Feds: Keep Kwame Kilpatrick Behind Bars
DETROIT (WWJ) - The U.S. Attorney's office says ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick should remain jailed until sentencing.
In a court filing Friday, federal prosecutors stated Kilpatrick's request to be released on bond should be denied because nothing in his case has changed. Prosecutors say that Kilpatrick has, in the past, accepted money from business leaders and family members while lying to the courts about his assets.
On Monday, Kilpatrick's lawyer James Thomas again requested his client's release. Thomas said his client isn't a flight risk and that Kilpatrick's mother has put up her home as collateral to ensure he shows up for sentencing.
Kilpatrick's mother is ex-U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick. The ex-mayor had been staying at her Detroit home, under house arrest, prior to his conviction earlier this month.
WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton thinks Kilpatrick will likely remain behind bars.
"The fact that you've been on parole and you violated parole -- you didn't follow the court's order back then. It doesn't matter that somebody's going to put up their house," said Langton. "It's irrelevant."
Kilpatrick, found guilty on 24 counts including racketeering conspiracy, is being housed at the federal prison in Milan.
Kilpatrick co-defendant, former Detroit contractor Bobby Ferguson, also remains jailed. Bobby Ferguson's attorney filed a request seeking bond until sentencing. Reportedly, Ferguson's family and a friend have put up five homes as collateral.
Kilpatrick's father, Bernard Kilpatrick, was found guilty on a tax charge. He is free on bond.
Kwame Kilpatrick is set to be sentenced in June.
