By Taylor Boyd and Debbie Hall
Martinsville Mayor L.C. Jones’ June jury trial is no longer necessary after a judge dismissed the petition against him on Friday, May 15.
Jones’ attorney Mark Krudys, of the Richmond-based Krudys Law Firm, said the attorneys’ fees totaled approximately $81,000.
In addition to dismissing the petition against Jones, Circuit Court Judge Marcus Brinks awarded Jones’ legal team $40,000 in legal fees to be split across the board.
“I’m going to split the baby,” Brinks said of the award.
Following the trial, Krudys said the city will be paying the $40,000.
“The city also has access to the division of risk management and other insurance policies in connection with this matter. There’s no clear statement that it’s going to be done by any type of citizen that has to make payment. That’s what these folks should have thought of in the beginning before putting him (Jones) through all of this,” Krudys said.
Jones estimated the city’s legal bills are either approaching $1 million or have exceeded that amount as it responds to various legal issues, including a civil process initiated by council member Aaron Rawls.
That proceeding also names Martinsville Sheriff’s Deputy Reva Keen, and a line item in this year’s sheriff’s budget includes $30,000 for her legal representation.
With that hearing to be heard in federal court, Jones said it’s doubtful the funds set aside will be enough.
“We ran out of money last October to pay legal fees,” Jones recalled.
The city also is paying for a recent audit, special prosecutors, and expenses related to an investigation by the Virginia State Police.
“The state police and the special prosecutor are not investigating me or any member of council,” Jones said. “The whole situation has been blown out of proportion for people to get what they want.”
He also noted the city has spent funds on a workplace investigation conducted by the Sands Anderson law firm. The results of the investigation have not been made public, even though it was taxpayer-funded.
Jones said he called for “an outside investigation at the very beginning. I asked for this twice.” Now, he said, “I don’t see an end to it. When it ends, it’s not going” to satisfy citizens or answer all of their questions.
Additionally, “I have never voted against putting the report out,” Jones said. “I was gone for two months, and they still didn’t put it out,” he added.
Jones had been suspended from his seat on the council for two months after a petition called for his removal.
Brinks had previously ruled that Jones was improperly removed from office due to the petition.
Jones said a small group of individuals put the removal petition together, but “the majority of citizens support me. Their vote was taken from them, their representation was taken from them, and they were happy to see me back.
“I don’t think that any of them would look at this” in a negative light, Jones said of the court’s finding Friday.
In his ruling, Brinks said 6,818 votes were cast in the 2022 election in which Jones was elected.
“Ten percent of that figure is 682. The votes cast is the controlling language, I think it’s very clear there were 6,818 votes cast, 682 is 10 percent of that, and the number of certified signatures, 375, is well below that 682,” Brinks said.
Because it didn’t meet the required number of signatures, Brinks dismissed the removal petition.
With the dismissal, Krudys said Jones has been vindicated.
“It is time that we turn the page, end the negativity, and focus on doing what is best for the citizens,” Jones said. “I’m going to lead that effort and start reaching out to more citizens and seeing where we can make up for this past year because we’ve got a lot of work to do, this is a great city, and I look forward to taking the charge.”
