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Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch (Govt. photo)
Democratic Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch never served a mandatory 30-day jail sentence after being arrested for his third drunk driving violation in 2003, Metro Times reports.
Steve Neavling of Metro Times reports:
Records show that a judge and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office mishandled Kinloch’s sentencing, allowing him to avoid jail even though state law required him to spend at least 30 days behind bars. From the beginning, the case was riddled with errors, questionable decisions, and false promises.
Although the arrest was 20 years ago, the case raises serious questions about whether political connections may have shielded Kinloch from consequences that ordinary defendants face.
Kinloch denies doing anything improper or pulling political strings, tell Metro Times:
“The probation department said I had fulfilled my obligations and recommended that [jail time] be deleted from my sentence.”
At the time of the charges, Kinloch—who has been a Wayne County Commissioner since 2021—was serving on the Detroit Board of Zoning Appeals and was a candidate for the Detroit school board. He is also the brother of Rev. Solomon Kinloch, who is running for mayor of Detroit.
Prosecutors allowed him to plead to a second offense instead of a third. Regardless, the law required him to serve a minimum of 30 days, Metro Times reports.
In September 2005, Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda R. Evans sentenced Kinloch to 30 days in jail and six months of non-reporting probation. But Evans later dropped the jail requirement at the urging of the probation department.
In a March 2007 Free Press article, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said her office was never notified of the hearing where the jail time was waived. In 2008, Evans acknowledged the problem with waiving Kinloch’s sentence and agreed with prosecutors that they could either require Kinloch to serve his jail time or withdraw the plea agreement, Metro Times reports.
Neavling writes:
But despite the prosecutors’ harsh language and insistence on forcing Kinloch to serve his sentence, they never followed through, allowing him to avoid jail time after the media stopped asking questions, Metro Times has discovered.
Community activist Robert Davis filed a lawsuit this past week seeking information on the case after failing to obtain records through a Freedom of Information Act request.
