SENATOR DAVID JAYE POSTS:
Jaye's car linked to bicycle incident at Stony Creek
Detroit News
December 10, 2001
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- Rangers at the Stony Creek Metropark continue their investigation into an incident in which a car owned by expelled state Sen. David Jaye may have forced a bicyclist off the road.
Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga said Sunday there doesn't appear to be enough evidence to charge Jaye with a crime, but the case remains open because rangers have not yet interviewed Jaye about the episode that happened Oct. 15.
Marlinga said the investigation shows that a car registered to Jaye encountered the 36-year-old bicyclist on the roadway portion of a street at Stony Creek and forced the bicyclist off the road.
"The car was driving in an erratic and possibly aggressive manner," Marlinga said. "After the car sped past, the bicyclist got the car's license plate number and the car came back registered to David Jaye."
The bicyclist was unable to identify Jaye from a photo lineup in which the cyclist was shown photographs of the ex-senator and other men with similar physical characteristics, Marlinga said. Without the identification, Jaye could not be charged, Marlinga said.
"The bicyclist could not make a positive identification, but that doesn't surprise me because it was a quick incident," that happened at dusk, Marlinga said.
Jaye was unavailable for comment, but his former attorney said it doesn't appear as if the prosecutor has evidence against the ex-senator and should officially close the case.
"Based upon what I've been told by the news media, it sounds like they have a case that is closed," said Grosse Pointe attorney Phil Thomas. "They should leave this man alone and they shouldn't be discussing this case with the news until the investigation is completed."
Thomas, who has represented Jaye in several cases, stressed he is not Jaye's attorney at present and hasn't spoken to him since the summer.
Thomas said he sees two serious problems with the case. The bicyclist's inability to identify the driver of the car is one problem.
"And how can they be sure the identity of the car license plate was accurate," Thomas said. "There have been cases in the past where people have taken down license plate numbers and they were wrong."
David Jaye takes job in South Korea
Grand Rapids Press
December 21, 2001
SHELBY TOWNSHIP -- Ousted state Sen. David Jaye is moving to South Korea to teach American government for at least two months, his lawyer said.
Macomb County District Judge Doug Shepherd on Thursday gave Jaye permission to take the job, but told the former Republican lawmaker he must keep in touch with his probation officer, attorney Rob Huth said.
Jaye also must continue attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in Korea, if possible, and continue to pay oversight fees to the court.
Jaye was expelled from the state Senate in May following drunken driving arrests and allegations he struck his then-fiancée. He tried to regain his Senate seat in the special election called to replace him but came in third in the Sept. 11 primary.
State Rep. Alan Sanborn, R-Richmond, now holds the seat.
Jaye was recruited for the teaching job by a company that saw his resume on the job Web site Monster.com. He will teach either U.S. soldiers or South Korean citizens, Huth said. The job has a two-month probationary period. After that Jaye and the company may decide to extend the position, the lawyer said.
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Sen. Jaye arrested on suspicion of drunken driving
The Argus-Press
Owosso, Michigan
March 6, 2000
Macomb Township, Mich. [AP] - State Sen. David Jaye was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and failed a Breathalyzer test early Sunday, a sheriff's inspector said.
Because Jaye has not been arraigned and the information has not yet been forwarded to prosecutors, Hackel said he could not disclose Jaye's blood-alcohol content though he said he failed the breath test. A blood-alcohol content of 0.10 percent or higher is considered drunk driving under Michigan law.
Jaye's attorney, Rob Huth, said Sunday afternoon he hadn't had a chance to review the sheriff's department report.
"It is my understanding that his blood-alcohol was right at or around the legal limit and there may be mitigating circumstances. If not, I expect him to square up and take responsibility for his actions," Huth said.
A message seeking comment was left on Jaye's answering machine Sunday afternoon.
"I have been a strong supporter of and always voted for tough drunk driving laws that we are all subject to," Jaye said in statement released by his office.
"I am seeking counsel from my family and friends and ask for their prayer during this trying time."
Jaye, a Washington Township Republican, served three weekends in jail in 1993 for drunken driving.
He was arrested Feb. 2, 1993, after rolling through a stop sign in rural Webberville, about 20 miles east of Lansing. he was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of liquor and having an unlawful bodily alcohol content above 0.10 percent.
