Michigan Rep. Jewell Jones to plead guilty after initially rejecting plea deal
INKSTER, Mich. (FOX 2) - Michigan Rep. Jewell Jones will plead guilty to charges stemming from a drunken driving arrest last year, his attorney said Tuesday.
Jones (D-Inkster) will plead guilty to resisting and obstructing police, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, possessing a weapon while intoxicated, reckless driving, and escape of lawful custody.
In exchange, resisting arrest and DUI charges will be dropped.
Additionally, the deal allows the Inkster rep to reduce his felony charges to dismissals if he completes a youth sentencing program.
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Jones rejected the plea deal in December, and the case was set to go to trial later this month.
After rejecting the deal, Jones said he didn't reject it, even when a judge didn't dismiss charges against him.
"Not at all - a lot of times you get overcharged, and somebody offers you a deal and they try to make it appear as being great," he said. "I am not sure what the reasoning for that was for. I am still optimistic, moving forward, we have to let God do that, it is right in his sight."
However, his attorney Bryon Nolen said he has decided to accept the deal and will plead guilty Wednesday.
He will likely be sentenced to probation and would not have to resign from office.
Jones has been in and out of jail since his April 2021 arrest in Livingston County.
After news that he was taking the plea deal surfaced, the lawmaker posted two apology letters to his Instagram that he said he sent to the Michigan State Troopers who responded that day.
One of the letters reads in part: "We ‘Black’ men have a hard enough time in our struggle for justice, and already have enough enemies as it is, to make the drastic mistake of attack each other and adding more weight to an unbearable load."
He went on to say, "Though I believe things were mishandled that day on I-96, I played a role in the fiasco."
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