Kilpatrick's Bond Revoked

Florence Walton Reporting

Detroit (WWJ) -- A Detroit judge stuck down the terms of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick bond and ordered him to pay $7,500 and submit to random drug screenings. As for travel, the mayor is cut off. However, travel which has already been approved, including a trip to the Democratic National Convention in late August, is permitted.

"It makes no sense," Judge Robert Giles said. “I'm revoking Mayor Kilpatrick's personal bond.” Kilpatrick's previous bond was $75,000, but he was not required to pay. Now, he owes 10 percent.

WWJ legal analyst Charlie Langton, said this isn't the first time the mayor's found himself in potential trouble since perjury and other charges were filed against him and his former top aide.

“Remember there was an allegation early on about the mayor not traveling properly, or even Christine Beatty traveling within the conditions set by judge for the bond, and the prosecutor did make quite a big deal about that,” Langton said.

Langton called these "very, very serious allegations against the mayor." Langton added, "The mayor may have violated the conditions of his bond and in the most extreme cases, bond could be revoked and he could go to jail right now to await trial in the felony perjury case."

District Court Judge Ronald Giles' ruling Friday came after two law enforcement investigators testified an irate Kilpatrick shoved one of them a day earlier. Giles said Kilpatrick's behavior constitutes harassment and called the situation ``ridiculous.'' Giles also said the mayor now will need the court's approval for certain travel.

Kilpatrick allegedly assaulted an officer from the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, who was attempting to serve an administrative subpoena to Bobby Ferguson, a longtime friend of the Mayor.

According to Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans, Kilpatrick exited the home and allegedly pushed an officer hard enough that he bumped into a female member of the Wayne County Prosecutor's office. To prevent an escalation of the incident, Evans says the officers left the home without serving the subpoena and returned to the department's downtown headquarters to fill out reports. Michigan State Police have been asked to conduct an investigation. Evans says the mayor could face a charge of simple assault. No one was injured and no weapons were involved.

According to James Thomas, one of the mayor’s attorneys, the person who served the subpoena was looking for Bobby Ferguson, but it wasn't his home. It was the mayor's sister's house. Mayor Kilpatrick informed him of that and asked him to leave. When he did not leave, the mayor gently escorted him from the home’s porch. Feruson has been under investigation for allegedly receiving inside information from the Mayor and his office that led to him winning city contracts worth at least $45 million.

During the hearing, Giles postponed the release of an additional 200 additional text messages. Giles said he wants to hear arguments at a future court proceeding over which messages are covered by various privileges and which to release.

Much of the hearing has been with attorneys and prosecutors debating what information and evidence should and has been turned over to the defense. Prosecutors said the mayor is seeking special treatment to keep the text messages secret--texts that could show the mayor lied during last year's police whistleblower lawsuit.

One of Kilpatrick’s lawyers, Jim Parkman, said there is confusion regarding these new texts.

“We’re not sure if they match up to be the exact messages that SkyTel gave them in every respect,” said Parkman. “We’ve gone down a road to discover what these messages are about and how they were done and now we find out that they were done in a different format.”

Attorneys indicated during the hearing that they've been able to work with prosecutors related to evidence, but there is some evidence defense attorneys are still seeking. Prosecutors said they met with defense attorneys and turned over 934 pages of information and evidence. There are more than 627,000 text messages.

Attorneys said they will present witnesses at the preliminary hearing in September, but need specifics in order to subpoena those witnesses. Defense attorneys, including Mayor Morganroth, said they should know exactly what prosecutors are alleging.

The court proceedings began with Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Moran bringing up Thursday’s alleged assault of a court officer investigating his criminal case. But, Giles said he would address the issue near the end of the hearing.

Giles needs to settle many issues before holding a hearing Sept. 22 to determine if there is probable cause to send Kilpatrick and Beatty to trial. The mayor and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty are facing perjury, misconduct and obstruction charges, tied to their testimony in a civil trial last year. They denied having a romantic relationship, but those claims are contradicted by text messages already released.

Earlier in the week, Kilpatrick verbally attacked Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy after she amended two criminal charges against him. He accused Worthy of having a "personal vendetta against him."

Also a Detroit City Council committee has turned down a request to have the city pick up $200,000 in legal fees related to the text message scandal. Included in the tab are the legal fees for the head of the City's law department, who handled the subpoena of Kilpatrick and his former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty. Part of the bill included fees for Mayor Morganroth, who is representing Beatty in a lawsuit filed by the family of slain stripper Tamara Greene.

Visit WWJ's Detroit Mayor Text Message Scandel archive to read more.

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