(WWJ) Jailed Michigan Rep. Jewell Jones has been charged with two additional felonies, after a deputy found a universal handcuff key in the lawmaker's pocket as he was being booked for a probation violation.
"It was in the process of him being changed from his civilian clothes to his jail garb that the handcuff key was found," said Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy. "So the handcuff key was actually inside our jail."
Jones, a Democrat representing Inkster, was already facing charges of reckless driving and resisting arrest related to a drunken driving crash on I-96 last April. Since that time official said he violated the conditions of his bond on three occasions; 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 on Tuesday.
So, how was Jones able to hide it?
"Well, that's a great question. One could make a couple of assumptions... Did he get one, or did he bring one with him? I don't know," Murphy told WWJ's Sandra McNeill.
In either case, the sheriff is far from pleased.
"I'm more mad than anything. The fact that he would put my staff and other inmates in danger, right?" Murphy said. "It's contraband. The jail is a secure facility for a reason; that's why my jail deputies don't carry guns. Because, God forbid if an inmate was able to get a gun away from a deputy, it would not have a good outcome."
"You know, this guy's just a piece of work all the way around," Murphy added. "He's an embarrassment to any elected official. And... in my opinion he just has never been told no."
Jones has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for Friday.
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