Fifth District Councilman Marty Jewell appeared in court yesterday for a DUI charge that occurred early on the morning of October 24th. He pled no contest to the charge. The “no contest” plea in a DUI case means that you are not stating or admitting guilt, but merely admitting that the government has enough evidence to convict you. He received a sentence of ninety days in jail, all of which was suspended. He was also ordered to pay the mandatory minimum $250 fine, and he is to enroll in a state run alcohol education program known as VASAP. His license has been suspended, but he is permitted to drive to and from work, including city council meetings and functions. The charge came when Jewell was pulled over after attending a party with his son on the night of October 23rd. He was followed by a police officer across the Nickel Bridge, and then pulled over in the Byrd Park area of the city. His blood alcohol level was .11, which is over the .08 limit. He spent what was left of the night in jail.
Councilman Jewell has served the fifth district since 2004. He is also well known in Richmond for owning a popular cleaning service. He apologized to his fifth district constituents as well as the community, saying that he knows he made a mistake, and he will not make the same mistake again in the future.
He urged everyone to take a lesson from his situation. He deserves credit for taking responsibility; let’s hope he uses his experience to let police, judges and probation/VASAP supervisors know what parts of the process work and which parts don’t! Hopefully Councilman Jewell and his family will have a happy holiday season and better luck in the coming year.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment