Agree that there’s unanswered questions here. However, they should have gone straight to the police station if they feared for their lives.
So far I think they were in total panic and they cracked. I do agree that merely owning firearms is not something they should be charged for. I don’t see that as a reasonable construction of the case.
But they screwed up big time by running. I think its completely believable that they did so over threats and in panic, but this was a huge mistake.
When I was 16 in drivers training, the instructor said if you see the lights behind you pull over and take your medicine.
Remarkably poignant advice. Has stood the test of time.