When our loved ones are in trouble, it is natural to want to help them.
However, providing certain types of assistance to someone who is legally considered a “fugitive” in Tulsa, Oklahoma can land you in court along with your loved ones. Even simple assistance like a meal, a warm coat, or respite in a safe place where they can get their thoughts together could be construed as harboring.
What’s more, police routinely use deception as an investigative technique. Police might mislead a person about their obligation to provide information and about the consequences of not cooperating with police.
What Does Harboring a Fugitive Mean?
In Oklahoma, anyone who has just committed a felony, is an outlaw, fugitive from justice, or is seeking to escape arrest is considered a “fugitive.”
Furthermore, “harbor” has a broad definition and includes lodging, clothing, arming, equipping, harboring, aiding, assisting, or concealing a fugitive. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 440
Anyone found guilty of harboring a fugitive can face as much as 10 years in the State Penitentiary for this felony crime.
A 2009 section in the harboring statute provides misdemeanor penalties for harboring a person who has not complied with sex offender registration requirements. That law implicates “any person” who does as little as to “withhold information for, or fail to notify” police about non-compliance.
While subsections of the Oklahoma harboring statute that provide penalties for knowingly harboring an unregistered sex offender may be defensible, the subsection about withholding information might not stand up to judicial scrutiny. It would seem odd for courts to endorse a law that effectively deputizes every citizen and provides criminal penalties for those who do not come forward to provide information they may or may not know to be true.
Free Consultation: Tulsa Felony Defense Attorney
A conviction of harboring a fugitive carries very serious consequences. If you or someone you know is faced with a harboring a fugitive charge, please contact a Tulsa criminal defense attorney to discuss your available legal options.
Simply call our team at the Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm at 918-256-3400 for a no-hassle, confidential consultation.
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