By Taylor Boyd
Mayor LC Jones was reinstated to his position on Martinsville’s City Council effective immediately following a Tuesday, April 21 court hearing.
Jones was initially suspended from city council by an order from Circuit Court Judge G. Carter Greer on February 23.
Michael “Gene” Teague, who was appointed to serve in Jones’ place, will be removed as interim after serving in the role for about two months.
In addition to reinstating Jones, Circuit Court Judge Marcus Brinks continued the proceeding until Wednesday, April 29 at 3:30 p.m. to allow Special Prosecutor Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Bethany Harrison time to review new evidence.
During the court hearing, Jones’ attorney Mark Krudys, of the Richmond-based Krudys Law Firm, said Harrison had received approximately 150 pages of new evidence late last week from an unidentified source.
Harrison also didn’t object to Jones being reinstated to his position on city council during the court hearing.
“I understand that was by order of the court that he was suspended, so I leave that to the court’s discretion, which is what the statute applies,” Harrison said during the court hearing.
The nearly 50-minute hearing was attended by more than 40 people including council members Julian Mei and Rayshaun Gravely.
After the hearing, Gravely said he’s excited that Jones was reinstated.
“I’m glad that the judge found, with good reason, to put him back on council. Like I said before, I’ve supported him from day one, I still support him today, and I’m excited he’s being reinstated back on council because he should have never been taken off council. He’ll have his day in court and he’ll go from there,” Gravely said.
“Mayor Jones should have never been removed as mayor from the city. It frustrated the views of the electorate, and we think it was wrongful. At today’s hearing we made that argument, we talked about the flaws of the original investigation by a conflicted commonwealth’s attorney,” Krudys said after the hearing.
He and co-counsel Perry H. Harrold, a Martinsville attorney, maintained the removal was an unconstitutional, improper process. Krudys said he believes the court was attuned to the arguments that it was wrongful, and that Jones did nothing wrong and should be back on city council.
Brinks “has corrected a wrong, and this is a great day not only for Mayor Jones, but for the electorate of Danville, and Martinsville, and surrounding communities,” he said.
While there’s typically civil cases and criminal cases, Krudys said this case was unusual. It was one “that was kind of in the middle. There’s a unique statutory process for this. No judge is permitted to remove somebody that has been elected unless they follow this very careful process, and we pointed out that the process was not followed.
“This is a fabulous day for the electorate of Martinsville. It has put the voter’s choice back onto city council,” Krudys said.
Jones echoed that sentiment.
“My counsel and myself, we appreciate the prudence of the judge and his decision today. We look forward, and I look forward, to getting back to work and serving the great citizens of Martinsville,” Jones said.
Jones also thanked his family, residents, and people from all over Virginia for standing by his side and supporting him in prayer and with kind words.
“I’m ready to get back to work,” Jones said, adding that he plans to dive in to any council issues necessary and get up to speed as quickly as he can.
“I have heard about a cyber-attack, or a hack, that has drawn concerns. Because I’m not sure if we have information, I don’t want to get into any specifics without knowing anything. I’ve been out for quite a bit of time, and I’m just happy to be serving the citizens,” Jones said.
When asked about the redacted forensic audit released last week, Jones said he doesn’t know a lot about it.
“I know my involvement in it when I was there. I think the main thing right now is getting back to work,” he said.
The council will next meet on Tuesday, April 28. During that meeting, council is expected to take action to release a statement regarding a completed workplace investigation.
“I never voted against” the release, he said. “I’ve only abstained from it. Like I said before, until I’m able to get in and put my eyes on things and know what’s really going on, I can’t really give you good, honest feedback on that at this particular time.”
Krudys said the next step for Jones is the next hearing.
“We think when the court has more time to look at it, not only will it have put Mayor Jones back on city council but we think it will outright dismiss the case. I think that’s the only proper thing to do. The community just learned about the flip-flopping of the commonwealth attorneys’ views in connection with this case,” Krudys said, adding that Martinsville Commonwealth’s Attorney Patrick Finn thought he was conflicted with the case.
Harrison, he said, “raised a conflict herself and said that she received, and this is very unusual, papers from a source that she never identified, but somebody that she knew. Politics have got to go back to the people, and I think that’s what the court stated today.
“Mayor Jones was appropriately elected. He should be on that city council, and the people of Martinsville are getting equality again,” Krudys said.
