SB 194: "An Act relating to offenses associated with criminal street gangs, and to sentencing for those offenses; and amending Rule 702(a), Alaska Rules of Evidence."
00SENATE BILL NO. 194 01 "An Act relating to offenses associated with criminal street gangs, and to 02 sentencing for those offenses; and amending Rule 702(a), Alaska Rules of 03 Evidence." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 11.41.110(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) A person commits the crime of murder in the second degree if 07 (1) with intent to cause serious physical injury to another person or 08 knowing that the conduct is substantially certain to cause death or serious physical 09 injury to another person, the person causes the death of any person; 10 (2) the person knowingly engages in conduct that results in the death 11 of another person under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value 12 of human life; [OR] 13 (3) acting either alone or with one or more persons, the person commits 14 or attempts to commit arson in the first degree, kidnapping, sexual assault in the first
01 degree, sexual assault in the second degree, burglary in the first degree, escape in the 02 first or second degree, or robbery in any degree and, in the course of or in furtherance 03 of that crime, or in immediate flight from that crime, any person causes the death of 04 a person other than one of the participants; or 05 (4) acting for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association 06 with a criminal street gang, the person commits or attempts to commit a crime 07 that is a felony and, in the course of or in furtherance of that crime or in 08 immediate flight from that crime, any person committing or attempting to commit 09 the crime causes the death of another person other than one of the participants. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 11.61.195(a) is amended to read: 11 (a) A person commits the crime of misconduct involving weapons in the 12 second degree if the person [KNOWINGLY] 13 (1) knowingly possesses a firearm during the commission of an offense 14 under AS 11.71.010 - 11.71.040; [OR] 15 (2) knowingly violates AS 11.61.200(a)(1) and is within the grounds 16 of or on a parking lot immediately adjacent to 17 (A) a public or private preschool, elementary, junior high, or 18 secondary school without the permission of the chief administrative officer of 19 the school or district or the designee of the chief administrative officer; or 20 (B) a center, other than a private residence, licensed under 21 AS 47.33 or AS 47.35 or recognized by the federal government for the care of 22 children; or 23 (3) participates as a member of a criminal street gang and, acting 24 for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang 25 or any of its members, the person knowingly discharges a firearm from a 26 propelled vehicle while the vehicle is being operated and under circumstances 27 manifesting a reckless disregard for a risk of damage to property or a risk of 28 physical injury to a person. 29 * Sec. 3. AS 11.61.200(a) is amended to read: 30 (a) A person commits the crime of misconduct involving weapons in the third 31 degree if the person
01 (1) knowingly possesses a firearm capable of being concealed on one's 02 person after having been convicted of a felony or adjudicated a delinquent minor for 03 conduct that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult by a court of this 04 state, a court of the United States, or a court of another state or territory; 05 (2) knowingly sells or transfers a firearm capable of being concealed 06 on one's person to a person who has been convicted of a felony by a court of this 07 state, a court of the United States, or a court of another state or territory; 08 (3) manufactures, possesses, transports, sells, or transfers a prohibited 09 weapon; 10 (4) knowingly sells or transfers a firearm to another whose physical or 11 mental condition is substantially impaired as a result of the introduction of an 12 intoxicating liquor or controlled substance into that other person's body; 13 (5) removes, covers, alters, or destroys the manufacturer's serial number 14 on a firearm with intent to render the firearm untraceable; 15 (6) possesses a firearm on which the manufacturer's serial number has 16 been removed, covered, altered, or destroyed, knowing that the serial number has been 17 removed, covered, altered, or destroyed with the intent of rendering the firearm 18 untraceable; 19 (7) violates AS 11.46.320 and, during the violation, possesses on the 20 person a firearm when the person's physical or mental condition is impaired as a result 21 of the introduction of an intoxicating liquor or controlled substance into the person's 22 body; 23 (8) violates AS 11.46.320 or 11.46.330 by entering or remaining 24 unlawfully on premises or in a propelled vehicle in violation of a provision of an order 25 issued under AS 25.35.010(b) or 25.35.020 and, during the violation, possesses on the 26 person a defensive weapon or a deadly weapon, other than an ordinary pocketknife; 27 (9) communicates in person with another in violation of AS 11.56.740 28 and, during the communication, possesses on the person a defensive weapon or a 29 deadly weapon, other than an ordinary pocketknife; 30 (10) resides in a dwelling knowing that there is a firearm capable of 31 being concealed on one's person or a prohibited weapon in the dwelling if the person
