Running away from your problems will only delay the inevitable. This was the case for a woman who was planning to flee to South Carolina with her children to avoid a county bench warrant. She was stopped after police came to her apartment with an arrest warrant.

According to Pennsylvania county court documents, the woman, 31, has three closed criminal cases and two closed traffic violations at the district court level. Her most recent court action was in 2008 when she was awaiting a pre-trial conference for charges of simple assault and harassment for a September 2007 incident. In addition, she has two bail forfeitures on her record for August and October 2008.

As police were approaching her apartment to make the arrest, they heard her talking on the phone inside of the apartment about going back to South Carolina, that she was never coming back to Pennsylvania, and that she would never see the inside of a jail cell. When police entered the apartment, she was inside and they arrested her.

The defendant's plan was to travel to South Carolina with her children that same day to avoid arrest.

While the full circumstances of this woman's case aren't clear, it's important that if you find yourself in a situation with an arrest warrant, or a possible misdemeanor charge, you should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney. If this is your first offense, you deserve a second chance and an attorney understands that the charges can vary greatly in terms of seriousness of the crime and the penalties involved. An attorney can also work with you to figure out the best defense for your situation.

In this case, the woman posted the $2,000 bail and was released.

Source: Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch, "Police: Woman Planned to Flee to South Carolina Before Arrest," Tony DiDomizio, Feb. 20, 2012