Jaye's license was suspended for six weeks and restricted for six months.
He also was ticketed in 1984 in Sterling Heights for operating a vehicle while impaired by liquor.
Three years ago, Jaye said he had put the 1993 case behind him.
"I said I wouldn't be drinking and driving any more," he said then.
"I'm married now. Getting married changes a person's lifestyle and priorities."
Jaye is a conservative Republican who was first elected to the state house in 1993. He has discussed running against U.S. Rep. David Bonior, although he announced in November that he was putting off a decision on whether to run to concentrate on a petition drive calling for public funding of private schools.
If convicted following Sunday's arrest, Jaye could face 40 hours to one year in jail, fines ranging from $200 to $1000, 30 to 90 days of community service, and loss of a driver's license, the Detroit News said.
"He's not looking for any special treatment and he's still a supporter of tough laws," Huth told the Detroit Free Press.
State Sen. Jaye returns to work after jail term
Grand Rapids Press, The (MI)
August 19, 2000
LANSING -- State Sen. David Jaye left the St. Clair County Jail early Friday and held a late-afternoon news conference in his Senate office to say he's back on the job.
"Today I am once again taking personal responsibility for my actions," said Jaye, R-Washington Township. "I've become a very strong example of how serious drunken driving is and how serious the consequences are."
Jaye was arrested March 5 in Macomb Township on his second drunken-driving offense. While a state representative in 1993, Jaye spent 10 days in jail after a drunken-driving conviction. This time, he was sentenced to 45 days but was released after 35. He received time off for good behavior.
Jaye has supported bills that took away time off for good behavior for prison inmates convicted of rapes, murders and serious assaults. He said he stands by that vote.
During his time in jail, Jaye said he was in the kitchen most days by 4:30 a.m., mopping floors, preparing food and washing dishes for 12 or 16 hours. He said he didn't sleep well a lot of nights, especially after two jail workers were assaulted by inmates.
"It was frightening," he said of his stay. "Jail is a very serious place."
Jaye continued to receive his annual $56,981 salary while in jail, but said he is working with his lawyers to donate some of it to worthy causes. He has been stripped of his Senate committee assignments but will get them back on Jan. 1 if he successfully completes an alcohol rehabilitation program.
Jaye enrolled in a counseling program shortly after his arrest. His two-year probation will require him to continue attending counseling sessions and to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings twice a week.
He said some inmates were in jail only because they couldn't pay their fees and court costs, and probably could be spending their time more effectively doing community service. He'd also like to require inmates to get vocational training, a high school diploma or equivalent degree before they can leave jail.
"I have done more damage to myself drinking and driving than all my political opponents have done combined," Jaye said. "The worst part for me has been all the pain and heartache my family has faced ... my friends and supporters have faced."
Jaye’s fiancée ordered to testify
Muskegon Chronicle
July 12, 2001
The fiancée of ousted state Sen. David Jaye has been ordered to testify at Jaye’s upcoming probation violation hearing about allegations that he twice assaulted her.
A Florida resident, Sonia Kloss had avoided a subpoena until last week when she was served at Jaye’s Washington Township home by two investigators from the Macomb County prosecutor’s office.
Jaye faces up to 10 1/2 months in jail for allegedly assaulting Kloss in Bay County in November and in Florida in April. A third charge claims Jaye violated his restricted driver’s license, which had been issued due to a drunken driving conviction.
In May, those three incidents were the foundation for the “pattern of personal misconduct” that led to Jaye becoming the first senator in Michigan history to be expelled from office. Kloss has denied the alleged assault in Bay County.
In the Florida case, she told police Jaye had beaten her, then later recanted. Because Kloss was issued a subpoena in Michigan, not Florida, she must comply and testify, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga.
Jaye learns today if he goes to jail
Judge will decide if expelled senator violated probation
Detroit News
July 23, 2001
SHELBY TOWNSHIP -- A Shelby Township district court judge will decide today whether to dismiss probation violation charges against former state Sen. David Jaye -- a move that could keep the expelled lawmaker from going to jail.
Jaye was charged with violating his probation, that stemmed from a drunken driving conviction, because he allegedly assaulted his fiancée twice in the last year and violated his driving restrictions by going deer hunting last November.
