H. B. 3153
(By Delegates Boggs, Craig and R. M. Thompson)
[Introduced March 23, 2005; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §61-3-28a, relating
to establishing the crime of railroad vandalism.
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 §61-3-28a, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-28a. Vandalism of railroad property; penalties.
(a) Reckless disregard for railroad property or the safety of
another.--
Whoever, with reckless disregard for railroad property or the
safety of another, commits an act which may cause damage to
railroad property or bodily injury to another by an act including,
but not limited to:
(1) Placing a small object, such as a coin, token, bottle cap,
bottle, or can, on a railroad track or rail or dropping or throwing
an object, such as an egg or water balloon, at a locomotive or
train;
(2) Taking, removing, defacing, altering, making with
graffiti, or otherwise vandalizing a railroad sign, placard, or
marker;
(3) Throwing a rock, baseball, or other dangerous object at a
locomotive, railroad car, or train;
(4) Dropping a brick or other dangerous object from a bridge
or other overpass onto a railroad right-of-way;
(5) Shooting a firearm or other dangerous weapon at a
locomotive, railroad car, or train;
(6) Removing appurtenances from, damaging, or otherwise
impairing the operation of any railroad signal system, including a
train control system, centralized dispatching system, or
highway-railroad grade crossing warning signal on a railroad owned,
leased, or operated by any railroad carrier, without consent of the
railroad carrier involved;
(7) Interfering or tampering with, or obstructing in any way,
any switch, frog, rail, roadbed, sleeper, viaduct, bridge, trestle,
culvert, embankment, structure, or appliance pertaining to or
connected with any railroad carrier, without consent of the
railroad carrier involved; or
(8) Taking, stealing, removing, changing, addressing to,
altering, or in any manner interfering with any journal bearing,
brass, waste, packing, triple valve, pressure cock, brake, air
hose, or any other part of the operating mechanism of any
locomotive, engine, tender, coach, car, caboose, or motor car used
or capable of being used by any railroad carrier in this state
without consent of the railroad carrier.
Any person violating this section is guilty of a criminal
offense. If railroad property damage does not exceed five hundred
dollars and no bodily injury occurs to another as a result of any
of the aforesaid acts, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, the person shall pay the railroad carrier
involved the cost to repair any railroad property damaged, and to
perform community service for not more than 120 hours, if community
service is available in the jurisdiction where the offense was
committed. If community service is not available in the
jurisdiction where the offense was committed, the person shall be
subject to pay the railroad carrier involved, the cost to repair
any railroad property damaged, and be fined not more than five
hundred dollars, imprisoned in jail for not more than six months,
or both fined and imprisoned. If railroad property damage exceeds
five hundred dollars or bodily injury occurs to another as a result
of any of the aforesaid acts, the person is guilty of a felony and,
upon conviction thereof, the person shall pay the railroad carrier involved for the cost to repair any railroad property damaged, and
shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, imprisoned for
not more than ten years, or both fined and imprisoned. If serious
bodily injury or death occurs to another as a result of any of the
aforesaid acts, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, the person shall pay the railroad carrier
involved, the cost to repair any railroad property damaged, and be
fined not more than twenty thousand dollars, imprisoned for not
more than twenty years, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b) Intent to damage railroad property or to endanger the
safety of another.--
Whoever willfully damages or attempts to damage railroad
property or willfully endangers or attempts to endanger the safety
of another, by an act including, but not limited to:
(1) Taking, removing, defacing, altering, or otherwise
vandalizing a railroad sign, placard or marker;
(2) Throwing a rock, baseball, or other dangerous object at a
locomotive, railroad car or train;
(3) Dropping a brick or other dangerous object from a bridge
or other overpass onto a railroad right-of-way;
(4) Shooting a firearm or other dangerous weapon at a
locomotive, railroad car or train;
(5) Removing appurtenances from, damaging, or otherwise
impairing the operation of any railroad signal system, including a train control system, centralized dispatching system, or
highway-railroad grade crossing warning signal, on a railroad
owned, leased, or operated by any railroad carrier, and without
consent of the railroad carrier involved;
(6) Interfering or tampering with, or obstructing in any way,
any switch, frog, rail, roadbed, sleeper, viaduct, bridge, trestle,
culvert, embankment, structure, or appliance pertaining to or
connected with any railroad carrier without consent of the railroad
carrier involved; or
(7) Taking, stealing, removing, changing, adding to, altering,
or in any manner interfering with any journal bearing, brass,
waste, packing, triple valve, pressure cock, brake, air hose, or
any other part of the operating mechanism of any locomotive,
engine, tender, coach, car, caboose, or motor car used or capable
of being used by any railroad carrier in this state without consent
of the railroad carrier is guilty of a felony.
