Name: Police pulled over a Michigan lawmaker for allegedly driving drunk. He threatened to call the governor.
Brand: washingtonpost.com
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Police pulled over a Michigan lawmaker for allegedly driving drunk. He threatened to call the governor.

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This article was published more than&nbsp;1 year agoCommentGift ShareThe 911 calls came pouring in as the black Chevy Tahoe sped down a Michigan highway.For almost 50 miles, witnesses reported, the vehicle with the vanity plate “ELECTED” was driving so recklessly earlier this month that at least one person saw the car go the wrong way before it rolled into a ditch.Inside the SUV, state police found state Rep. Jewell Jones (D), whose blood alcohol level was allegedly more than double the legal limit. In the cupholder behind him was a loaded handgun.“If you hit me, it’s going to be very bad for you. I’ll call Governor [Gretchen] Whitmer right now,” Jones told the officers on April 6, according to a police report. “When I call Gretchen,” he allegedly continued, they would have to hand over their “IDs, badge numbers, everything.”News of that interaction marks the latest twist in a stunning case for Jones, who turned 26 just days after the incident and is the youngest-ever member of the Michigan state House of Representatives. The police report detailing his comments was first .AdvertisementCarolyn Henry, the chief assistant prosecutor in Livingston County, Mich., confirmed to The Washington Post that the third-term lawmaker is facing eight charges, including four counts of resisting police and one for operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of more than 0.17.Neither Jones nor his attorney, Ali Hammoud, immediately responded to a request for comment from The Post late on Wednesday. Following an arraignment last week, Hammoud noted Jones is an auxiliary police officer and a deacon in his church and said he “will continue to faithfully serve” his constituents, In 2015, just two years out of high school, Jones was to the city council in his hometown of Inkster, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. Barely a year later, the 21-year-old college student the Michigan Capitol.AdvertisementA member of the Michigan National Guard, he rose to become vice-chair of the chamber’s Committee on the Military, Veterans and Homeland Security. In 2019, he was named to , appearing alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and gun-control activists David Hogg and Emma González.“I didn’t run for office just to be the youngest representative in the state’s history,” he said in that year. “I ran because I wanted to be a part of forging a brighter future for the people of Michigan.”Jones, who is term-limited in next year’s election, faced a misdemeanor charge in July 2018 after police said they found open alcohol in his car during a traffic stop. That charge was soon dismissed, .When he again came into contact with police on April 6 after rolling into a ditch off the shoulder of Interstate 96, the interaction proved to be far more chaotic.AdvertisementJones allegedly threatened the Michigan state troopers by telling them he oversaw their agency’s finances. When officers asked for an ID, he tried to show a badge and then shook his arms “as if he were about to do something,” one police report said.“It’s not going to be good for you, I run y’all budget, bro,” he told them, according to the report.After an ambulance arrived to transport an unidentified passenger who had been riding alongside him, Jones tried to push the first responders and climb inside their vehicle, the report said.The troopers said in the report that they attempted twice to use a Taser on Jones and then aimed pepper spray at his eyes to get him in handcuffs. He was then transported to jail in Livingston County, where he spent the night.Because Jones refused to take a breathalyzer test at the scene, police obtained a warrant to draw his blood before his release the following day. (The test showed a blood alcohol content of 0.19, the Free Press reported; a limit of 0.08 is needed to convict someone of drunken driving.)AdvertisementOn Friday, a district court judge released Jones on recognizance, instructing him to stay away from alcohol and drugs and to submit to random substance testing.State House leaders have not made any decisions about whether he will be disciplined, according to the Free Press. But Jones appears to be taking it all in stride.“This last week has literally been the craziest week I’ve ever had in my last as a civilian,” he on April 11, alongside a brief video from a birthday celebration. CommentsGift ArticleTOP STORIESThe DownloadStay up to date on the news from Silicon Valley, and how to take back control of your data and devices.Try a different topic or to save your preferences

This article was published more than&nbsp;1 year agoCommentGift ShareThe 911 calls came pouring in as the black Chevy Tahoe sped down a Michigan highway.For almost 50 miles, witnesses reported, the vehicle with the vanity plate “ELECTED” was driving so recklessly earlier this month that at least one person saw the car go the wrong way before it rolled into a ditch.Inside the SUV, state police found state Rep. Jewell Jones (D), whose blood alcohol level was allegedly more than double the legal limit. In the cupholder behind him was a loaded handgun.“If you hit me, it’s going to be very bad...

Police pulled over a Michigan lawmaker for allegedly driving drunk. He threatened to call the governor.

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