But the attorney for Jaye filed a motion asking 41-A District Judge Douglas P. Shepherd to throw out the probation violation case because the assault allegations are unfounded.
Furthermore, attorney Phil Thomas said the probation violation case started six months after the alleged assault and deer hunting incidents surfaced and the delay violates Jaye's constitutional rights.
"When probation violation proceedings are commenced, they must be carried out with due diligence," Thomas said in the legal briefs. "The six month delay ... has violated defendant's due process rights."
Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga said there were valid reasons for the six-month delay.
"The probation department wanted to see what the evidence was, and plus, I granted additional time because (Jaye) was involved in the senate hearings," Marlinga said. "We were ready to file probation violation charges three months before that, but we waited to show him mercy. And showing mercy cannot be used against us."
The state Senate expelled Jaye from office in May following a lengthy inquiry into allegations of supposed misconduct including the incidents involving his fiancée, Jameela Sonia Kloss. The probation violation charges were filed immediately after the expulsion.
Jaye could go back to jail for as long as 101/2 months if convicted. The trial is scheduled to start Aug. 2, but Thomas is hopeful Judge Shepherd will dismiss the case today.
The probation department said in court pleadings that one attack happened last Nov. 19 in Michigan and the other last April 12 in Florida. Kloss has denied that Jaye assaulted her and no charges were ever filed in either case, Thomas said.
Kloss, a Florida resident, was served a subpoena to testify when she visited Jaye at his Washington Township home last month. Thomas, who wants Kloss to testify in a videotaped deposition, is concerned Kloss will be badgered by the media during the proceedings.
But Marlinga said extra security will be added to allow Kloss to come and go from court without being harassed.
Thomas said the more compelling reason the probation violation charge should be dismissed is because Kloss says the attacks never happened.
"The mere fact that Ms. Kloss originally told the Florida authorities she was assaulted is not sufficient," Thomas said in his pleadings.
"Some type of corroborative information was necessary, prior to charging the defendant with probation violation," Thomas added.
"To say that victims of domestic violence often recant charges of abuse in order to protect their husband/boyfriend, and then allow that statement to serve as justification for filing a probation violation is not only unreasonable, but unconstitutional as well."
Marlinga said Thomas is "absolutely wrong" because witnesses statements do not have to be corroborated in probation cases.
"The district court judge will be able to make the determination of what happened," Marlinga said. "We only have to show by the preponderance of evidence what occurred, not beyond a reasonable doubt.
"It' a common-sense situation. It will be what the judge honestly believes happened. Everyone who is familiar with this case knows that David Jaye assaulted his girlfriend."
Thomas said he will have witnesses testify that Jaye did not violate his driving restrictions when he went to a deer hunting camp. Jaye was prohibited from using his car for personal reasons as terms of his probation on drunk driving.
Jaye went to the camp not to hunt, but to talk to hunters about environmental and other issues.
Marlinga said if Thomas uses that defense, it would further damage Jaye's credibility.
Judge refuses to drop charges against Jaye
Ex-senator to measure support for candidacy
Detroit News
July 24, 2001
SHELBY TOWNSHIP -- Former state Sen. David Jaye received a double dose of unfriendly news Monday.
Shelby Township District Judge Douglas P. Shepherd refused to dismiss probation violation charges against Jaye just about the time that Gov. John Engler announced the dates for a special election to replace Jaye as a state senator. The primary will be Sept. 11 and the general election Nov. 6.
The election filing deadline is Aug. 7, five days after Jaye goes on trial before Shepherd on charges that he violated his drunken driving probation for allegedly assaulting his fiancée, Jameela Sonia Kloss twice in a six month span, and for violating his driving restrictions while on a deer hunting trip last November.
If convicted, Jaye could be sentenced to up to 101/2 months in jail. Shepherd could also sentence Jaye to a lesser jail term or place the former Republican senator on probation.
Jaye said he will decide soon whether he will run in the special election.
He said he would be meeting with key advisers to determine if he has enough support to mount a serious challenge to regain his seat.
"I want to run for Senate, but before I ask supporters, friends and volunteers to go through this, I have to make sure I have at least a 50-50 chance to win," Jaye said.
