39-17-1323 - Commission of certain offenses while wearing a body vest.
39-17-1323. Commission of certain offenses while wearing a body vest.
(a) A person commits an offense who knowingly wears a body vest, when acting either alone or with one (1) or more other persons, while committing:
(1) Any felony whose statutory elements involve the use or threat of violence to a human being;
(2) Any burglary, car-jacking, theft of a motor vehicle, or arson; or
(3) Any felony offense involving a controlled substance.
(b) For purposes of this section, a body vest means a bullet-resistant soft armor providing, as a minimum standard, the level of protection known as threat level I which shall mean at least seven (7) layers of bullet-resistant material providing protection from three (3) shots of one hundred fifty-eight-grain lead ammunition fired from a .38 caliber handgun at a velocity of eight hundred fifty feet (850¢) per second.
(c) The unlawful wearing of a body vest is a Class E felony.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the possession of a body vest for lawful purposes.
(e) Any sentence imposed under this section shall run consecutively to any other sentence imposed for the conviction of the underlying offense.
[Acts 1997, ch. 321, § 1.]