex parte McReynolds, 662 So. 2d 886 (Ala. 1994). The Supreme Court further explained that an arrest “is complete when there is an assertion of the intent to arrest followed by either physical touching or submission of the arrestee.” California v. Hodari D., 499 U.S. 621, 690 (1991). Therefore, to be guilty of felony escape in Alabama, an individual must attempt to escape after an officer has lawfully restrained them with physical force. Baker v. State, 2025 WL 939839, at *7.

In this case, the State’s evidence showed that Deputy Williams informed Baker of the arrest; however, no restraint was applied before Baker fled. There is no evidence that Williams physically detained Baker or that Baker submitted to the arrest. Accordingly, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ordered the lower court to reverse the “conviction and sentence for third-degree escape.” Id.

The Court made the correct decision in this case. While no one should flee from the police, no court should convict someone under a legally erroneous standard. In this instance, the trial court found Bonnie Lee Baker guilty of third-degree escape based on a standard that does not exist. The court clearly disregarded the legal framework established by state statutes, the Alabama Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court. Decisions like this, at any level, are harmful to the integrity of the legal system and erode public trust in its fairness. Baker’s conduct did not meet the legal threshold for third-degree felony escape, and the charges should never have been filed. The trial court should have dismissed the case at the outset. Although the Court of Criminal Appeals ultimately reached the correct result, the case should have never progressed this far.

To review: under Alabama law, a person commits third-degree felony escape only when they have been informed of the arrest and either have had force used against them or have submitted to the arrest and then attempt to flee or escape from law enforcement. 

If you have a Federal Criminal case, a State Criminal case, a Municipal Case or a Family Law case, contact Joe Ingram or Joe Joe Ingram Law, LLC at 205-335-2640. Get Relief * Get Results.