Jaye was driving on business, attorney saysThe Argus-Press
Owosso, Michigan
December 20, 2000
Bay City, Mich. - State Sen. David Jaye might have gone deer hunting but did not violate his restricted driver's license when State Police stopped him because he was on legislative business, his lawyer said.
Jaye has been driving on a restricted license since pleading guilty June 12 to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge. Jaye, a Republican from Macomb County's Washington Township, now can drive only to work, medical visit and counseling sessions.
Attorney Robert Huth Jr. said Jaye was on his way back from discussing lawsuits and regulatory concerns with members of the Turtle Creek Hunt Club in Atlanta, Mich. , when his vehicle was pulled over Nov. 19.
Jaye, 42, was chairman of the senate's Hunting, Fishing and Forestry Committee until his conviction.
"Even if David Jaye was hunting while on the trip, it was incidental to the reason and legislative purpose for him appearing at the meeting," Huth wrote in his request to drop the 90-day misdemeanor charge of violating a restricted license. "My suspicion is that the State Police officers that spoke to Mr. Jaye reached the same conclusion. Surely, they had a copy of his restrictions at the time of the stop."
Bay County Prosecutor Joseph Sheeran said the arrested was justified.
Police: Jaye stopped after assault report
A witness at a gas station said he saw the state senator slap and kick his girlfriend, a police report says
Jaye was soon pulled over on Int. 75
December 20, 2000
Grand Rapids Press, The (MI)
BAY CITY -- State troopers "had reason to believe that a life-threatening felony was being committed" by Sen. David Jaye and his brother Joseph when they detained the men on Int. 75 Nov. 19, according to a police report.
A man pumping gas at a service station told police that he saw a man -- later identified as Jaye -- slap and kick a woman before pushing her into his vehicle and speeding off, said the report.
Bay County officials filed an arrest warrant for Jaye, R-Washington Township, on Dec. 12, charging him with violating restrictions placed on his driver's license. The restrictions were from previous drunken driving convictions.
"Based on all the information provided to me, I do not believe that any other charge could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt," Bay County Prosecutor Joseph K. Sheeran said this morning.
Michigan State Police this morning provided a copy of the police report on the incident to The Bay City Times, which filed a Freedom of Information Act request for it on Monday.
The names and phone numbers of the witness who called police and the alleged victim were blocked out.
According to the report, a customer at the Mobil gas station at Int. 75 and Beaver Road in Monitor Township called police at 6:08 p.m. on Nov. 19, a Sunday.
The caller told police he had observed a man beat a woman before throwing her into his red Plymouth Sundance and heading south on the highway.
Once troopers pulled his vehicle over, Jaye told police that the woman -- whom he claimed was his fiancee -- had been taking too long in the women's rest room. He said he was returning to his Macomb County home after deer hunting and needed to get to the airport.
Jaye said he yelled at the woman and ordered her into the car, but that he didn't touch her.
The woman said she had been in the men's rest room at the gas station with two men and attempted to stand on the toilet seat and hide when Jaye entered the rest room.
Jaye became jealous when he saw her boots underneath a stall door, the woman said. She denied that he had physically assaulted her and stated that she just wanted to leave.
Troopers searched Jaye's 1989 vehicle with his consent, according to the report. They advised Jaye to place two long guns that were in the passenger compartment into his trunk.
"Due to the lack of cooperation by all parties involved, they were released," the trooper wrote.
The report says that Jaye told them he was on his way home from deer camp. When told that was a violation of his license restrictions, "Jaye stated that he was not in violation and that he had given a speech at Turtle Lake," a Montmorency County resort.
But Jaye produced no proof of being at Turtle Lake or of giving a speech, according to police.
Attorney Robert Huth Jr. said this morning that Jaye "has not done anything improper with respect to his driving," and that he had a sworn statement from organizers of the hunting meeting where Jaye spoke.
As far as the other allegations, Huth said, "I'm inclined to think that if there's any merit to it there would have been charges brought."
Jaye has waived arraignment and Huth said he expects his client to be found innocent or to have the case dismissed.
While a state representative in 1993, Jaye spent 10 days in jail after a drunken-driving conviction. Jaye was arrested March 5 in Macomb Township on his second drunken-driving offense. He was sentenced to 45 days but was released after 35 days in the St. Clair County Jail after being given time off for good behavior.
His restricted driver's license allowed him to drive only for work-related travel, medical and counseling appointments and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
Jaye says he didn't violate restrictions
Detroit News, The (MI)
December 20, 2000
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- State Sen. David Jaye did not violate restrictions on his driver's license when he visited a deer camp Nov. 19, says an affidavit filed with the Bay County Prosecutor's Office.
On Monday, Bay County Prosecutor Joseph K. Sheeran filed a misdemeanor arrest warrant charging Jaye, R-Washington Township, with violating the restrictions imposed for a March 5 drunk driving conviction.
James O'Toole states in the affidavit that Jaye had addressed landowners in Atlanta on hunting issues, development and the environment, before driving home.
"Senator Jaye's committee assignments ... focus upon and have significant impact upon the activities conducted on my clients' premises," O'Toole said.
Jaye was stopped on Interstate 75 by state troopers who said that Jaye told them he was returning from a hunting camp.
Troopers stopped Jaye because of a phone tip, which turned out to be unsubstantiated.
Jaye and his attorney, Robert Huth, have denied Jaye violated his driving restrictions.
"He has done nothing wrong," Huth said. "Even if David Jaye was hunting while on the trip, it was incidental to the reason and legislative purpose for him appearing at the meeting."
