(a) Definitions.
(1) “Loiter” means to delay, linger, or idle about with an unlawful or illegitimate purpose.
(2) “Illegal drugs” means all controlled substances, or precursors or analog thereof, as defined in the West Virginia Health and Safety Code.
(3) “Retail liquor outlet” means any store licensed pursuant to Chapter 60 of the West Virginia Code for retail sale to consumers of alcoholic beverages for consumption off the licensed premises.
(4) “Boarded-up building” means any building with substantially secured ground level doors and windows by means of plywood or similar materials.
(5) “Block” means both sides of a City street that begins at the intersection with one cross street and ends at the intersection with the next cross street.
(b) Prohibited Activities.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to loiter at any of the following locations, or within the same or adjacent block thereof, with the purpose to engage in prostitution, or gambling, or to buy, sell, transfer or use illegal drugs, after being asked to leave by any police officer:
A. Parks;
B. Schools;
C. Recreation centers;
D. Juvenile group homes and rehabilitation homes;
E. Car washes open for more than twelve hours per day;
F. Retail liquor outlets;
G. Legitimate retail businesses;
H. Boarded-up houses or buildings; or
I. Outdoor public pay telephones.
(2) Loitering on private property that is not open to the public is excluded from the scope of this section, except for private property that is part of the premises on which there is a boarded-up building or private school.
(c) Enforcement Procedures.
(1) Whenever a police officer has a probable cause to believe that a person is loitering with the purpose to buy, sell, transfer or use illegal drugs in any of the above-specified locations, the officer must first require the person to leave the designated location. Only if the person refuses to leave the designated location upon request of a police officer shall the person be subject to citation.
(2) For the purposes of enforcing this section only, probable cause that the person has the purpose to engage in prostitution, or gambling, or to buy, sell, transfer or use illegal drugs, shall be confined to the following circumstances:
A. When the enforcing police officer has information that the individual has repeatedly been involved in illegal drug activity at the same location in the past by virtue of the officer’s own experience or that of other officers; or
B. When a reliable informant has given the enforcing police officer information that the individual proposes to engage in illegal drug activity at that location; or
C. When the enforcing police officer has received complaints from citizens that the individual is engaging in the above enumerated illegal activities at that location; or
D. The enforcing police officer’s personal observation of the individual’s behavior at the location is consistent with the information known or received under subsections (c)(2)A., B. or C. hereof.
(d) Penalty for Violations.
(1) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an infraction for the first violation, punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00), and for the second or subsequent violation within one year, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) and for the second or subsequent violation within one year, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) or twelve days of community services, or both fine and community services.
(2) Notwithstanding the preceding subsection, a second or subsequent violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed an infraction only if the City Attorney files a complaint in the Municipal Court specifying that the violation is an infraction or if the City Attorney makes a motion to reduce a misdemeanor filing to an infraction before trial. (Ord. 98-29. Passed 9-3-98.)