Kloss said Monday night she will honor the subpoena and come to Shelby Township to testify, and that she will see a doctor today to calm her nerves.
"The grief they are putting me through is never-ending. It's terrifying. I don't want to feel like that but I will come," Kloss said from her Florida home.
"The cameras, the people ... I don't want to go there and face a judge. There is no justice. I am under a lot of pressure and am not accustomed to this kind of attention."
Kloss said she will fly from Florida to Michigan on Aug. 1 -- the day before Jaye's trial -- and leave the day after.
Eric Kaiser, chief trial lawyer for the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, said if Kloss doesn't show up to testify, he will ask Shepherd to issue a bench warrant to force her to come to court.
Jaye pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge in June 2000, and was sentenced to 45 days in jail, but could have been sentenced to a year. He served 35 days before he was released and Marlinga wants Jaye to serve the remaining 101/2 months of the original sentence if he is convicted.
Jaye was expelled from office in May by the state Senate following a lengthy hearing delving into a series of alleged misconduct supposedly committed by Jaye including accusations he assaulted Kloss, in November 2000, near Bay County and again last April in her home in Florida.
Jaye was never charged with a crime in either case. Kloss has recanted statements that Jaye assaulted her, but Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga said he feels there will be enough evidence to show Jaye did attack her.
Judge Shepherd refused to dismiss the probation violation charge against Jaye, setting the stage next week for the trial.
Jaye's attorney, Phil Thomas, had asked that the charges be thrown out because Jaye was innocent of the charges that led to the probation violation case. Thomas also said Jaye's constitutional rights were violated because it took the prosecutor six months to file the probation violation charge.
Shepherd said he found no evidence that Jaye's rights were violated.
Jaye again professed his innocence and said he would be acquitted of the charge.
"Look, I'm innocent," Jaye told reporters in an impromptu press conference outside of court. "I was innocent in Bay County, I was innocent in Florida and I will be found innocent here. How many times do I have to wash a shirt to show that it is clean?"
Jaye said he also will prove that he was using his car in his duties as a state senator and not on a hunting trip as the prosecutor claims.
Judge Shepherd also denied a motion by Thomas to have Kloss testify at a videotape deposition.
Shepherd said in order for him to make a sound decision in the case, Kloss would have to testify live and not on videotape.
Jaye calls proceeding 'an abuse of my rights'
He faces up to 101/2 months in jail if a judge determines he violated his probation
Grand Rapids Press
August 3, 2001
SHELBY TOWNSHIP -- The former state senator on trial for allegedly violating his probation says the proceedings are "double jeopardy" because he already has been subjected to Senate hearings over the alleged incidents.
"This is an abuse of my rights and my fiancée's, and it's a waste of taxpayer dollars," David Jaye said.
With her hands shaking as she looked at transcripts, Sonia Kloss defended her fiancé, Jaye, saying he never hit her on the two occasions prosecutors say were violations of Jaye's probation on a drunken driving conviction.
Kloss testified for almost two hours, and took two breaks, in the trial in Macomb County District Court, which began Thursday.
Jaye was expelled from the Senate in May after most of his fellow senators said he no longer deserved to serve, in part because of his three drunken driving convictions and allegations he hit Kloss.
Jaye, who was ousted on a 33-2 vote, is the first senator in state history to be expelled.
Jaye insists he hasn't violated his probation, and has filed to run for the Sept. 11 special election to determine his successor in the Senate.
The general election is scheduled for Nov. 6.
Court proceedings, which were to resume this morning, could decide whether Jaye, of Washington Township, must run for his old seat with a probation violation conviction on his record.
If Judge Douglas Shepherd determines Jaye violated his probation for a 2000 drunken driving conviction, Jaye could have to finish serving his sentence. That could mean he would spend up to 101/2 months in jail.
Kloss admitted she had been drinking heavily before an April 12 incident in Florida and a Nov. 19 incident at a Bay County gas station, but denied Jaye hit her.
Cpl. Robert Macarelli of the Lee County, Fla. Sheriff's Department testified Thursday that Kloss was bleeding from the face and claiming Jaye hit her.
