An individual under arrest for a narcotics offense didn't make his situation any better when he drove away from undercover narcotics officers and hit two police cars and a bicyclist earlier this month.

The driver now faces 12 felony charges in St. Louis Circuit Court, including resisting arrest and assault on a police officer. This will be his third time facing drug charges since 1999. He spent seven years in prison after being convicted of second-degree drug trafficking and assault on a law enforcement officer in 1999. He was also sentenced to five years in prison in 2005 for drug possession.

While the temptation to flee the scene of a crime can be strong, doing so can add an additional felony charge to your record. Resisting a felony arrest in Missouri is a Class D felony, which can lead to an additional four years in prison. Similarly, resisting arrest by fleeing in a way that risks someone else's serious injury or death is a Class D felony.

In the recent St. Louis drug case, fleeing / resisting arrest meant injuring bystanders, which can lead to additional charges as well as civil consequences.

Charged with resisting arrest?

A person can be charged with resisting arrest if he or she either 1) resists an arrest, stop or detention by threatening the use of violence of physical force; or 2) interferes with the arrest, stop or detention of another person. The defendant must reasonably have known that the arrest was happening.

Defending against a charge of resisting arrest is challenging, but possible in some cases. For example, if a defendant is charged with resisting arrest when he or she simply used foul language, a criminal defense attorney may be able to prove that there is no evidence the defendant actually did resist the arrest. Similarly, simply backing away from an officer may be seen as resisting arrest, even if it wasn't intentional. If the prosecution cannot prove that someone intentionally attempted to prevent an arrest, they will not win on this charge.

Source: Stltoday.com, "Charges filed in St. Louis drug arrest escape that ran down bicyclist," Jennifer Mann, Jan. 12, 2012.