Colorado Court of Appeals People v. McMinn 10CA0734

Decision here.

   McMinn ran over a deputy while he was driving away from a domestic violence call.  Over the next 20 minutes, he led other deputies on a series of short pursuits, getting away from them each time... except the last.  At the end of that pursuit, he slid off the roadway into the snow, and the deputy who was chasing him at the time crashed into him to push him further down the hill and pin his car.  Then they arrested him.

   He was charged with four counts of vehicular eluding, and he argued that they should be merged into one count because it was one continuous attempt to get away.  The prosecution argued that there were a separate set of facts (including different times, locations, deputies, and actions taken by McMinn) to support each of the four separate counts, and the trial court agreed.  McMinn moved to add four counts of eluding a peace officer (apparently hoping that the jury would convict him of the four misdemeanors instead of the four felonies).  McMinn was convicted on all counts.

   He appealed, renewing his argument that the four counts of vehicular eluding (and now also the four counts of eluding a peace officer) should be merged into one.  The Colorado court of appeals held that the four separate pursuits supported four separate charges, and his convictions were upheld.