If railroad property damage does not exceed five hundred
dollars and no bodily injury occurs to another as a result of any
of the aforesaid acts, upon conviction thereof, the person shall
pay the railroad carrier involved, the cost to repair any railroad
property damaged, and shall be fined not more than ten thousand
dollars, imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both fined and
imprisoned. If railroad property damage exceeds five hundred
dollars or bodily injury occurs to another as a result of any of the aforesaid acts, upon conviction thereof, the person shall pay
the railroad carrier involved, the cost to repair any railroad
property damaged, and shall be fined not more than twenty thousand
dollars, imprisoned for not more than twenty years, or both fined
and imprisoned. If serious bodily injury occurs to another as a
result of any of the aforesaid acts, upon conviction thereof, the
person shall pay the railroad carrier involved, the cost to repair
any railroad property damaged, and shall be fined not more than
twenty-five thousand dollars, imprisoned for any term of years or
for life, or both imprisoned and fined. If death occurs to another
as a result of any of the aforesaid acts in this subsection, upon
conviction thereof, the person shall pay the railroad carrier
involved for the cost to repair any railroad property damaged, and
shall be fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars,
imprisoned for any term of years or life, or both fined and
imprisoned.
(c) Theft of railroad freight.--
Whoever, willfully and with intent to permanently deprive the
owner thereof, takes or removes railroad freight from any freight
car, including a boxcar, container, or flatbed, is guilty of a
felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than
five thousand dollars, imprisoned for not more than five years, or
both.
(d) Receiving stolen railroad freight.--
Whoever buys or receives any of the railroad freight described
in subsection (c), having reason to know that the freight has been
stolen, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be fined not more than five thousand dollars, imprisoned for not
more than five years, or both.
(e) Definitions.
For purposes of this section:
(1) "Bodily injury" means:
(i) A cut, abrasion, bruise, burn, or disfigurement;
(ii) Physical pain;
(iii) Illness;
(iv) Impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or
mental faculty; or
(2) "Railroad" means any form of nonhighway ground
transportation that runs on rails or electromagnetic guideways,
including:
(i) Commuter or other short-haul railroad passenger service in
a metropolitan or suburban area; and
(ii) High-speed ground transportation systems that connect
metropolitan areas but does not include rapid transit operations in
an urban area that are not connected to the general railroad system
of transportation;
(3) "Railroad carrier" means a person providing railroad
transportation; railroad carrier including a right-of-way, track, bridge, yard, shop, station, tunnel, viaduct, trestle, depot,
warehouse, terminal, railroad signal system, train control system,
centralized dispatching system, or any other structure,
appurtenance, or equipment owned, leased, or used in the operation
of any railroad carrier including a train, locomotive, engine,
railroad car, work equipment, rolling stock, or safety device.
"Railroad property" does not include administrative buildings,
administrative offices, or administrative office equipment;
(4) "Right-of-way" means the track or roadbed owned, leased,
or operated by a railroad carrier which is located on either side
of its tracks and which is readily recognizable to a reasonable
person as being railroad property or is reasonably identified as
such by fencing or appropriate signs;
(5) "Serious bodily injury" means bodily injury which
involves:
(i) A substantial risk of death;
(ii) Extreme physical pain;
(iii) Protracted and obvious disfigurement; or
(iv) Protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily
member, organ, or mental faculty; and
(6) "Yard" means a system of parallel tracks, crossovers, and
switches where railroad cars are switched and made up into trains,
and where railroad cars, locomotives and other rolling stock are
kept when not in use or when awaiting repairs.
(f) The provisions of this section do not apply to any person
employed by a railroad who is performing the duties assigned by the
railroad or who is otherwise performing within the scope of his or
her employment.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the offense of
railroad vandalism.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underlining have been omitted.
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