Aug. 30 – TRAVERSE CITY — A Grand Traverse County commissioner arrested in a prostitution sting operation will be arraigned on two felony charges.
County Board Vice Chairman Brad Jewett, 54, is accused of soliciting a prostitute and using a computer to commit a crime, court records show. He is scheduled to appear before 86th District Court Chief Judge Tammi Rodgers on Sept. 3.
That comes 75 days after a multi-agency investigation led to the arrest of Jewett, along with two others, Scott Barrett, 61, and 21-year-old Clayton Hall, who were charged one and four days after their arrests, according to previously reported.
Jewett is accused of soliciting prostitution through online ads that were part of an undercover operation. While Barrett and Hall were both charged in connection with minors, county officials previously said there was no evidence Jewett’s case involved children.
Messages were left Thursday for Jewett and his attorney, Paul Jarboe.
Grand Traverse County District Attorney Noelle Moeggenberg has referred the case to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, which left a message Thursday.
Moeggenberg did this to avoid a potential conflict of interest. It’s the same reason Grand Traverse County sheriff’s deputies took Jewett to the Leelanau County Jail when he was arrested — the department was one of several involved in the operation, and county commissioners oversee both the district attorney’s and sheriff’s offices and their annual budgets.
Jewett left prison on a personal bond and remains active on the county commission.
Kimberly Bush, director of the state attorney general’s Office of Public Information and Education, previously said the case against Jewett had been delayed by technical issues.
Arraignments are typically short hearings where a judge reads the charges against a defendant, informs them of their rights and asks how they will plead, according to FindLaw. The defendant or their attorney then enters a plea.
These hearings typically occur within a few days of an arrest, agreed County Commissioner TJ Andrews, who is also an attorney, though she noted she does not practice criminal law.
Andrews previously said that delays in Jewett’s case could give the impression that there is some impact on the speed of legal proceedings.
Andrews said Thursday that she is giving everyone involved the “benefit of the doubt.”
“We know there was a delay, that things weren’t reaching their intended audience, and I assume they did their due diligence,” she said. “I don’t think the delay is an indication of anything other than the wheels of justice turning slowly, honestly.”
Supervisory Board Chairman Rob Hentschell, who had previously said he had seen such delays before, said Thursday he did not know the details and could not comment.
“Like everyone else, (Jewett) deserves his day in court,” he said.
