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Lash v. County of Henrico10/29/1991
[13 VaApp Page 252] [13 VaApp Page 251] In a bench trial on July 9, 1989, Christopher L. Lash, appellant, pursuant to Henrico County Ordinance 14-2, was convicted of reckless driving with intent to elude a police officer in accordance with former Code § 46.1-192.1 (now Code § 46.2-817) and reckless driving in accordance with former Code § 46.1-189 (now Code § 46.2-852). For the offense of eluding a police
officer, the trial court imposed a sentence of six months in jail, a fine of $500, and a suspension of Lash's license for six months. For the offense of reckless driving, the trial court imposed a sentence of three months in jail and a fine of $250, all of which was suspended. On appeal, Lash concedes he is guilty of one of these offenses. He contends, however, that his driving constituted one "act" and, therefore, pursuant to Code § 19.2-294, he may not be convicted of both offenses. We hold that Code § 19.2-294 is applicable to multiple convictions obtained in a single trial, as well as to multiple convictions obtained in consecutive trials, and that Lash's driving constituted one act as contemplated by this Code section. Accordingly, we reverse.
The essential facts which formed the basis of Lash's convictions are not in dispute. On March 9, 1989, Henrico County Police Officer Counts stopped Lash and issued him a summons for driving on two defective tires and a summons for failing to have a front license plate. Officer Counts also informed Lash that the automobile was unsafe and that Lash would have to park it. In response, Lash told Officer Counts that Counts could not tell him what to do. Lash then ran back to his vehicle and drove away, accelerating at such a rate of speed that the vehicle left sixty to seventy feet of tire marks on the highway.
Officer Counts immediately entered his vehicle, turned on the siren and blue lights, and followed Lash at speeds of sixty to seventy miles per hour in a posted thirty-five miles per hour speed zone. Officer Counts was able to follow behind Lash as close as fifty yards and eventually followed Lash to a red stop signal at a major intersection, which Lash drove through and onto a supermarket parking lot. From the intersection traffic light, Officer Counts observed Lash drive through the parking lot at speeds of thirty to forty miles per hour. When Counts apprehended Lash, he cited Lash for the offense of eluding a police officer and the offense of reckless driving. Upon Lash's conviction of both offenses, this appeal followed.
On appeal, in his initial brief, Lash asserted that, pursuant to Code § 19.2-294, the trial court could not properly convict him of both eluding a police officer and general reckless driving. More specifically, Lash asserted that since his act of driving his vehicle was consistent from the time he sped away from the officer to the time the officer apprehended him, his driving constituted one act
and, therefore, the trial court could properly convict him of only one of the two offenses. In response, the County of Henrico, in its initial brief, contended that the manner in which Lash initially sped away from the officer and his subsequent conduct in eluding the officer by his failure to stop for the officer constituted two separate acts and, consequently, Code § 19.2-294 is not a bar to both convictions.
Subsequent to the filing of the initial briefs, by order entered in this Court, we directed the pa
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