Ex-senator found guilty, fined $500
He could have been sentenced to 101/2 months in jail for violating his probation
Grand Rapids Press
August 3, 2001
SHELBY TOWNSHIP -- Former state Sen. David Jaye was found guilty Friday of violating his probation.
He was sentenced to 30 days in jail or a $500 fine. He also was ordered by Macomb County District Judge Douglas Shepherd to attend anger management classes and his probation is continued.
"Frankly, Mr. Jaye, it would be easy for me to put you in jail for the full 101/2 months, but I don't think that would be the right thing for me to do," Shepherd said.
Jaye could have been ordered to spend up to 101/2 months in jail for violating his probation for a 2000 drunken driving conviction.
Prosecutors claimed Jaye assaulted his fiancée on two separate occasions, in Florida and in Bay County and that he violated restrictions placed on his driver's license by driving to northern Michigan for a hunting trip.
Shepherd found Jaye guilty of violating his probation as to the alleged incident in Florida and the driving allegation, but innocent as to the alleged Bay County incident.
Jaye said that he planned to testify in his own defense, but those plans never came to be as his attorney rested without calling him to the stand.
Jaye, who was expelled from the Senate in May after most of his fellow senators said he no longer deserved to serve, in part because of his three drunken driving convictions and allegations he hit his fiancée, Sonia Kloss. Jaye, who was ousted on a 33-2 vote, is the first senator in state history to be expelled.
Jaye insists he hasn't violated his probation, and has filed to run for the Sept. 11 special election to determine his successor in the Senate. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 6.
Jaye remained stoic on Thursday during most of the hearing, including during testimony by Kloss. Occasionally he would pass notes or get up and talk to his attorney. He has said he's nervous because it was not a jury trial.
Kloss testified for almost two hours, and took two breaks, in the trial in Macomb County District Court, which began Thursday.
Kloss admitted she had been drinking heavily before an April 12 incident in Florida and a Nov. 19 incident at a Bay County gas station, but denied Jaye hit her.
Former state Sen. David Jaye accused of threatening jogger on Macomb bike trail
The Detroit News
September 09, 2014
Washington Township – — A former state senator has been charged with disorderly conduct after police said he threatened a jogger and had a backpack of beer.
David Jaye, expelled from the Legislature in 2001 when he was a Republican from Washington Township, was arrested just before 10 p.m. Sunday after a male jogger called police about a disorderly person on the Macomb Orchard Trail near Campground and Van Dyke, said Lt. John Michalke of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday.
The jogger told police Jaye, of Bonita Springs, Florida, had been chanting and made threats to “hurt” him. Jaye was on a bicycle and wearing a backpack. Michalke said Jaye had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol.
When police searched his backpack they found cans of beer.
Jaye, 56, was taken to the Macomb County jail. He was video-arraigned Monday in the 42nd District Court of Romeo, granted a $1,000 personal bond and released.
Michalke said Jaye told police he was in Michigan because he owns property in Shelby Township, a claim police weren’t able to substantiate.
Jaye was expelled from the state Legislature in 2001 for drunken driving convictions, assault allegations by his fiancée in Fort Myers, Florida, and other problems. After his expulsion Jaye was a visiting professor at Hanyang Graduate School of International Studies in South Korea, according to his LinkedIn page.
But he had to continue attending Alcoholics Anonymous classes in Korea and report monthly to Macomb County probation officials.
The most recent job Jaye held, according to his LinkedIn page, was as an English for speakers of other languages teacher for nighttime classes at Collier County Schools Adult Education in Naples, Florida. A Collier County Schools staffer said Jaye hadn’t work as for them in more than a year. It’s unclear where he’s currently working.
He is next scheduled to appear in 42nd District Court of Romeo at 9 a.m. Sept 25.
Ex-state senator charged with disorderly conduct
David Jaye accused of threatening jogger on Macomb bicycle trail
Detroit News
September 10, 2014
Washington Township – A former state senator has been charged with disorderly conduct after police said he threatened a jogger and had a backpack of beer.
David Jaye, expelled from the Legislature in 2001 when he was a Republican from Washington Township, was arrested just before 10 p.m. Sunday after a male jogger called police about a disorderly person on the Macomb Orchard Trail near Campground and Van Dyke, said Lt. John Michalke of the Macomb County Sheriff's Office Tuesday.
