Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick attends a hearing in 36th District Court yesterday. - AP photos
DETROIT (AP):
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, charged with perjury and other felonies for his testimony in a civil trial, was ordered to jail yesterday because he violated his bond by taking a quick trip to Canada without notifying authorities.
Kilpatrick apologised and acknowledged that he made a mistake when he visited Windsor, Ontario, minutes away from Detroit, for city business last month. But 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles was not moved, saying he needed to treat the mayor like any other defendant.
"What matters to me ... is how the court overall is perceived and how if it was not Kwame Kilpatrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in that seat, what would I do? And that answer is simple," Giles said.
Stunning outcome
It was a stunning outcome, exceeding even what prosecutors had sought. And it came two days after Kilpatrick's mother, United States Rep Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, survived a Democratic primary election that was dominated by her son's legal woes.
Outside the Wayne County Jail, just blocks from the courthouse, construction workers in hardhats and fluorescent vests ate lunch and kept an eye for the sheriff's van that brought Kilpatrick to the underground entrance by early afternoon.
"Did they bring him in yet?" one yelled.
High-profile inmate
The mayor will wear a standard green jumpsuit like other inmates but be placed in his own cell "because he's a high-profile inmate," said John Roach, a spokesman for the county sheriff. "He will not be in the general population."
Kilpatrick and former top aide 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 the case: steamy text messages contradicting their claim that they didn't have a romantic relationship.
Kilpatrick and Beatty waived their right Thursday to a preliminary exam next month. That means their case now goes directly to Wayne County Circuit Court.