01 has been convicted of a felony by a court of this state, a court of the United States, 02 or a court of another state or territory, unless the person has written authorization to 03 live in a dwelling in which there is a concealable weapon described in this paragraph 04 from a court of competent jurisdiction or from the head of the law enforcement agency 05 of the community in which the dwelling is located; or 06 (11) discharges a firearm from a propelled vehicle while the vehicle is 07 being operated in circumstances other than described in AS 11.61.195(a)(3). 08 * Sec. 4. AS 11.61.210(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) A person commits the crime of misconduct involving weapons in the fourth 10 degree if the person 11 (1) possesses on the person, or in the interior of a vehicle in which the 12 person is present, a firearm when the person's physical or mental condition is impaired 13 as a result of the introduction of an intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance into 14 the person's body in circumstances other than described in AS 11.61.200(a)(7); 15 (2) discharges a firearm from, on, or across a highway; 16 (3) discharges a firearm with reckless disregard for a risk of damage 17 to property or a risk of physical injury to a person in circumstances other than 18 described in AS 11.61.195(a)(3); 19 (4) manufactures, possesses, transports, sells, or transfers metal 20 knuckles; 21 (5) manufactures, sells, or transfers a switchblade or a gravity knife; 22 (6) knowingly sells a firearm or a defensive weapon to a person under 23 18 years of age; 24 (7) other than a preschool, elementary, junior high, or secondary school 25 student, knowingly possesses a deadly weapon or a defensive weapon, without the 26 permission of the chief administrative officer of the school or district or the designee 27 of the chief administrative officer, within the buildings of, on the grounds of, or on the 28 school parking lot of a public or private preschool, elementary, junior high, or 29 secondary school or while participating in a school-sponsored event, except that a 30 person 21 years of age or older may possess 31 (A) a deadly weapon, other than a loaded firearm, in the trunk
01 of a motor vehicle or encased in a closed container in a motor vehicle; 02 (B) a defensive weapon; 03 (C) an unloaded firearm if the person is traversing school 04 premises in a rural area for the purpose of entering public or private land that 05 is open to hunting and the school board with jurisdiction over the school 06 premises has elected to have this exemption apply to the school premises; in 07 this subparagraph, "rural" means a community with a population of 5,500 or 08 less that is not connected by road or rail to Anchorage or Fairbanks or with a 09 population of 1,500 or less that is connected by road or rail to Anchorage or 10 Fairbanks; [OR] 11 (8) being a preschool, elementary, junior high, or secondary school 12 student, knowingly possesses a deadly weapon or a defensive weapon, within the 13 buildings of, on the grounds of, or on the school parking lot of a public or private 14 preschool, elementary, junior high, or secondary school or while participating in a 15 school-sponsored event, except that a student may possess a deadly weapon, other than 16 a firearm as defined under 18 U.S.C. 921, or a defensive weapon if the student has 17 obtained the prior permission of the chief administrative officer of the school or 18 district or the designee of the chief administrative officer for the possession; or 19 (9) participating as a member of a criminal street gang and acting 20 for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang 21 or any of its members, knowingly remains in a propelled vehicle after another 22 criminal street gang member present in the vehicle has violated 23 AS 11.61.195(a)(3). 24 * Sec. 5. AS 11.61 is amended by adding new sections to read: 25 ARTICLE 3. CRIMINAL STREET GANGS. 26 Sec. 11.61.300. PARTICIPATION IN CRIMINAL STREET GANG. (a) A 27 person commits the crime of participation in a criminal street gang if the person 28 (1) actively participates in a criminal street gang with knowledge that 29 its members engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity; and 30 (2) knowingly engages in conduct to promote, further, or assist in any 31 conduct by a member of that gang that constitutes an offense punishable as a felony.
