Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §755, sub-§1-D, as repealed and replaced by PL 2001, c. 667, Pt. D, §20 and affected by §36, is amended to read:

1-D. A person is guilty of escape from arrest or escape during transport following arrest if without official permission the arrested person intentionally:

A. Escapes from arrest or escapes from custody while being transported to a jail, police station or any other facility enumerated in subsection 3 pursuant to an arrest. Leaves following arrest prior to being transported, or while being transported to a jail, police station or other initial place of detention or to a courthouse when a court has ordered that the person be arrested and transported directly to court. Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime; or

B. Violates paragraph A and at the time of the escape the person uses physical force against another person, threatens to use physical force or is armed with a dangerous weapon. Violation of this paragraph is a Class B crime.

SUMMARY

The bill clarifies that the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17- A, section 755, subsection 1-D addresses 2 post-arrest escapes: an unauthorized departure from custody following an arrest prior to being transported from the scene and an unauthorized departure following an arrest while being transported to an initial place of detention or a courthouse. A courthouse is expressly included to cover an escape from a court-ordered arrest in which the court has ordered the person to be brought directly before the court following the arrest. The reference to "or any other facility enumerated in subsection 3" is removed, because subsection 3 includes facilities not relevant to the post-arrest escapes addressed in subsection 1-D. The bill also specifies that the culpable state of mind element, "intentionally," must accompany the prohibited conduct, which is consistent with all the other forms of escape described in Title 17-A, section 755.