I had an officer ask me about a hot pursuit issue that I couldn't find much case law on so I thought I'd enlist ya'll's help. He was wondering about a time limit after which you can't follow a suspect into a house. Specifically, his fact scenario was regarding chasing a felony suspect and losing sight of him or her. After a certain amount of time, the same suspect is seen again running into a home. Is there a certain lapse of time before which the officer can continue to chase the subject and after which the officer can't without a warrant? Anything I've found pretty much says a few second loss of sight during a vehicle chase is okay but nothing seems to address a longer delay or following into a home. I'd appreciate any insight.

Take a look at the following cases, particularly LaHaye v. State and Jiminez v. State:

Winter v. State, 902 S.W.2d 571 (Tex. App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1995)

Vermillion v. State, 1997 Tex. App. LEXIS 6331 (Tex. App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1997)

LaHaye v. State, 1 S.W.3d 149 (Tex. App.--Texarkana 1999, pet. ref'd)

George v. State, 2005 Tex. app. LEXIS 9504 (Tex. App.--Fort Worth 2005, pet. ref'd).

Jiminez v. State, 750 S.W.2d 798 (Tex. App.--El Paso 1988)

Hope these help,

Janette A

Also, check out Yeager at 104 sw3d 103. The language there may assist

JAS

Thanks for the help!