By Tai Saint Louis
Detroit’s “Hip-Hop Mayor” Kwame Kilpatrick will spend at least one night in custody at the Wayne County Jail, following a District Court Judge’s earlier decision on today (August 7) to have the embattled official arrested and held on a bond violation.
Kilpatrick was arrested in March along with ex-Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, following an investigation into allegations of misconduct on their parts.
Kilpatrick’s bond violation is the result of a business trip across the Detroit River to nearby Windsor, ON, where he was discussing a deal to alleviate the city’s current financial deficit.
Unfortunately, per the terms of his bond, Kilpatrick was required to notify the courts, which he failed to do.
"We got the deal back on track,” Kilpatrick told Judge Ronald Giles, after apologizing and explaining the amount of pressure and scrutiny he’s been under since the January revelation of personal text messages between him and Beatty.
“It wasn't a spur of the moment, willy nilly, ‘I can frolic in Canada’ trip,’” he added.
The exchange took place during a routine hearing where Kilpatrick and Beatty waived their rights to a preliminary exam, which means their case will be presented directly to the Wayne County Circuit Court.
As the hearing came to a close, prosecutor Robert Moran asked Judge Giles to ban Kilpatrick from any further out of state travel, calling the Mayor’s most recent trip a “flagrant violation.”
“It’s not serious to him that he’s a criminal defendant,” Moran stated. “This court should be outraged.”
Giles explained that his decision was based on how the court would be perceived, making it clear that he issued the same ruling for Kilpatrick as he would have for any other defendant.
Immediately following the ruling, Kilpatrick’s defense team presented the decision to the Wayne County Circuit Court for appeal. However, Judge Thomas E. Jackson asked for a transcript of Thursday’s proceedings, which he would review before making a decision on the matter on Friday at 9 a.m.
Kilpatrick is set to appear in court on August 14, where he will be arraigned on eight felony counts on charges of perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice.
The Detroit City Council accused the Mayor of violating the City Charter by not revealing a confidentiality agreement in connection with an $8.4 million civil suit settlement.
A state police investigations into a July 24 incident could bring more legal problems for Kilpatrick, who is accused of physically interfering with a sheriff’s detective who was trying to serve a friend of the mayor’s with a subpoena.
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is scheduled to host a news conference Friday to announce whether or not he will file assault charges against Kilpatrick.