Jewell Jones
By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — Livingston County Court Judge Michael Hatty ordered state Rep. Jewell Jones (D-11th District) to undergo a mental health examination in relation to the felony charges he faces.
The evaluation was requested by attorney Byron Nolan during a Sept. 17 hearing. Jones will remain in the Livingston County Jail on a $100,000 bond until his next court appearance Oct. 15.
Nolan is now serving as Jones’ attorney after attorney Ali Hammoud withdrew from the case saying there was a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.
Jones, jailed following his third bond violation, is facing felony charges after he allegedly attempted to sneak a universal handcuff key into jail following his bond revocation hearing Sept. 14. It allegedly was found taped to the bottom of his foot during a routine search when he began his incarceration.
The new charges from Sept. 14 are for attempting to escape custody and bringing a weapon into the jail. He is also not allowed to possess any weapons.
The key was found after Jones was taken into custody following his bond revocation hearing where Jones pleaded guilty of violating the conditions of his release for a third time following an April 6 drunken driving arrest.
A Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office motion for bond revocation stated that Jones tested positive three times on Sept. 3. Jones attempted to tamper with the tether Sept. 6 by putting a sock underneath the tether, Livingston County Assistant Prosecutor Christina Richards said.
The tether was ordered after Jones pleaded guilty June 24 to leaving military training without notifying court officials or his attorney. Jones was out on bond after the April 6 incident in Fowlerville where Jones’ vehicle was seen driving erratically on I-96 before leaving the road and coming to a stop in a ditch.
He was charged with four counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer, operating a motor vehicle with a high blood-alcohol content, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, possession of a weapon while under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving.
Jones was removed from his legislative committee assignments Sept. 16 by House Speaker Jason Wentworth (R-Farewell) following multiple violations of his bond conditions.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected].)