CHICAGO — A Michigan judge sent Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick to jail Thursday after learning that the controversial official violated the conditions of his bond in a perjury case by going to Canada for a business meeting without clearing the trip with the court.
Kilpatrick apologized to 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles for the unauthorized trip he made to nearby Windsor, Canada, and said, "I ran in, I made a presentation . . . and I ran back."
Kilpatrick, a two-term Democrat, told the court Thursday the trip was necessary to save hundreds of city jobs in Detroit and preserve city services. The trip, he said, was part of his effort to erase a $65-million budget deficit by selling the city's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, which connects the U.S. to Canada. The bid had stalled when the City Council rejected the deal late last month.
A stern Giles made it clear his patience had worn out. "If it was not Kwame Kilpatrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in the seat, what would I do?" Giles asked. "And that answer is simple."
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy applauded the decision, saying that the judge "treated this defendant as any other defendant would have been treated."
Marcus Reese, a spokesman for Kilpatrick's legal team said: "We respectfully disagree with the judge's decision to choose the most extreme option available to him . . . and regret that this politically charged atmosphere has had such a profound impact on this case."
The ruling, which stunned both critics and allies of the mayor, follows months of the mayor's defiant attitude toward his legal problems, and frequent calls by residents and City Council members for him to leave office.
The mayor and former top aide Christine Beatty testified during a "public whistle-blower" trial last year that they did not have a relationship. But the Detroit Free Press in January released racy snippets from more than 14,000 text messages sent to and from Beatty's city-provided pager in 2002 and 2003. Kilpatrick sent one to Beatty in 2002 that read, "I'm madly in love with you."
Kilpatrick, 38, faces felony charges including perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice. Beatty was charged with seven felonies.
Kilpatrick's travels have come up before. This spring, after Kilpatrick and his wife flew to Dallas for a meeting with church officials, Worthy's office asked the court to add travel restrictions as conditions of the mayor's bond.
