BREAKING: Is a Virginia Prosecutor Investigating Jay Jones' Reckless Driving Scandal?
FOIA documents reveal an ongoing investigation, call Jones' NAACP 'community service' hours into question.
New revelations strongly suggest the New Kent Commonwealth's Attorney has opened an investigation into Democrat Attorney General candidate Jay Jones' reckless driving case.
Jones was given a sweetheart deal to complete community service rather than potential jail time for a reckless driving incident in New Kent County in 2022. He was caught driving 116 mph—46 mph over the limit, a criminal offense in Virginia. Restoration News' review of the documents certifying Jones' "volunteer" community service hours reveal several inconsistencies. Restoration News spoke with one of the people who signed off on Jones' community service, and submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for further information. Our own digging has revealed an ongoing investigation into the scandal.
Jay Jones' attorney certified that he completed 1,000 hours of community service in 2023 with two different organizations. That works out to over 19 hours a week—all while working as a senior associate at a law firm and raising two small children… not to mention the 37 campaign events Jones attended all over the state in 2023.
Restoration News made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the New Kent Commonwealth's Attorney's office asking for any communications between their office and Rev. Cozy Bailey and Lesley Shinbaum Stewart, the individuals who attested to Jones' community service.
The office responded to our FOIA saying they could not share that information pursuant to Virginia Code 2.2-3706.1(E)(1). That code states that criminal investigative files can be withheld if providing the information would "interfere with a particular ongoing criminal investigation or proceeding in a particularly identifiable manner."
Jones' traffic summons obtained by Restoration News via FOIA
'Volunteer' Work with the NAACP
Jones claims he fulfilled 500 hours of his community service by volunteering with the NAACP Virginia State Conference in 2023. That same year, however, Jones' law firm represented the NAACP in a lengthy lawsuit against Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Rev. Cozy Bailey, President of the NAACP, submitted a letter attesting that Jones provided their organization with "over 500 hours of charitable service in 2023."
In an Oct. 20, 2023 legal complaint obtained by Restoration News, attorneys from Jones' firm—Hogan Lovells—petitioned the court to "seek recovery of their attorney fees." Jones' name is listed as a "senior associate" attorney on the documents.
Yet in a phone call, Rev. Bailey told Restoration News that Jones was not paid for his work with the NAACP.
Jones' now-deleted LinkedIn account showed he was a senior associate for Hogan Lovells for all of 2023. Did he work there for free?
When Restoration News pressed Rev. Bailey about what type of volunteer work Jones did for the NAACP, he declined to answer, claiming Jones already issued a statement on the matter. No such statement can be found.
Jones also claims to have completed the rest of his 1,000 hours of service with Meet our Moment (MOM). The attestation letter confirming his community service hours does not mention that MOM is Jones' own political organization, which trains Democrats running for office.
Lesley Shinbaum Stewart, who signed off on Jones' volunteer hours for MOM, received $24,000 in compensation from Jones' campaign in 2023. Restoration News was not able to reach Stewart for comment.
Restoration News spoke to multiple attorneys who practice law in New Kent County. They all agreed that the prosecutor, Randy Del Rossi, always emphasizes that community service must not be political. That aligns with what Del Rossi already said in a statement to Restoration News: "In order to receive a non-jail outcome, community service is unpaid service for any non-political, charitable, non-profit."
Math That Doesn't Add Up
Despite Jones resigning from the House of Delegates in 2021 to focus more on his family, he spent much of 2023 attending campaign events across the state.
That year, in addition to his full-time job as a Senior Associate with Hogan Lovells, Jones logged thousands of miles traveling around Virginia. Jones would've spent at least 200 hours on these trips—a conservative estimate that does not count events for which he may have stayed overnight. These don't include events Jones may not have posted about.
Using back-of-the-napkin calculations for a working father who emphasizes spending time with family to determine Jones' schedule, it strains credulity to believe enough hours exist in a day for Jones to complete 19 hours per week of community service—each week—in just one year. These calculations don't include any vacations, holidays, fitness, paying bills, doctor appointments, or any other extracurricular or life needs.
50 hours/week: Hogan Lovells
4 hours/week: Campaign events
20 hours/week: Family time
56 hours/week: Sleeping
7 hours/week: Hygiene
14 hours/week: Meals
2 hours/week: Church
= 153 hours/week
With only 168 hours in a week, conservative estimates demonstrate Jones would only have 15 hours of "extra time" if he did nothing other than these items.
Too many things don't add up in Jones' story. If the aspiring Attorney General lied about his community service time, he's going to be in hot water with the courts. Not to mention those who participated in those potential lies. It's a felony to commit fraud.
The more of the layers of the onion peeled back in Ragin' Jay Jones' story, the worse things look for him.
(READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE—Prosecutor Confirms Ragin' Jay Jones Did NOT Have Permission to Complete Community Service with PAC)
