Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

Re: failure to appear

You have not stated whether the any of the charges is a felony, which would lead to different consequences in the pre-trial phase as well as after any conviction for such an offense. I presume that all of the charges are misdemeanors, since it is unlikley you would have avoided prosecution for 10 years and been able to enlist.

If you failed to appear on a felony charge, you are likely to be extradited if picked up on a warrant AND you are ineligible to possess firearms, a necessary qualification for serving in the armed forces. (If convicted of a felony, you would lose the right to possess firearms until the right to do so has been restored or you receive a pardon for the offense.)

If all of your charges are misdemeanors, you are not likely to be picked up on a warrant unless you are taken into custody in the county where charges were filed or a contiguous county. Typically, warrants expire and are usually renewed about every 5 years.

You retain an attorney to investigate your options. While the age of a case may have weakened the case against you, it will not move forward until you have made an appearance personally or through counsel.