DETROIT, Mich. (WLNS)—The attorney representing Democratic State Rep. Jewell Jones of Inkster has withdrawn from the case, according to WHMI.
The state lawmaker was charged in a drunk driving case where he continued to violate his bond and was caught trying to smuggle a handcuff key into jail. Jones was in court Tuesday for violating his bond a third time after getting caught consuming alcohol and tampering with his alcohol monitoring tether.
A handcuffed key was discovered when Jones was being transported from court to jail while changing into his jail-issued clothes. Ever since that incident, the Prosecutor’s Office authorized two more felony charges against him.
Jone’s attorney withdrew from the case because of a “breakdown in the attorney/client privilege.”
His attorney Ali Hammoud was representing the 26-year-old ever since April when he was charged with a drunk driving-related incident, possessing a weapon, resisting police, and reckless driving.
Hammoud’s co-counsel, Byron Nolen is now Jones’s leading attorney and has requested a mental health evaluation for his client. The request for an evaluation was granted by Judge Hatty.
Nolen also requested delaying a pretrial hearing for Jone’s original charges. His trial is set to reschedule for October 15th.
