ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2701
(By Delegates Shaver, Argento and Perry)
[Passed April 11, 2009; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT
to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §61-5-12b, relating
to making escape by any person from the custody of the
Division of Juvenile Services a misdemeanor; 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; penalty venue.
(a) Any person in the custody of the director of Division of
Juvenile Services, regardless of where he or she confined or
detained, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction,
shall be confined in jail, or in the case of a person in juvenile
facility, for not more than one year.
(b) 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.