Land v. Commonwealth,
2010-CA-1840, Rendered on March 30, 2012, To Be Published
Land pleaded guilty to a class D felony and was given an alternative sentence, part of which was ordered to be served on weekends. Mr. Land failed to appear one weekend, and was subsequently charged with escape in the second degree. He entered a conditional guilty plea to the escape charge, reserving the right to appeal whether the failure to appear for service of a weekend sentence constituted an escape in the second degree.The Court of Appeals held that it did. The Court found the failure to report for weekends as required by the alternative sentence fit within the statutory definition of escape because it was a failure to return to custody or detention following a temporary leave granted for a specific purpose or a limited period. The Court found that the escape met the requirements for escape in the second degree because Land had been convicted of a class D felony prior to his escape.Contributed by Robert Yang
