(WWJ) A Michigan legislator embroiled in an increasingly unseemly legal battle has been disciplined by the Speaker of the House.
State Rep. Jason Wentworth on Thursday sent a letter notifying the clerk of the Michigan House of Representatives that Rep. Jewell Jones has been removed from his two assigned House committees: Military, Veterans and Homeland Security, and Regulatory Reform.
This comes a day after Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy said Jones, a Democrat from Inkster, brought a handcuff key into the jail, where he was being booked on a probation violation.
Wentworth, a Republican, did not mince words when explaining his decision to strip Jones of his committee assignments.
Wentworth said, in a statement:
“Rep. Jewell Jones’s increasingly disruptive and distracting behavior in the months following his April arrest has eroded my confidence in his ability to conduct the people’s work. That behavior hit a new low yesterday when he appears to have made a bizarre attempt to escape from jail, potentially resulting in two new charges. Action must be taken to protect the public's interest. I am now removing Rep. Jones from all House committees and encouraging him to use that time to make changes and take control of his actions.
“The Michigan House of Representatives will continue to make sure he has access to every service and every bit of support we have to help him on his journey. I sincerely hope he finally takes advantage of those opportunities and gets the help he needs. The people he serves are counting on him to do so.”
Along with two fresh felony charges his his alleged escape attempt, Jones is facing charges of drunken driving, reckless driving and resisting arrest related to a crash on I-96 last April. Since that time official said Jones violated the conditions of his bond three times; most recently by drinking alcohol and tampering with his tether.
It was the third violation that landed Jones behind bars, where the illicit key was found taped to his foot, officials said.
Jones has a pre-trial hearing in the crash case scheduled for this Friday.
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