Mayor Jailed For Violating Bond

Detroit (WWJ/AP)  -- A hearing concerning Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's bond is set for 9 a.m. this morning in Wayne County Circuit Court in downtown Detroit. 

Judge Thomas E. Jackson will decide whether to release the mayor on bond with some assortment of conditions. 

Mayor Kilpatrick's defense attorney Jim Parkman said Thursday they will propose an electronic tether or some other conditions to get Kilpatrick out of the county jail. 

WWJ legal analyst Charlie Langton says Judge Jackson could order the mayor held until his Circuit Court arraignment next Thursday. 

Speaking live on WWJ Friday morning,  Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said the mayor spent an "uneventful" night in the jail. 

"The region is embarrassed, we're all embarrassed, by the situations that are going on, and I would certainly like them to end as soon as possible," Evans said. 

Mayor Kilpatrick spent the night in a one-man jail cell with no TV and a phone only for collect calls, the consequence of violating his bond in a criminal case that has dogged him for months.

State police have wrapped up an investigation of a confrontation between Kilpatrick and a sheriff's detective, who claims he was pushed while recently trying to serve a subpoena on the mayor's friend.

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference Friday to announce the results. Kilpatrick's legal team was not optimistic, predicting that some type of charge was a ``done deal.''

"If they want to bring the charges, let's go. It's the only way to get it resolved,'' attorney Jim Parkman said.
  
Separately, the mayor and former chief of staff Christine Beatty are charged with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice, all tied to their testimony in a civil trial last year.  At the heart of that case: steamy text messages contradicting their claim that they didn't have a romantic relationship.

To remain free while the case moves through court, Kilpatrick was required to notify authorities about business that required out-of-state travel.

He admitted violating that condition when he went to Windsor, Ontario - minutes from Detroit - on July 23 to discuss the sale of the city's portion of a tunnel connecting the U.S. and Canada. He didn't call prosecutors or 36th District Court.
  
"I'm asking for another chance,'' the mayor pleaded Thursday to Judge Ronald Giles.  Listen to what Mayor Kilpatrick said.   

But the Mayor may have been caught in another lie while addressing Judge Giles.  The mayor said Windsor's mayor had called him about the Detroit-Windsor tunnel deal being in trouble.  

The Windsor Star reports the claim contradicts what lawyer Cliff Sutts, Windsor's lead negotiator in the deal, said on the day of the meeting, when he said it happened at Kilpatrick's request.

"Any comments I made previously, I stand behind," Sutts told the Windsor Star Thursday.  Sutts said Windsor officials had no idea about any court-imposed travel restrictions.

The judge's response was swift and surprising: Jail for the leader of the country's 11th-largest city.

"I don't claim to have a good understanding of what your responsibilities are.... But I have to look at how the (court) system is run and perceived by the public,'' Giles told the mayor.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Thomas E. Jackson said he would hear an appeal of the order at 9 a.m. Friday.

Defense attorney Jim Thomas called Giles' ruling "extreme.''

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Kilpatrick was transported to jail in a sheriff's van, photographed, given a green jumpsuit and placed in a one-man cell for high-profile people.

Although not in the general jail population, the mayor was being treated like any other prisoner - ``no better, no worse,'' Sheriff Warren Evans said.

Earlier Thursday, Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty waived their right to a preliminary exam in the perjury case. That means those charges now go directly to Wayne County Circuit Court. Arraignment for the pair was set for Aug. 14. Both deny the charges.

Deputy Mayor Kandia Milton said he is running the city while Kilpatrick is in jail.

"Detroit's government will continue to operate as usual. ... Trash will continue to be collected, recreation centers will remain open, grass will be cut and fires will be extinguished,'' a statement from the mayor's office said.
  
City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. would succeed Kilpatrick if the mayor resigns or is forced from office.

In May, the Detroit City Council asked Gov. Jennifer Granholm to invoke a little-used state law and remove Kilpatrick from office for misconduct. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3.