The jogger told police Jaye, of Bonita Springs, Florida, had been chanting and made threats to "hurt" him. Jaye was on a bicycle and wearing a backpack. Michalke said Jaye had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol.
When police searched his backpack they found cans of beer.
Jaye, 56, was taken to the Macomb County jail. He was video-arraigned Monday in the 42nd District Court of Romeo, granted a $1,000 personal bond and released.
Michalke said Jaye told police he was in Michigan because he owns property in Shelby Township, a claim police weren't able to substantiate.
Jaye was expelled from the state Legislature in 2001 for drunken driving convictions, assault allegations by his fiancee in Fort Myers, Florida, and other problems. After his expulsion Jaye was a visiting professor at Hanyang Graduate School of International Studies in South Korea, according to his LinkedIn page.
But he had to continue attending Alcoholics Anonymous classes in Korea and report monthly to Macomb County probation officials.
The most recent job Jaye held, according to his LinkedIn page, was as an English for speakers of other languages teacher for nighttime classes at Collier County Schools Adult Education in Naples, Florida. A Collier County Schools staffer said Jaye hadn't work as for them in more than a year. It's unclear where he's currently working.
He is next scheduled to appear in 42nd District Court of Romeo at 9 a.m. Sept 25.
Former Macomb legislator David Jaye arrested after apparent drunken confrontation
Macomb Daily
September 10, 2014
David Jaye, the controversial former state senator who struggled for years with excessive drinking, was arrested on Sunday night for disorderly conduct after engaging in an apparently drunken confrontation with a jogger on the Macomb Orchard Trail in Washington Township.
According to the Macomb County Sheriff's Department, Jaye at the time smelled of alcohol, was slurring his speech and looked "sloppy" when he was detained by deputies near Campground Road and Van Dyke. He was riding a bike with beer cans in his backpack when he had a verbal confrontation with the jogger and said: "Don't make me come after you."
Jaye refused to take a portable breathalyzer test, so his blood-alcohol level at the time is unknown. Michigan's disorderly conduct law includes provisions for evidence that a person may have been intoxicated, based on what the arresting officers witnessed.
The only member of the Michigan Senate ever to be removed from office by his colleagues, Jaye, 56, was arrested and jailed by sheriff's deputies shortly before 10 p.m. when the frightened jogger called police. The former lawmaker was also chanting while riding on the trail, but sheriff's Lt. John Michalke refused to identify what the chant consisted of.
A longtime Jaye friend said that he had returned to Macomb County about six weeks ago to rehabilitate the Washington Township home that he lived in during his years in the state Legislature and still owns.
Joe Munem said that Jaye had been consistently sober and had shown no signs of a relapse after struggling with drinking problems for two decades.
"I wouldn't have thought something like this would have happened at this point in his life. I have not seen Dave drink in … 10 years," said Munem, a former political consultant from Sterling Heights.
After his removal from the Senate in 2001 for drunken, assaultive behavior at a gas station, Jaye eventually moved to South Korea, where he taught English as a second language to adults. He has also lived in China, teaching American business customs at the university level.
More recently he established residence in Bonita Springs, Fla., where he landed a county government job handling recycling programs and grant writing.
At the time of his arrest Sunday, which occurred after dark, police found no evidence that Jaye had physically harmed anyone and he appeared to be uninjured despite his erratic bike riding. He was wearing camouflage shorts and a white T-shirt in addition to the black backpack.
Jaye was formally charged in a video arraignment handled by the 42nd District Court in Romeo. The former lawmaker was granted a $1,000 personal bond and was released.
His next court date is Sept. 25 in the 42nd District Court.
Friend says he saw no indication of Jaye return to drunkenness
Oakland Press
September 10, 2014
Dave Jaye, the infamous former state senator who struggled for years with excessive drinking, was arrested on Sunday night for disorderly conduct after engaging in an apparently drunken confrontation with a jogger on the Macomb Orchard Trail in Washington Township.
According to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, Jaye at the time smelled of alcohol, was slurring his speech and looked “sloppy” when he was detained by deputies near Campground Road and Van Dyke. He was riding a bike with beer cans in his backpack when he had a verbal confrontation with the jogger and said: “Don’t make me come after you.”