Huth wants the case dismissed. Sheeran could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
Charges against Sen. Jaye to remain
Detroit News
December 21, 2000
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- Bay County Prosecutor Joseph Sheeran said Wednesday he will not drop misdemeanor charges against state Sen. David Jaye, despite Jaye's claim that he did nothing wrong when stopped by state police and charged with driving on a restricted license.
Sheeran released a copy of the police report of the Nov. 19 traffic stop along Interstate 75 in Bay County, which showed troopers were responding to a call about a possible abduction of a woman by a man who later turned out to be Jaye.
"I don't normally give out these kinds of details," Sheeran said. "But I feel I owe it to the public to respond to some of the statements I've heard the last few days from Sen. Jaye and his allies."
Jaye, 42, R-Washington Township, told The Associated Press that he didn't know why he was stopped.
According to the police report, a witness at a Mobil gas station off Interstate 75 said he saw a man arguing with a woman. The man then slapped her with an open hand three or four times, kicked her twice in her legs, pushed her into his 1989 Plymouth Sundance and drove onto southbound I-75.
When troopers pulled over the car, the driver told them he was a state senator. "I advised him it did not matter at this time," Trooper Brad Cox wrote in his report.
Jaye's brother, Joseph, 34, of Warren, was a passenger in the rear of the car. The two men were handcuffed "until we could figure out what was going on," Cox wrote.
The woman in the car was Jameela Kloss, 36, of Ft. Myers, Fla. Jaye identified her to police as his girlfriend for the past two years. David Jaye and Kloss denied that he struck her.
Kloss told police that at the service station, David Jaye "began yelling at her for using the men's restroom," according to the report.
She said the women's restroom was full, so she went into the men's room, although two men were in there at the time. David Jaye told police he became upset because "he was running late and needed to get to the airport."
Kloss displayed no visible signs of injuries, police said.
The senator's lawyer, Robert Huth, denied that Jaye had assaulted Kloss.
"You have one witness saying an assault took place, but two other witnesses (David Jaye and Kloss) who say nothing happened," Huth said.
In a statement released Wednesday, Jaye said: "Couples occasionally have squabbles and it is unfortunate that this happened to occur in public."
Police found two long guns in the passenger compartment of the car. David Jaye said he had been hunting deer. The Jayes were released after being told to put the guns in their trunk.
David Jaye, who was convicted March 5 of drunken driving, was charged Monday with violating restrictions on his license. He is limited to driving between home and work, treatment or support group meetings, a probation office, community service and school.
An affidavit filed with the Bay County Prosecutor's Office says Jaye went to a deer camp near Atlanta, Mich., in mid-November to address landowners on hunting issues and the environment. That address makes the trip work-related, according to the affidavit.
Sen. Jaye will not face traffic charges
Arresting officer did not inform lawmaker of Miranda Rights
Detroit News
March 22, 2001
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- State Sen. David Jaye, known as much for his run-ins with the law as his controversial viewpoints, is off the hook after his latest encounter with police.
Bay County Prosecutor Joseph Sheeran on Wednesday dropped charges against the Washington Township senator for driving on a restricted license because a state trooper failed to read Jaye his Miranda rights last November.
Sheeran said without statements Jaye made to police -- which a Bay County District Court judge suppressed last week -- the case couldn't proceed. A trial was scheduled to start today.
"Without this evidence, I would not be able to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt," Sheeran said.
Jaye was convicted March 5, 2000, of drunken driving. It was his second offense, and he served 35 days in jail. In 1993, he was jailed for 10 days for a similar offense.
His license was restricted last June, limiting him to driving between home and work, treatment or support group meetings and community service and school.
The 42-year-old Republican maintains he was on state business when he was stopped in November in Monitor Township near Bay City after a motorist notified police about a man kicking and slapping a woman at a nearby rest stop. Police pulled over Jaye, who was then handcuffed and questioned for 40 minutes.
Jaye's fiancee has denied being assaulted. Attorney Rob Huth said Jaye was on his way back from official business at the Turtle Creek Hunt Club in northern Michigan.
Jaye, a gun advocate, blamed Sheeran's anti-gun politics for his arrest.
"He apparently saw the situation as an opportunity to improperly persecute and embarrass me, and filed baseless charges for driving outside of the former restrictions permitted on my driver's license," Jaye said Wednesday.
Said Sheeran: "I'm a fair prosecutor that makes decision based on the facts of the law," Sheeran said.
Charges dropped against Jaye
Grand Rapids Press
March 22, 2001
LANSING -- Sen. David Jaye was cleared Wednesday of charges he was driving on a restricted license, a day before the case was scheduled for trial.
The charges stemmed from a Nov. 19 Bay County traffic stop. County Prosecutor Joseph Sheeran said he had to dismiss the charges after 74th District Judge Scott Newcombe ruled Jaye's statements couldn't be used because state police didn't read his Miranda rights at the scene.
Jaye said Wednesday that the charges were "baseless" and suggested they were meant to persecute him for his pro-gun activities. Jaye pointed out that Sheeran had testified against one of Jaye's gun bills in a legislative hearing.
"(Sheeran) apparently saw the situation as an opportunity to improperly persecute and embarrass me," Jaye said. "Fortunately, Judge Newcombe of Bay County... does not let politics interfere with justice."
Sheeran said that wasn't his intent. "It would be very wrong for any prosecutor to prosecute someone for their beliefs. That's not the case here," Sheeran said. "I frankly think if he's embarrassed, it's more of a result of his own actions."
Jaye, a Republican from Macomb County's Washington Township, had a restricted license after pleading guilty to drunken driving on June 12, 2000. The license allowed him to drive only to work, counseling or medical appointments.
On Nov. 19, state police in Bay County pulled Jaye over after a witness called to report that he was hitting and kicking a woman at a gas station. Jaye and his girlfriend, Sonia Kloss, said they had a fight, but no assault charges were ever filed.
