COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2701
(By Delegates Shaver, Argento and Perry)
(Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary)
[March 4, 2009]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §61-5-12b, relating
to an escape of any person from the custody of the Division of
Juvenile Services as either a misdemeanor or a felony
depending on the type of facility they were committed to in
when the escape occurred; providing definitions; providing for
criminal penalties; establishing venue for the proceedings;
and allowing for the transfer of jurisdiction back to the
original committing court if the person is under eighteen and
all parties agree.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-5-12b, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 5. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC JUSTICE.
§61-5-12b. Escape from custody of the Director of Juvenile Services.
(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Community-based staff-secure facility" means any
public or private pre-adjudication and pre-dispositional
residential facility characterized by staff restrictions of the
movements and activities of individuals held in lawful custody in
such facility and which limits its residents' access to the
surrounding community, but is not characterized by construction
fixtures designed to physically restrict the movements and
activities of residents;
(2) "Hardware-secure detention center" means any facility
operated by or contracted with the Division of Juvenile Services
for the pre-adjudication residential placement of juveniles to
assure the safe and secure confinement of the juvenile pending the
resolution of a petition for a delinquent act which if committed by
an adult would be a crime; and
(3) "Juvenile correctional facility" means any facility
operated by or contracted with the Division of Juvenile Services
for treatment, instruction and rehabilitation of juveniles that
have been adjudicated delinquent and committed to the Division of
Juvenile Services upon disposition.
(b) Any person who escapes from the custody of the director
of the Division of Juvenile Services, who was committed to a
community-based staff-secure facility, is guilty of a misdemeanor,
and upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for not more
than one year. A term of imprisonment imposed pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be imposed as a consecutive
sentence and shall not be served concurrently with any
imprisonment, confinement or detention imposed under any prior
sentence being served or otherwise being discharged at the time
such person commits an offense under the provisions of this
section. Time served by such person after any other prior sentence
has been served or otherwise discharged shall be applied to any
sentence which may ultimately be imposed for an offense under this
section. Venue for the prosecution of a violation of this section
shall be in the county in which the escape occurs: Provided, That
if the person is under the age of eighteen, upon agreement of all
parties, the prosecution of the escape may be transferred to the
circuit court from which the juvenile was originally committed.
(c) Any person who escapes from the custody of the Division
of Juvenile Services, who was committed to a juvenile correctional
facility or a hardware-secure detention center, is guilty of a
felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state
correctional facility not more than five years. A term of
imprisonment imposed pursuant to the provisions of this section
shall be imposed as a consecutive sentence and shall not be served
concurrently with any imprisonment, confinement or detention
imposed under any prior sentence being served or otherwise being
discharged at the time such person commits an offense under the
provisions of this section. Time served by such person after any
other prior sentence has been served or otherwise discharged shall
be applied to any sentence which may ultimately be imposed for an offense under this section. Venue for the prosecution of a
violation of this section shall be in the county in which the
escape occurs: Provided, That if the person is under the age of
eighteen, upon agreement of all parties, the prosecution of the
escape may be transferred to the circuit court from which the
juvenile was originally committed.
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