Jaye refused to take a portable breathalyzer test so his blood-alcohol level at the time is unknown. Michigan’s disorderly person law includes provisions for evidence that a person may have been intoxicated, based on what the arresting officers witnessed.
The only member of the Michigan Senate ever to be removed from office by his colleagues, Jaye, 56, was arrested and jailed by sheriff’s deputies shortly before 10 p.m. when the frightened jogger called police.
The former lawmaker was also chanting while riding on the hike/bike trail but sheriff’s Lt. John Michalke refused to identify what the chant consisted of.
A longtime Jaye friend said the controversial former lawmaker had returned to Macomb County about six weeks ago to rehabilitate the Washington Township home that he lived in during his years in the state Legislature and still owns.
Joe Munem said Jaye had been consistently sober and had shown no signs of a relapse after struggling with drinking problems for two decades.
“I wouldn’t have thought something like this would have happened at this point in his life. I have not seen Dave drink in … 10 years,” said Munem, a former political consultant from Sterling Heights.
After his removal from the Senate in 2001 for drunken, assaultive behavior at a gas station, Jaye eventually moved to South Korea, where he taught English as a second language to adults. He has also lived in China, teaching American business customs at the university level.
More recently he established residence in Bonita Springs, Fla., where he landed a county government job handling recycling programs and grant writing.
At the time of his arrest on Sunday, which occurred after dark, police found no evidence that Jaye had physically harmed anyone, and he appeared to be uninjured despite his erratic bike riding. He was wearing camouflage shorts and a white T-shirt in addition to the black backpack.
Jaye was formerly charged on Monday in a video arraignment handled by the 42nd District Court in Romeo. The former lawmaker was granted a $1,000 personal bond and was released.
His next court date is Sept. 25 in the 42nd District Court.
Known for his vociferous, politically incorrect comments and his conservative Republican politics, Jaye’s political career began with a 2-year stint on the Macomb County Board of Commissioners in 1985-86.
He was elected to the state House in 1988 and served there for 10 years until he won a special election to replace the late state senator Doug Carl. Among the many reasons for his Senate expulsion, the most cited were his three drunken driving convictions.
His expulsion trial in front of a Senate panel received frenzied media coverage and produce big newspaper headlines across the state.
After attracting considerable public attention for 15 years, his attempted political comeback after being expelled fell flat in a Sept. 11, 2001, special election that was completely overshadowed by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
Yet, Munem said he saw a “more mellow and mature Dave Jaye” in recent times, a man who had become more health conscious and had hopes of creating a new chapter in his life in the business world, not in politics. Munem said he has no idea what could have triggered Jaye’s behavior on Sunday.
“In my conversations with him, he’s been fairly upbeat and positive,” Munem explained. “He’s demonstrated a lot of self-confidence about what he wants to do next.”
Ex-state Sen. Jaye gets plea deal in Macomb County
The Detroit News
September 26, 2014
Mount Clemens — A former state senator has taken a plea deal for a disorderly conduct charge in Macomb County.
David Jaye, 56, on Thursday pleaded no contest in 42nd District Court in Romeo to the misdemeanor charge following a drunken incident in Washington Township. He also paid a $625 fine. The plea deal allows the arrest to be wiped from his criminal record if he has no other violations within one year.
On Sept. 7, Jaye was charged with disorderly conduct after police said he threatened a jogger and had a backpack of beer.
The jogger told police Jaye of Bonita Springs, Florida, had been chanting and made threats to “hurt” him. Jaye was on a bicycle and wearing a backpack. Police said Jaye had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol.
When police searched his backpack they found cans of beer.
Jaye was expelled from the state Legislature in 2001 for drunken driving convictions, assault allegations by his fiancée in Fort Myers, Florida, and other problems. After his expulsion, Jaye was a visiting professor at Hanyang Graduate School of International Studies in South Korea, according to his LinkedIn page.
But he had to continue attending Alcoholics Anonymous classes in Korea and report monthly to Macomb County probation officials.
The most recent job Jaye held, according to his LinkedIn page, was as an English for speakers of other languages teacher for nighttime classes at Collier County Schools Adult Education in Naples, Florida. A Collier County Schools staffer said Jaye hadn’t work there in more than a year. It’s unclear where he’s currently working.
