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Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 843.18 (2025)

Boats; fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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843.18 Boats; fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer.—
(1) It is unlawful for the operator of any boat plying the waters of the state, having knowledge that she or he has been directed to stop such vessel by a duly authorized law enforcement officer, willfully to refuse or fail to stop in compliance with such directive or, having stopped in knowing compliance with such a directive, willfully to flee in an attempt to elude such officer. Any person violating this section is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(2) Any violation of this section with respect to any vessel shall constitute such vessel as contraband which may be seized by a law enforcement agency and which shall be subject to forfeiture pursuant to ss. 932.701-932.704.
History.—s. 1, ch. 80-160; s. 1, ch. 82-210; s. 29, ch. 87-243; s. 11, ch. 87-392; s. 1347, ch. 97-102.

Arrestable Offenses under F.S. 843.18

M = misdemeanor · F = felony · degree: F=1st S=2nd T=3rd
§843.18FLEE/ELUDE POLICEFAIL TO STOP/FLEE POLICE IN BOATF · 3rd
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2004–2022 · leading case: Nicor Int'l Corp. v. El Paso Corp., 318 F. Supp. 2d 1160 (S.D. Fla. 2004).
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Nicor Int'l Corp. v. El Paso Corp., 318 F. Supp. 2d 1160 (S.D. Fla. 2004). · cites it 2× “16, Fla. Stat. (unlawful installation of radio equipment); § 843.”
United States v. Darcy Piloto, 562 F. App'x 907 (11th Cir. 2014). · cites it 2× “Second, Piloto argues that the district court erred in characterizing his prior felony conviction under Florida’s fleeing-by-boat statute, Fla. Stat. § 843.18 (1), as a “violent *909 felony” for the purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA).”
Molina v. State of Florida (S.D. Fla. 2022). · cites it 2× “Petitioner was convicted of Count 2 in violation of Fla. Stat. § 843.18 ; he was sentenced to ten (10) days incarceration, three (3) years of probation with a special condition that he may not enter Monroe County waters.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham Syfert, a Jacksonville, Florida criminal defense attorney (Florida Bar No. 39104). Attorney Syfert regularly handles Chapter 843 matters in the context of obstruction and resisting charges and represents clients throughout Northeast Florida. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.