Whoever escapes or attempts to escape by any means from the custody of a county sheriff, the director of the Regional Jail Authority, an authorized representative of said persons, a law-enforcement officer, probation officer, employee of the Division of Corrections, court bailiff, or from any institution, facility, or any alternative sentence confinement, by which he or she is lawfully confined, if the custody or confinement is by virtue of a charge or conviction for a felony, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a correctional facility for not more than five years; and if the custody or confinement is by virtue of a charge or conviction for a misdemeanor, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, he or she shall be confined in a county or regional jail for not more than one year.
W. Va. Code § 61-5-10
Persons in custody of institutions or officers
Known as the Jerry Alan Jones Act
The act spans §§ 61-5-1 to 61-5-9 (34 sections).
Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case 230 W. Va. 85 - State v. McGill (2012)
Most recently applied in State of West Virginia v. Michael Keith Allman (April 2018)
Official source: West Virginia Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain West Virginia statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.