01 (b) In this section, "pattern of criminal gang activity" means the commission 02 or attempted commission, within the preceding three years, for the benefit of, at the 03 direction of, or in association with the members of the criminal street gang, two or 04 more offenses punishable as a felony. 05 (c) Participation in a criminal street gang is a class C felony. 06 Sec. 11.61.305. FORFEITURE OF PROPERTY UPON CONVICTION. (a) 07 Upon conviction under AS 11.41.110(a)(4), AS 11.61.195(a), or 11.61.300, the 08 following shall be forfeited to the state: 09 (1) a deadly weapon and ammunition that may be used with the deadly 10 weapon that 11 (A) is owned or possessed by a person who actively participated 12 in a criminal street gang during the criminal gang activity that provided the 13 basis for the offender's conviction; or 14 (B) was acquired during the course of a pattern of criminal gang 15 activity for which the offender was convicted; 16 (2) the property of the offender who led, organized, supervised, or 17 managed the criminal street gang 18 (A) constituting, or derived from, proceeds the offender 19 obtained, directly or indirectly, as the result of the criminal gang activity that 20 provided the basis for the offender's conviction; and 21 (B) used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to 22 commit, or to facilitate the commission of, the criminal gang activity. 23 * Sec. 6. AS 11.81.900(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 24 (59) "criminal street gang" means a group of three or more persons 25 (A) who have in common a name or identifying sign, symbol, 26 tattoo or other physical marking, style of dress, or use of hand signs; and 27 (B) who, individually, jointly, or in combination, have 28 committed or attempted to commit, within the preceding three years, for the 29 benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with the group, two or more 30 offenses under any of, or any combination of, the following: 31 (i) AS 11.41; or
01 (ii) a felony offense. 02 * Sec. 7. AS 12.25 is amended by adding a new section to read: 03 Sec. 12.25.034. ARREST WITHOUT WARRANT FOR MISDEMEANOR 04 OFFENSE INVOLVING CRIMINAL STREET GANG MEMBERSHIP. A peace 05 officer may arrest a person without a warrant, whether or not the offense is committed 06 in the presence of the officer, when the officer has probable cause to believe that the 07 person to be arrested has violated AS 11.61.210(a)(9), if the violation is alleged to 08 have occurred less than eight hours before the time of arrest. 09 * Sec. 8. AS 12.45 is amended by adding a new section to read: 10 Sec. 12.45.037. ADMISSIBILITY OF EXPERT TESTIMONY RELATING 11 TO CRIMINAL STREET GANG ACTIVITY. (a) In an action or proceeding under 12 AS 11.41.110(a)(4), AS 11.61.195(a)(3), 11.61.210(a)(9), or 11.61.300 - 11.61.305, 13 expert testimony is admissible to show particular conduct, status, and customs 14 indicative of criminal street gangs, including 15 (1) common characteristics of persons who are members of criminal 16 street gangs; 17 (2) rivalries between specific criminal street gangs; 18 (3) common practices and operations of criminal street gangs and the 19 members of those gangs; 20 (4) social customs and behavior of members of criminal street gangs; 21 (5) terminology used by members of criminal street gangs; 22 (6) codes of conduct of particular criminal street gangs; and 23 (7) the types of crimes that are likely to be committed by a particular 24 criminal street gang or by criminal street gangs in general. 25 (b) In this section, "criminal street gang" has the meaning given in 26 AS 11.81.900(b). 27 * Sec. 9. AS 12.55.125(b) is amended to read: 28 (b) A defendant convicted of 29 (1) [MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE,] attempted murder in the 30 first degree, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, kidnapping, or 31 misconduct involving a controlled substance in the first degree shall be sentenced to
01 a definite term of imprisonment of at least five years but not more than 99 years; 02 (2) murder in the second degree under AS 11.41.110(a)(1) - (3) shall 03 be sentenced to a definite term of imprisonment of at least five years but not 04 more than 99 years; 05 (3) murder in the second degree under AS 11.41.110(a)(4) shall be 06 sentenced to a definite term of imprisonment of at least seven years but not more 07 than 99 years. 08 * Sec. 10. AS 12.45.037, added by sec. 8 of this Act, has the effect of amending Rule 09 702(a), Alaska Rules of Evidence, to allow the admissibility of expert testimony to show 10 criminal gang characteristics, activity, and practices by a person having that specialized 11 knowledge based on the person's knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education. 12 * Sec. 11. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to an act that occurs on or after the 13 effective date of this Act.