Kilpatrick Ordered To Jail For Breaking Bond

Washington, D.C.(AHN) - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will spend Thursday night in jail after a judge decided to punish him for breaking the terms of his bond and leaving the country. Kilpatrick is facing an impeachment effort by the City Council as well as eight counts of felony charges including perjury in a civil case.

Judge Ronald Giles of Federal District Court issued the ruling despite an apology from Kilpatrick, who cited the pressure of being scrutinized for the past seven months and promised that he would not make the same mistake.

The mayor is expected to post the $75,000 bail and appeal the ruling. The appeal won't be heard until Friday morning, which means Kilpatrick will spend at least one night in prison. Kilpatrick crossed the Detroit River on July 23 to Ontario, Canada to promote the construction of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. He failed to inform the court in advance about his trip.

Kilpatrick was indicted in March together with his chief of staff Christine Beatty - with whom he is accused of having an extramarital affair - on charges of perjury, misconduct in office and obstruction of justice. He has also been accused of retaliating against police officers who investigated allegations of misconduct against him, one of whom was the Detroit Police Department Internal Affairs Chief Gary A. Brown.

The City Council voted 5-4 in June to begin a two-pronged approach to try to remove him from office. They approved two resolutions, one to let them begin impeachment proceedings, another asking Michigan Gov. Jennifer to remove the embattled mayor in case the proceedings fail.