Arkansas Supreme Court Associate Justice Karen Baker issued a court opinion in the case of Ronald Wayne Magness overturned appeal before the court.
Ronald Wayne Magness claimed that the State failed to prove that he was “in custody,” which is a required element of the charged offense.
On March 31, 2010, a Drew County jury found appellant guilty of two nonviolent felony offenses. The circuit court entered an order releasing appellant on a $25,000 bond pending bed space, as long as he met certain requirement, including; he must inform the sheriff of his address before release and not change it without the approval of his bondsman and the sheriff; and not leave the State of Arkansas without written permission of the sheriff.
In April 2010, Magness left the state without written permission and failed to contact the sheriff’s department and his bondsman in violation of the conditions of his release. He was charged with second-degree escape, a class B felony.1 A jury convicted Magness of escape. He was sentenced as a habitual offender to thirty years’ imprisonment in the Arkansas Department of Correction. (more…)